Donovan Leaves Florida to coach Magic - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

#1MavsFan · 05-31-2007, 06:01 PM

Billy Donovan will be named the head coach of the Orlando Magic on Friday, several sources have told ESPN.

The announcement is scheduled to be made at 11 a.m. ET, sources told ESPN.com's Pat Forde.

Thursday, after weeks of waiting for the University of Florida to finalize his new seven-year contract, the Magic offered Donovan a big-money deal. Sources say the deal is shorter and smaller than original reports of a six-year, $36 million deal. The Associated Press said the deal is a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

SportsNation

"We're not worried about hiring a college coach -- not this college coach," a source told Forde. "He's proven he's won. He's young and he works well with a young team. This team is one step above a college team right now, it's so young. They're just learning how to play together, and someone like Billy will be perfect.

"I also don't think this job is as bad as some of the others that college coaches have walked into. It's not like he's inheriting a bad team, and that's usually the case for a college guy making the transition. The hardest part was for Billy. It was a tough decision for him because of everything that's happened at Florida, because of what he's built there. He was happy there."

The source said that Donovan will have no front-office responsibilities. "He's just the coach," the source said.

Donovan will fly into Orlando for the 11 a.m. news conference Friday and then immediately return to Gainesville to meet with the Gators' media on a chartered flight.

After leading the Gators to the last two national championships, the 42-year-old Donovan recieved a big-money offer Thursday afternoon. Team officials told the Orlando Sentinel, which first reported the story on its Web site, that Donovan was expected to take the job earlier in the afternoon.

The sources added the Magic job has been the toughest decision he's had to make, much more so than any early offer from Memphis and even more so than Kentucky's contract offer. The part that makes the offer potentially palatable was that it is close enough to his Gainsville home that could it make it a smooth transition. Donovan's parents, in-laws and sister all have a home in Gainsville and the sources said that if there was a job that he would seriously consider it would be the Magic because of the proximity to his family.

When the offer went public, multiple sources said Donovan had to make a quicker decision. Florida to act quickly and possibly stay within the family with former Florida assistant Anthony Grant, who led VCU to the NCAA Tournament second round in his first season with the Rams. VCU beat Duke in the first round.

"Billy Donovan has been here 11 years and has won two national championships," Florida president Dr. J. Bernard Machen told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach. "We'll always love Billy Donovan, whether he was here 11 years or 21 years. I don't think the University of Florida has to worry about who their next coach is."

Donovan's new contract at Florida -- it was presented to him on May 17 but he had yet to sign it as of May 25 -- was to pay him around $3 million in the first year. The contract then was to escalate to more than $3.75 in guaranteed income by the end of the contract in 2013-14, a person familiar with the negotiations told ESPN.com

There is precedent for a college coach turning down the NBA. Former Atlanta Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said Thursday that the Hawks thought Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was going to accept their job when they offered it a few years ago. The same thing occurred when Duke's Mike Krzyzewski turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 42-year-old Donovan is one of only 12 college basketball coaches to win multiple national championships. The Gators won their second straight in April after beating Ohio State.

The Magic removed Brian Hill as coach on May 23 after two consecutive losing seasons and a first-round sweep in this year's playoffs.

Information from ESPN.com's Pat Forde, Andy Katz and Mark Schlabach was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2888555

alby · 06-01-2007, 04:40 AM

what pick does orlando have this year?

DOMINATOR · 06-01-2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

what pick does orlando have this year?

39, 44, 54
detroit has their 15th pick.

alby · 06-01-2007, 01:16 PM

aw nevermind, I thought an ex-Gator had a chance to rejoin his old coach in Orlando

Flacolaco · 06-01-2007, 01:31 PM

Good for him. The Pro's are "where it's at," so to speak.

StackAttack · 06-01-2007, 03:25 PM

It would certainly be nice if Orlando could somehow trade way up and Donovan could get a player he's already comfortable with and vice versa.

EricaLubarsky · 06-01-2007, 03:45 PM

College coaches rarely rarely work out.

dirno2000 · 06-01-2007, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

College coaches rarely rarely work out.

That's true but most college coaches go to bad teams. He's going to a team with one of the best young bigs in the game and a ton of cap space.

His chances of succeding are a lot better than Tim Floyd's or Mike Montgomery's were.

MavsX · 06-01-2007, 09:26 PM

good players on the magic..howard is awesome

alby · 06-02-2007, 03:46 AM

as long as he doesnt sign VC, they will be fine

Janett_Reno · 06-02-2007, 04:26 PM

Donavan was a heck of a player, i have really liked his coaching in college. It is true, college coaches rarely make good pro coaches but this guy "could" be special and he is going into a situation where any coach would drool over to be.

This Howard is really good. Darko went from a total bust in Detroit and looked like he was terrible untill now, he is one of the hot players being asked about. Many teams want him, needing a shot blocker and rebounds but Orlando said they are resigning him.

With their good young talent, cap space, and this very good college coach, this team could be on the rise and good things happen. It is a win/win situation for Orlando.

dirno2000 · 06-03-2007, 10:41 PM

Billy Donovan informed the Magic and the University of Florida over the weekend that he had second thoughts about agreeing to be Orlando's head coach, but it's unclear if the NBA team will let him go.

Orlando has a signed contract from Donovan and are making a decision as to whether or not to let him out of the five-year, $27.5 million deal that he signed Thursday, multiple sources told ESPN.com Sunday.

If the Magic do let Donovan out of the deal, they have to decide whether to enforce a financial penalty. Both sides aren't talking publicly since there are legal issues involved in such a decision.

Donovan's hiring on Thursday prompted the sale of 200 Magic season tickets by Friday afternoon. Magic communications director Joel Glass confirmed that number after Friday's news conference introducing Donovan to a standing ovation from the entire on-site Magic organization at the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando. Losing Donovan as coach would likely be a public relations hit to a franchise that needed a pop.

Donovan is coming off winning back-to-back national titles at Florida, the first time that has occurred since Duke did it in 1991-92. Donovan, who turned 42 Wednesday, agonized over the decision to accept the Magic offer after first being approached last week.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley flew to Richmond, Va., on Saturday to meet with Donovan's former assistant, VCU head coach Anthony Grant, about the opening. But multiple sources confirmed that the plane was on the ground for less than an hour. Foley left without Grant aboard.

Over the weekend, multiple sources said Grant was the top choice but that both he and Donovan wanted to make sure that all of their respective staffs were taken care of before any move was made.

Multiple sources said that the decision now rests in the hands of the Magic. A final decision is due by Monday.

On Friday, Donovan was emphatic about why he ultimately made the choice. He said that he wanted a new challenge and saw the proximity to his home in Gainesville and the young stars on the Magic roster like Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson as well as $10-13 million in salary cap space as a primary reason for jumping at this job.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.