Billy Donovan was the Orlando Magic coach for nearly a week and left controversially to return to Florida. Things though worked out best for both he said.
In June 2007, the Orlando Magic needed a coach. In June 2007, Billy Donovan was at the top of the mountain, having just one back-to-back national championships with the Florida Gators.
The two seemed perfect for each other. The storyline was tantalizing enough.
So when the Magic announced they were hiring Billy Donovan, it seemed like a good match. A young team with an accomplished college coach.
Of course, that is not how the dream pairing ended.
Not even a week later, Donovan announced he was returning to Florida, backing out of his contract agreement with the Magic and leaving the team in a huge lurch. Their coaching search done, other candidates began moving for other jobs.
Orlando scrambled and hired Stan Van Gundy, faxing his contract to a Kinkos in Sacramento as he was about to interview for that job.
The rest is history, of course. The Magic and Van Gundy started the best sustained run of winning in Magic history, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2009.
Now, Donovan is the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, finally making the jump to the NBA from Florida. His second game turned out to be a highlight classic — a come-from-behind double-overtime thriller his Thunder pulled out.
Donovan did not have any qualms about deciding not to coach the Magic. It all seemed to work out in the end, he said.
“I was really happy for him and I was happy for the Magic it worked out that way,” Donovan said before Friday’s game in Orlando. “I was at peace because I made the right decision for the Magic and for myself.
“I was really happy for Stan [Van Gundy] the success he had here. It made me feel good. Being here in the state, the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, you follow them. You want to see them do well. But for me, I knew at that moment in time, that was the best thing for me.”
Does he have any regrets? No. Donovan moved on and entrenched himself with Florida — getting the Gators back to the Final Four in 2013 and sustaining success in Gainesville too.
Donovan seemed set to be a Florida lifer. He had a great relationship with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley. He said he wanted a similar kind of relationship if he was to leave. He appears to have found that with Thunder general manager Sam Presti. The two have been linked together for several years.
The Thunder opportunity is the one he wanted. They had the shared vision and set of values Donovan wanted to make the move he did.
For the Magic, they moved on and succeeded despite the slight embarrassment of losing out on a coach or having him decide to leave not even a week after taking the job to begin with.
Everyone has moved on and found success. It really did work out best for both parties. Rarely do these things do so.
