The Chicago Bulls have hired NBA coaching veterans Chris Fleming and Roy Rogers as assistant coaches to Jim Boylen's coaching staff. In accordance with team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Fleming and Rogers join Nate Loenser, Dean Cooper, Karen Stack – who has been elevated to an assistant coach, and Shawn Respert on the bench. Paul Miller has been named assistant to the head coach, and 2018-19 coaching intern Chris Kent has been hired as the video coordinator.
"There was a lot of thought put into the hiring of Chris and Roy, and I'm excited about the way our coaching staff has come together this offseason. The addition of these two highly regarded coaches will bring new experiences to the culture we're building here. I value the fact that they have come from recent playoff teams and have proven track records of strong player development, as well as creative basketball minds on both ends of the floor. They communicate well with players, have coached and developed All Stars from around the league, and come from programs that we believe have done it the right way. Their coaching styles and expertise fits into areas where we as a team can and want to improve," said Head Coach Jim Boylen.
Fleming comes to Chicago after spending three seasons as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets. While with the Nets, he served on Kenny Atkinson's staff that saw Brooklyn improve from 20 wins in 2016-17 to 42 wins this past season. He began his NBA coaching career as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets during the 2015-16 season. Prior to the Nuggets, he served as a head coach in Germany for 14 years, first with QTSV/Artland Dragons in Quakenbrϋck for eight seasons (2000-08) and then with Brose Baskets Bamberg for six seasons (2008-14). Fleming led Brose Baskets to four German League championships and was named the German League Coach of the Year in 2011. He also won four German Cup championships and three German Supercup championships. Fleming concluded his head coaching reign of the German national team at the 2018 FIBA EuroBasket last summer, a position he had held since November 2014. Prior to the start of his coaching career, Fleming spent six seasons (1994-2000) with QTSV as a player.
A Forked River, N.J., native, Fleming began his collegiate career at the University of Connecticut before transferring to the University of Richmond, where he played three years (1990-93) for the Spiders, helping lead his team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1990 and 1991.
Rogers, known for his defensive mindset and development of young centers, joins the Bulls after three seasons as an assistant coach with Houston Rockets where helped achieve the second-highest winning percentage (.703) of any team in the NBA over that span. He served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Washington Wizards (2014-2016) following two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets (2013-14). Rogers served on the Boston Celtics coaching staff under Doc Rivers for one season (2010-11) before joining the Detroit Pistons (2011-13). He began his NBA coaching career with the Nets as an assistant coach (2008-2010) on Lawrence Frank's staff. In addition to Rivers and Frank, he has also coached under Jason Kidd, Randy Wittman and Mike D'Antoni. Along the way, he has played a part in developing the likes of big men such as Brook Lopez, Andre Drummond and Clint Capela.
The Alabama product began his coaching career in 2004-05 as an assistant for the Huntsville Flight of the NBA Development League. Rogers spent four seasons coaching in the D-League, including before joining Lawrence Frank's staff in New Jersey in 2008. Selected 22nd overall in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the University of Alabama, Rogers played three seasons in the NBA before continuing his career overseas with stops in Russia, Italy, Greece and Poland.