The Oklahoma City Thunder have began "formal discussions" regarding their head coaching vacancy with the University of Florida's Billy Donovan, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The position became available a week ago when the team fired Scott Brooks, who had coached OKC since 2009.
Thunder, Billy Donovan begin ‘formal discussions’ for head coaching job
Oklahoma City reportedly has set its sights on landing the Florida coach to replace Scott Brooks.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Donovan, one of the top coaches in college basketball, “is widely regarded as the clear favorite to succeed Brooks,” per Stein. He’s already started talking about the job with Thunder general manager Sam Presti, and “it was not immediately clear how many other candidates, if any, Presti plans to sit down with.”
The team is reportedly planning an offer for Donovan already, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, and the Florida coach is Presti’s only serious candidate. Thunder star Kevin Durant has also “reached out to at least one former University of Florida player in the NBA to gain insight into Donovan,” adding merit to the idea that the two sides will reach an agreement soon.
The hardest part for OKC will be convincing Donovan to leave Florida. Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves were the latest teams to try to persuade Donovan to make the NBA leap, but he turned down both options. In 2007, he briefly took the job with the Orlando Magic, but changed his mind before an introductory press conference.
That's because Donovan has a pretty good thing going in Gainesville. Since getting the job in 1996, the 49-year-old has led the Gators to six SEC championships, 14 NCAA Tournaments, four trips to the Final Four and two national championships. He's recruited and coached NBA players such as Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Mike Miller, Chandler Parsons and Bradley Beal. In Florida, Donovan has the chance to become a college hoops legend.
Those 20 years in Florida have also led to a lot of personal ties, and Stein says breaking those would be the hardest part of leaving for Donovan. However, the coach also has a relationship with Presti and reportedly appeals to the GM because of their “similarly meticulous approaches to the job.”
The Thunder also have another pretty major selling point for Donovan: One of the most talented rosters in basketball. While Donovan has coached a lot of good players in his day, he's never guided stars like Durant or Russell Westbrook. Being able to coach players of that caliber -- in their primes, no less -- could be what convinces Donovan now is the time to prove his mettle in the NBA.
The Gators are also coming off a 16-17 season, their worst since 1997-98, Donovan’s second year on the job. Stein reports that “(Donovan) has grown weary of the college recruiting grind, which apparently has increased his interest” in making a move to the professional game.
His contract, which runs through 2020, won’t be an issue, either, as it contains a buyout of just $500,000. That likely won’t be a major hurdle to any team seriously considering Donovan, the Thunder included.
Oklahoma City may have some other possibilities in mind, including Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina, but the team also lost a prospective candidate last week when Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie pulled his name from consideration.
Donovan seems to be the most obvious choice, and it’s undeniable that the Thunder job offers a lot of positives. Zach Lowe of Grantland recently tweeted that he would be “very surprised” if Donovan doesn’t end up getting the job. That doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing yet, but with all these reports, it sounds like the Thunder are aggressively pursuing their top target.
See More:
