Official: Magic Let Donovan Go

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

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">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.
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First off...wtf? Ok I really want to know how this information even leaked to the public. Basically we need a coach that can commit full on. So if he decides to stay, I dont want to see him have a 1 and done year so if he is having strong feelings on leaving he needs to do it now. Second, this makes the magic look like a joke..doesnt matter who we would hire after him it will still be tainted. Our hopes of signing darko would be gone and well I dont think dwight would be to happy either. Never trust a gator

 

Okay, this is exactly what I was talking about in an earlier thread. JUST LET HIM GO. The adjustment from College to Pro is huge and the majority of them fail. You have Pitino, Spurrier, Saban, and many others. Professional athletes in general don't like to be treated like college kids and that's just one of the many shortcomings. Most college coaches can't handle the business aspect of the pros and lack of control. If he's having doubts now, what can we expect in a year or two?

 

That's stupid, especially since it might've cost them a chance to nab Iavoroni.

btw, does this remind anyone else of Fran Vasquez?

 

Well its about right... Hell if anything could come easy for the Magic and their fans... I hope this doesnt scare any free agents away. Thanks Billy for making us look like a bunch of morons down in Orlando if this is the case...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">btw, does this remind anyone else of Fran Vasquez?</div>

Haha damn I remember that, is that dude planning on ever coming to the NBA?

 

If this is true (which I still have my doubts), I just lost all respect for this prick. Screw you Billy.

 

Its official the Magic will let Billy D leave. Orlando Sentinel has it posted on their site that they will let him go back to UF. What a clown, cold feet isnt for superstar coaches. So much for being intriuged with the NBA, that lasted all of 3 freaking days. Billy's word is gonna be worth a lot from now on. Good luck getting a coaching job in the NBA.

 

You guys hear that??? That is the entire basketball community laughing at the Orlando Magic... We truly are the Orlando Tragic...

 

This is truly pathetic. This was supposed to give our team some national attention. This was supposed to speed up our younger player's development. This was supposed to keep this team in Orlando by ensuring a new arena be built. This was supposed to make up for us missing out on talented candidates earlier on because we decided to wait for whatever reason. Now all of that has changed. I can't believe this asshole. Why sign a contract unless you're a hundred percent sure you want to be with this team? He pussied out and I no longer have any respect for this guy.

Hopefully this team can move on and still find a good coach. This slows things down but it's not too late to land someone who can make an impact on this team. Stan and Jeff Van Gundy are both available. Rick Carlisle (please God, bring him to Orlando, this would at least shrink the wounds) is still out there, as well as Carlisimo. While we still have options, our ultimate decision will still be tainted because Donovan just made a complete fool out of our franchise. Hopefully this doesn't hurt our free agent signings this summer like someone said because that would just make things five hundred times worse.

The only positives I can think of now are at least we'll get a coach who is dedicated to this team and has his full attention on our franchise, and our franchise only. If Donovan was going to coach here with tons of distractions and not giving his full effort, then I'm glad to see him run back to Florida like a little girl. Another thing is that hopefully our team tries to prove everyone wrong now and have a great season. Like smokrockz said, us fans are the laughing stock of the NBA right now. Can you imagine how the players and management feel? They are going to do everything they can to turn this offseason and season around so they don't look like they did completely horrible. We play better when we fly under the radar with little hype anyways. Now the team won't have tons of attention on them and they can just play. And of course, nobody we bring in can possibly be worse than Brian Hill. Not all is lost for our team, even if this turn of events does suck ass.

 

Why sign the damn contract? We dont want a coach that is scared to coach in the NBA. All my gator friends are happy he is back, but i told them i wouldnt take him back. He left you guys after he said he wasnt. Then he signs with us only to go back. This guy is about 2 steps away from being our next president. Vote Billy D for president 2008... He will tell you want you want to hear and then renig and do the complete opposite.

 

<div class="quote_poster">smokrockz Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Why sign the damn contract? We dont want a coach that is scared to coach in the NBA. All my gator friends are happy he is back, but i told them i wouldnt take him back. He left you guys after he said he wasnt. Then he signs with us only to go back. This guy is about 2 steps away from being our next president. Vote Billy D for president 2008... He will tell you want you want to hear and then renig and do the complete opposite.</div>

Exactly bro. My friends who are Gators fans don't know how to react. Part of them is happy but part of them is still upset that in a way he back stabbed them. It's probably bittersweet for them and Donovan has really messed with both teams pretty badly throughout the course of the week.

The good news is, Stan Van Gundy still wants to come to Orlando and has said he would love the job. He's the only other guy we interviewed and Vander Weide said he was very impressed with him. Apparently, Van Gundy was praising Dwight and the city and is extremely interested in the position. I say we hire him. He'd be the best option and he could make the pain more tolerable after this whole debacle.

 

<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Is this a Florida thing for coaches to pull the old switcharoo? Didn't Nick Saban just do this with the Dolphins? LOL

Nothing ever comes easy for the Magic.</div>

Yeah, but what Saban did is nothing in comparison to this. That coward actually has a book in stores that preaches commitment and loyalty. Then the POS goes on national TV and outright lies that he's not taking the 'Bama job and does just that. To make it worse he doesn't even have the guts to give a press conference to the Dolphins fans before he gets on that 'Bama plane, he has Wayne Huzienga do it for him. Easy way out when you have an aging roster, an overall losing record, and a gimp QB who he took over last year's leading passer Drew Brees. At least Billy told us right away and didn't lie about it.


Look at it from Billy's eyes though. Guys like him, Pitino, Coach K, Spurrier, Pete Caroll(USC Football), and Saban always have a constant stream of high school studs that are willing to play for them because they want to get their names out for the pros and scholarships. They always have solid teams because of this and are always winners. That and everyone is always on 3-4 year deals--rosters are easier to manage. You get to the pros and you have various contracts and egos to manage.

Money is also an issue for Billy I bet. Look at it from this angle: he gets more from the Magic initially, but what if he fails in that 5 year plan? He won't get another NBA job and will have to settle for a really low paying college job. In the NCAA his legacy at UF is pretty much secured, and like I said before his work is cut out for him. In the short run he makes more with the Magic, in the long run he makes more at UF.

All that talk about whats in your heart and "the challenge" was just main stream media driven BS. This is about money and security. Just let him go back to the college game.

 

<div class="quote_poster">smokrockz Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Why sign the damn contract? We dont want a coach that is scared to coach in the NBA. All my gator friends are happy he is back, but i told them i wouldnt take him back. He left you guys after he said he wasnt. Then he signs with us only to go back. This guy is about 2 steps away from being our next president. Vote Billy D for president 2008... He will tell you want you want to hear and then renig and do the complete opposite.</div>


Haha, got a kick out of that Sad, funny, and true!

Billy Donovan... with Nick Saban as his Vice Pres?

 

I'm merging this with Mamba's thread.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Mamba Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Power trip...</div>

Not in the mood.

 

WTF just happened.