Bulls agree to contract extension with Boylen

The Chicago Bulls have agreed to a contract extension with coach Jim Boylen, the team announced Friday.

After replacing Fred Hoiberg in December, Boylen had agreed to a short contract that would take him through the end of the 2019-20 season, but this new, multiyear deal will replace it, league sources told ESPN. Boylen is in the process of interviewing assistant-coaching candidates, league sources said.

Bulls ownership and management consider Boylen the teacher the franchise needs now with a young roster and love the way he has been able to build relationships with players while also holding them accountable and coaching them hard.

The Bulls return a strong core ofyoung players who are expected to be complemented by additions in free agency -- and perhaps the No. 1 overall draft pick, which the Bulls have a 12.5 percent chance of securing.

After Hoiberg's firing in December, Boylen was promoted from associate head coach. From the beginning, the Bulls made it clear that they would likely not be conducting a coaching search in the offseason, electing to make Boylen coach instead of an interim.

"Jim has a strong vision on where he wants to take this team, and he has done a great job establishing the culture that we want this organization to stand for as we continue to progress," executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement Friday. "He has tremendous passion for developing young talent, is a strong communicator and a good fit for this team. The organization is confident in the direction that he is taking our players, and we are committed to him."

Boylen had a tumultuous beginning to his tenure as coach but eventually started to show improvement as players began to respond to his hard-driving coaching style. Zach LaVine, who was skeptical of Boylen's coaching style early on, has since said that he has learned to trust the first-year coach. In March, LaVine went so far as to offer to pay an ejection fine for Boylen.

ESPN's Malika Andrews contributed to this report.