Donovan changes mind (title edited) about Orlando

[Ryle]

Source: Donovan offered $6M per to coach Magic

ESPN.com news services

After weeks of waiting for the University of Florida to finalize his new seven-year contract, the Orlando Magic have entered Billy Donovan's world and given him another substantial offer to ponder.

After leading the Gators to the last two national championships, the 42-year-old Donovan received a firm contract offer on Wednesday morning from the Magic, the Orlando Sentinel reported on its Web site Thursday afternoon.

The offer is for six years at $6 million per year, a source told ESPN.com's Pat Forde. Team officials told the Sentinel that Donovan is expected to take the job.

When asked about the job Wednesday, Donovan told the newspaper he had not spoken with the Magic. Donovan had not contacted Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley as of Thursday afternoon to say whether he's accepted the job, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com.

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

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 Andy Katz and Mark Schlabach was used in this report.


6 Million per season

He'd be stupid not to take it.

 

[nbrans]

So I guess that rules out San Van Gundy -- Sac must now be his first choice.

And holy cow, a 6 year contract at $6 million?? $36 million?? It's a good thing college coaches do so well in the NBA!!

 

[AleksandarN]

wow 36 million is alot of money for an unproven NBA coach

 

[Bricklayer]

I think this is kind of sad really. Maybe Donovan is the 1 in 100 college coach who makes the jump and sticks, he's at least got a young team there to work wiht who might still listen to him. But the Magic are a team poised for a breakout, there have been all sorts of highly qualified actual NBA coaches floating around this summer, and they decide to make the PR move by offering the spot to a local amateur. At a time when you should be thinking about stepping it up to the next level, you are instead having to teach the coach where the locker rooms are in every stadium.

Good for us though in that it frees SVG from an obvious temptation. Not sure if he will wait around to be the Magic's second choice if Donovan falls through. Of course at the rate we are moving here, I can only figure we must be pretty focused on Porter, and amybe he's just an also ran for our spot too.

 

[Ryle]

I also just read that Jim O'Brien(ex-Celtics and Sixers coach) will be named coach of the Pacers....talk about a re-tread. Couldn't they get someone better???

Looks like the open spots are dwindling but none of the coaches we have talked about are getting hired...looks good for the Kings.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

holy cow! big time $$$ for a college coach

 

[Double-K]

ESPN just reported that Billy Donavan accepted the job offer.

 

[AleksandarN]

atleast it is a shorter deal with less money

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

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.

"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.

 

[Double-K]

Five year is still too long consider how easily NBA teams cut their coachs with just a less-than-great season.

 

[ParniValjak]

That a hell of a deal for a college coach!

 

[Bricklayer]

5 years is forever when you are talking about a complete unknown. Means you almost can't even think about getting rid of him for 3 years. And if he sucks, you could really have screwed your young franchise's promise by that point.

 

[SacTownKid]

Wow that is indeed a lot of years to be on the hook for. Don't expect this guy to be a one and done coach with the Magic no matter how they do.

 

[6th]

5 years is forever when you are talking about a complete unknown. Means you almost can't even think about getting rid of him for 3 years. And if he sucks, you could really have screwed your young franchise's promise by that point.

Just what I was thinking. Why in heaven's name would you give a college coach (no matter how good) a deal for 5 years? It had better work out or they have really messed up all that bright young talent.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

ESPN is reporting that Donovan wants to return to Florida.

 

[supamari0]

Good god, I thought Larry Brown was bad...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2892334

Portion of article:

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 whether the NBA team will let him go.

Orlando has a signed contract from Donovan and is making a decision as to whether to let him out of the five-year, $27.5 million deal he signed Thursday, multiple sources told ESPN.com on 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 because there are legal issues involved in such a decision.

Multiple sources said the decision now rests in the hands of the Magic. A final decision could come as early as Monday.

Donovan's hiring 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 likely would be a public relations hit to a franchise that needed a pop.

 

[Entity]

even if he indeed stays with Orlando this is going to haunt him and the franchise for a while.

 

[6th]

Is this guy for real? If he leaves the Magic after people jumped in to buy season tickets, they should make him pay a huge penalty.....enough to cover refunds for those fans who only signed on because of him being the new coach.

 

[SacKings384]

Not cool at all...

 

[VF21]

So Billy Donovan has already learned the Kobe Bryant style of media exposure?

What a crock...

 

[ParniValjak]

What a mess!

 

[nbrans]

Enh, this will blow over. The people who bought their season tickets can get refunds, Billy will go back to Florida, Orlando will hire a new coach, and by the time the season starts no one will even think about it.

 

[AleksandarN]

good luck getting a coaching job in the nba after this

 

[VF21]

Enh, this will blow over. The people who bought their season tickets can get refunds, Billy will go back to Florida, Orlando will hire a new coach, and by the time the season starts no one will even think about it.

I suspect you're wrong there. The Magic sold TWO HUNDRED season tickets because of the announcement. That's significant. And the people who bought those tickets are not going to forget about this very quickly. I know I wouldn't.

I hope Orlando holds him to the contract - all five years of it. What a bush league performance.

 

[Bricklayer]

I suspect you're wrong there. The Magic sold TWO HUNDRED season tickets because of the announcement. That's significant. And the people who bought those tickets are not going to forget about this very quickly. I know I wouldn't.

I hope Orlando holds him to the contract - all five years of it. What a bush league performance.

Should be simple enough to offer refunds to anybody who bought season tickets after he was announced though no? This is very weak on Donovan's part, and hurts both Orlando and Flroida, but there is nothing that should be irreparable.

Now I can only hope that things have progressed far enough with SVG, and the initial sting of being passed over by Orlando in favor of a college coach, that he'll still consider us his frontrunners rather than beign tempted by the Magic again.

 

[AleksandarN]

If true, do we end up losing a chance to get SVG?

 

[6th]

If true, do we end up losing a chance to get SVG?

Could very well be. SVG would prefer to stay in Florida, I'm sure.

 

[VF21]

Should be simple enough to offer refunds to anybody who bought season tickets after he was announced though no? This is very weak on Donovan's part, and hurts both Orlando and Flroida, but there is nothing that should be irreparable.

While it shouldn't be too much of a problem to offer refunds, there is (I would believe) the emotional let-down of the fans to be considered. From what I read in the Orlando Sentinel (I think) the other day, the arrival of Donovan was heralded as something approaching the second coming. You don't give people something like that and then take it away without there being some residual hard feelings I wouldn't think.

 

[VF21]

Could very well be. SVG would prefer to stay in Florida, I'm sure.

I don't think that's necessarily going to hold true. I would think SVG would handle his business negotiations a bit better than Donovan and wouldn't let the possible reemergence of the Magic job to change his attitude about following through with the Kings. After all, Donovan MIGHT change his mind again - and then where would SVG be?

This has all the markings of a Kobesque drama.

 

[DaMan]

Enh, this will blow over. The people who bought their season tickets can get refunds, Billy will go back to Florida, Orlando will hire a new coach, and by the time the season starts no one will even think about it.

They won't forget, lol. This move was pretty much a PR move, basically trying to get more fans to the games and to get a new Arena built. This move is the worst thing that could happen at this time.

And also magic have not forgotten about the following: Shaq leaving, Penny leaving, T-Mac leaving, Grant hill's ankle, the hockey GM A.k.A the worst GM ever in the NBA A.K.A Wiesbord, the last magic mess up the Fran Vasques draft pick and Now this. Seriously if the magic have not forgotten about thoes thing i doubt that they will forget about this. The Magic have the worst luck, lol.

 

[6th]

I think what bothers me the most is the cavalier way that some think they should be let out of a contract. Geez! He just signed the dang thing. Second thoughts should be done before the contract is signed. Once it is signed, it is a binding agreement. It means nothing if the team simply says, "That's okay. Well just get someone else."