WASHINGTON — The Chicago Bulls are not giving up one aspect of their current infrastructure.

President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf spoke mostly about change on Tuesday after the firing of former executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley. But the executive also reserved the final lines of his opening remarks for one decisive edict.

“I want to be very clear,” Reinsdorf said. “We want Billy (Donovan) to continue to be the coach of the Chicago Bulls.”

The respect between Bulls ownership and Donovan has been a rare throughline for the past six years. Despite posting a losing record in Chicago, the coach has inspired deep loyalty at all levels of the organization for his work ethic, attention to detail and player-first mentality.

The Bulls are committed to Donovan. Now, it’s time to test whether the coach is ready to recommit to Chicago.

At the trade deadline, Donovan set a date to sit down with Michael and Jerry Reinsdorf after the end of the season to discuss the future of the Bulls and how he fits into it. He remained committed to that promise even as his name was connected to North Carolina’s head coaching job, a coveted position that could have represented a prime opportunity to return to the NCAA.

Donovan said the firing of Karnišovas and Eversley will not affect his approach to his offseason decision. He described his relationship with ownership as “really, really” good. But until the season ends — and until that meeting occurs — Donovan said he can’t answer any questions about the future.

“I signed a contract and made a commitment to the Chicago Bulls,” Donovan said. “I’m very, very blessed and fortunate to be here. I don’t take the job lightly. They’re hard to come by and I think being able to work with a special ownership group means a lot to me. So I just wanted to fulfill my obligation to the best of my ability at the end of the season to be able to sit down and have those conversations.”

Donovan upheld this same rigid dedication even after the Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention. It didn’t matter if the games meant nothing in the overall scheme of the postseason. The coach didn’t want to abandon his post.

According to a report by ESPN, Donovan’s unwillingness to consider a job change until after the NBA season caused North Carolina to divert attention to a different prospect, ultimately offering the job to former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone. If that’s the case, Donovan said, he doesn’t mind.

“Sometimes the NBA schedule doesn’t coincide … with the college basketball calendar,” Donovan said. “I’m OK with that. I’ve said from the beginning, I am going to coach all 82 games if I’m healthy and able to do it. That’s my responsibility and that’s important to me.”

This scheduled meeting with ownership has become a clear crossroad for the Bulls. Donovan hopes the conversation will answer a series of key questions: How do we all see this going forward? What is the direction? How do we build the team back to where we’re in a position where we can compete at the highest level?

Donovan isn’t asking for an elevated role or a promotion to the front office. But he does want to feel the team reflects his own fundamental beliefs in roster building and player development.

“I’ve always been a believer that when there (are) decisions that are made above my head, I’m going to march forward,” Donovan said. “When there are opportunities to voice my opinion or give thoughts, I try to do that as much as I can. I want to help the organization. I think I can do that. But I’m not somebody that has ever been going to overstep my bounds unless I’m asked.”

Reinsdorf suggested that he would be open to supplying Donovan with greater executive influence and access if requested. He’s not worried about accompanying any shift with a title change, mostly because that type of formality doesn’t matter to Donovan himself.

For now, Donovan isn’t interested in assuming a general manager role. If that ever changed, Reinsdorf said he’d hear the coach out. But in the meantime, ownership wants to create an environment where Donovan is empowered — and regularly encouraged — to speak his mind about the team’s decision-making.

“When we hired Billy, I think what was really important to him at that time was that he did have input in the organization, in the players, in terms of acquisitions,” Reinsdorf said. “Obviously, a coach is not going to get too involved when it comes to the draft because they haven’t watched these players, but we’d be crazy not to want Billy’s input about player acquisition for players throughout the league. … Billy will be involved. I probably will push Billy to be more involved.”

This increased input means that a new executive hire will have to align at some level with Donovan’s philosophies. For instance, Reinsdorf noted Donovan’s severe aversion to tanking, stating that he believes the coach would have left Chicago if he was asked to lose games on purpose. This answer lacked some nuance — there are many ways to “tank” without throwing games outright — but it reflected an ethos that is aligned between Donovan and ownership. It stands to reason that this means any executive paired with Donovan will be expected to also oppose tanking on principle.

Reinsdorf said he doesn’t believe Donovan will need much time to make his decision, which means the Bulls can plan to begin their executive search next week — with or without the coach. But the Bulls hope this next step will be taken in stride with Donovan.

“If I interview someone and they’re not sold on Billy — if they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach, if they’re not sold on a person who’s won championships in college, who’s gone deep in the playoffs with Oklahoma City, who I believe, with the Chicago Bulls, given the team that he was given, achieved really good results — if someone’s not interested in Billy as our coach … then they’re probably not the right candidate for us,” Reinsdorf said.

For now, Donovan is providing more questions than answers.

The coach hasn’t done much to tip his hand in the weeks following the trade deadline and in the days following the dismissal of Karnišovas and Eversley. He speaks often about future plans for developing players like Matas Buzelis. He clearly thinks deeply about the team’s future. But Donovan has also been open about the fact that he doesn’t aim to remain with an organization that can’t begin winning again.

“I just know the last four years, we have not won at a high level,” Donovan said. “I want to win at a high level. I want to be a part of it. The organization deserves that. … Everybody’s got to put their heads together and figure out — how do we go about doing that? And what is the timetable?”

Ownership’s answers to those questions will set the course for Donovan and the Bulls as they navigate another treacherous turning point for the franchise.

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