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Donovan expected to add Cheeks, two others to Bulls staff

Billy Donovan's coaching staff is starting to come together. According to various reports, the Bulls are planning to add Maurice Cheeks, John Bryant and Josh Longstaff as assistant coaches.

Cheeks is a Chicago native, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and legendary point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers. He ran the show for the Sixers team that won the NBA title in 1983 behind Julius Erving and Moses Malone.

Cheeks, 64, has spent nine seasons as an NBA head coach for Portland, Philadelphia and Detroit. He spent the past five years assisting Donovan in Oklahoma City.

Bryant, 37, has been an assistant for the 76ers and before that with the team's G-League affiliate. A native of Woodbridge, Va., the 6-foot-8 Bryant was a starter on the St. Joseph's team with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West that went 30-2 and lost in the regional final in 2004. He played overseas and in the G-League before making the transition to coaching.

Longstaff, 38, has spent the past two years on the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff. A native of Portland, Maine, Longstaff played at Division II Bryant College as a 5-9 guard. With the help of a former Bryant coach, Longstaff jumped from high school head coach in Gorham, Maine, to a role on the Oklahoma City Thunder coaching staff in 2010. After four years in OKC and a trip to the Finals in 2012, he worked as a Knicks assistant and spent one year as head coach for the G-League's Erie Bayhawks.

Chris Fleming is expected to stay on the job from the previous coaching staff.

The Bulls are gearing up for the NBA Draft Nov. 18, when they'll choose fourth; and waiting for official word on the start of the 2020-21 season. The league has proposed a Dec. 22 start date, according to a report, but that's still being negotiated.

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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