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What a whacko.
Billy Donovan is having second thoughts.
According to two sources close to the situation, the former Florida coach, who accepted the Orlando Magic job on Friday, is attempting to return to Gainesville.
Donovan agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Magic late last week, but has approached both sides about getting out of the deal.
According to one source, Donovan was forced to make a rash decision by the Magic management — and he regretted it shortly after agreeing to the contract.
Speculation centered on VCU coach and former Gators assistant Anthony Grant replacing Donovan quickly. In fact, Grant was slated to meet with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley on Saturday morning.
However, shortly after landing in Virginia, Foley had to return due to an emergency. One source confirmed that the emergency was that Donovan contacted Foley about returning.
Grant addressed the situation in a statement released by VCU.
"Due to the amount of media speculation regarding my involvement with the University of Florida coaching vacancy, I felt it necessary to address the situation," Grant said in the statement. "I have been contacted by the University of Florida regarding the coaching vacancy.
"I have not had any in-person contact with any Florida representative, nor have I been offered the job," Grant continued. "At this point, I will have no further comment on the situation. All my focus is on my responsibilities at VCU."
Grant, 41, is considered the clear-cut favorite to take the place of Donovan. Grant coached alongside Donovan for a decade at Florida and two seasons at Marshall and led VCU to the second round of the NCAA tournament this past season after a first-round upset of Duke.
Donovan, 42, led the Gators to consecutive national les over the past two seasons and was slated to sign a seven-year deal worth approximately $3.5 million annually. The deal was still in the process of being approved when he accepted the deal with the Magic.
Donovan was introduced by the Orlando Magic at a news conference on Friday.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6883162
What a whacko.
What the ?
I thought he might be decent in the NBA but they didn't need to overpay him so much. The Magic should just get out of it with him and get an actual NBA coach for less money.
Let the whacko go, and go hire Stan or Jeff Van Gundy.
I bet you Pitino called him and told him to think about what he was doing.
what a mess. not unexpected from the magic. remember the Fran Vazquez mess?
What is the deal? This seems to be new trend with coaches. These guys need to man up and stick to the decisions they make.
man..Kobe's rubbing off on everyone.
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 les 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 could come as early as 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.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2892334
Making a "rash decision" which pays you over $5M a year and then chickening out? Right.
This is going to the Magic over hard. They sold 200+ season tickets based on the Donovan signing alone, and they expected that the fanbase in nearby Tampa would grow quite a bit from all the UF fans. They need to penalize the out of him financially if he bolts. What a ing unprofessional pussy that guy is.
He probably found out they are looking to sign Vince Carter to a long term deal and rather than hit theon a nightly basis by dealing with him he figured i will go back to Florida.
I guess the magic are going to let him out of the contract according to the orlando sentinel
wtf is this dude is gettin paid > popabiatch?
He hasn't actually signed, so I don't know what the legal ramifications are.
what a JOKE..
he sure makes himself look like a complete fool
It's a Gator thing, nuff said.
This is bad news for Kings fans who want to see SVG come to Sacramento...
Will Billy Donovan grow some balls? That answer and more on SportsCenter...right now!
-Mars
He finally got a look at Darko in person...
Orlando Magic may be close to offering Stan Van Gundy their coaching job
Dave Curtis and Lynn Hoppes | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted June 4, 2007, 10:31 AM EDT
The crazy, turnaround, wacky world of Orlando Magic basketball may be getting closer to a resolution.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has reported that former Miami Heat Coach Stan Van Gundy is on the verge of being offered the seemingly vacant Magic coaching job.
Van Gundy told the Sentinel on Monday morning that he couldn't comment on the situation. However, a source told the Sentinel that Billy Donovan and Van Gundy were the only two people interviewed for the job. So, once the Donovan situation started to unravel, it was clear that Van Gundy would rise to become the top choice.
It would end a tumultuous few days of uncertaintly and angst, after the Gators basketball coach got cold feet and started to back away from the job.
On Monday morning, the Magic issued a statement, saying, " While Central Florida, the Orlando Magic and Billy were energized with the announcement of his contract signing on Friday, we know there was a different feeling in Gainesville and people have been tugging at him since that time.
"Billy is conflicted with those emotions and the opportunity he has ahead in Orlando and in the NBA. We've had numerous conversations and a personal visit in Gainesville with Billy over the last 48 hours, and we have a commitment from him that the dialogue between us will continue.''
They have turned their attention to Van Gundy now.
"It's over," said a source close to the situation said early Monday morning.
Donovan had reservations about leaving the Florida Gators for the NBA on Friday and spent all weekend trying to find a way to get out of his contract. On Saturday, Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith went to Gainesville to try to convince Donovan to honor the deal. Smith talked with Donovan again on Sunday, and so did Magic President Bob Vander Weide.
The source said -- barring a change of heart -- the Magic will let him go.
Van Gundy is also in contention for the Sacramento Kings job. He met on Saturday in Las Vegas with the Kings ownership.
"I thought the interview went well and I expect to hear something from them today," Van Gundy told the Sun-Sentinel. "It won't necessarily be a decision, but I do expect to hear from Geoff (Petrie, the Kings president) today."
Almost everyone at Florida, from people on his staff to other NBA coaches to even his wife, told Donovan to go to the Magic -- but after Friday's emotional news conference in Gainesville, he started thinking he might have made a mistake. That was the first time he even mentioned there being a problem.
The Sentinel visited Donovan's house early this morning, and UF assistant basketball coach Larry Shyatt answered the door. He said Donovan would not comment.
"You guys can't talk to him now," Shyatt said.
Messages left with UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley on Sunday were not returned. UF spokesman Fred Demarest said Sunday night that the school would have no comment. Messages left for Magic officials -- Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins and General Manager Otis Smith -- were not returned.
On Monday morning, Joel Glass, vice president for communications for the Magic, released a statement:
"While Central Florida, the Orlando Magic and Billy were energized with the announcement of his contract signing on Friday, we know there was a different feeling in Gainesville and people have been tugging at him since that time. Billy is conflicted with those emotions and the opportunity he has ahead in Orlando and in the NBA. We've had numerous conversations and a personal visit in Gainesville with Billy over the last 48 hours and we have a commitment from him that the dialogue between us will continue."
Donovan was hired as Magic head coach Thursday and introduced in his new job Friday, the end of a weeklong Magic courtship. Donovan appeared confident in his decision in news conferences in Gainesville and in Orlando, but things changed.
Foley flew to Richmond, Va., on Saturday to interview Anthony Grant, the Virginia Commonwealth University coach. Grant is a former Gators assistant and the leading candidate to replace Donovan.
But that meeting never happened -- Foley flew away from Richmond after learning of Donovan's second thoughts before the athletic director even left the airport's grounds.
That's when the Magic's Smith leaped into action. He went up to Gainesville to try to convince Donovan he was making the right decision. But Donovan still was waffling.
That's why Grant, who was the front-runner and was looking to make $6 million over 5 years at Florida, issued a statement Sunday night saying he has had no in-person contact with UF officials and hasn't received an offer to be Florida's head coach.
"I have been contacted by the University of Florida regarding their coaching vacancy," the statement said. "I have not had any in-person contact with any Florida representative, nor have I been offered the job.
"At this point in time, I will have no further comment on this situation as my focus is on my responsibilities at VCU."
Grant, who emerged Thursday as the top and seemingly lone candidate to replace Donovan, spoke with several Rams recruits and their coaches Thursday and Friday to prepare them for his possible departures.
Donovan did not attend Florida's boys basketball camp, which started Sunday afternoon on campus. He was at home trying to find guidance on his future.
Several members of his staff, including Shyatt, ran the camp. In his news conferences Friday, Donovan said Shyatt would join him with the Magic. In fact, Donovan talked with the Magic about Shyatt's new contract that afternoon.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, reached at home early this morning, said he had heard nothing about Donovan possibly backing out of the deal. After learning of the report from a Sentinel reporter, Dyer said he still had no comment.
Nick Calathes and Chandler Parsons, high-profile recruits from Lake Howell High School who signed with the Gators, had communicated with each other late Sunday night but indicated they had not heard from UF's coaching staff.
It's unclear whether the Magic will ask for a settlement to allow Donovan to break his contract.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...home-headlines
Orlando will probably realize in a year how much they lucked out.
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