Billy Donovan will leave his post at the University of Florida to take over as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team announced. TThe contract is reportedly for five years and $30 million, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Donovan will replace former coach Scott Brooks, who was fired on April 22 after seven years on the job.
Billy Donovan will be the Thunder’s next coach
Donovan is finally making the NBA leap with the Thunder, agreeing to a five-year contract
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
“While we created a comprehensive analysis regarding the qualities we were looking for, it became quite evident that Billy was the ideal fit for the Thunder as we look to transition our team into the future,” general manager Sam Presti said in a statement.
The move represents a major shift for both the coach and the team. Donovan, 49, has been coaching the Gators since 1996, and was considered one of the best coaches in college basketball. He had turned down several NBA coaching opportunities in the past, repeatedly opting to stay in Gainesville to maintain one of the best programs in the country.
The Thunder, meanwhile, had a pretty good thing going under Brooks until the 2014-15 season. That's when the years of building and success gave way to injuries, and eventually, a trip to the lottery after finishing ninth in the Western Conference. For OKC, which has a limited window to win with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in their primes, that was enough to make a coaching change.
Now the team turns to Donovan, who had incredible success at Florida and will look to translate that to the NBA game. The Gators earned six SEC championships, 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, four trips to the Final Four and two national titles in Donovan's 19 years with the team, making him one of the top college coaches in recent memory.
Those achievements in Gainesville also made it hard for Donovan to leave. The Orlando Magic nearly hired Donovan in 2007, only to see him decline the offer, and last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves made failed runs at the coach as well.
Donovan was only going to leave Florida for the right opportunity, and Oklahoma City qualifies. Not only does Donovan have a solid working relationship with GM Sam Presti, who has hired multiple people from Donovan’s staff in the past, but the Thunder boast one of the most talented rosters in the league. Donovan may have coached some great players with the Gators, but he’s never worked with anyone like Durant and Westbrook in their primes.
Now Donovan gets the chance to show he can have success at both the college and pro levels, something that’s eluded coaches in the past such as Rick Pitino and Tim Floyd. There’s reason to be optimistic, not only because of Donovan’s ability, but because he’s walking into a pretty solid situation. The Thunder are at least a playoff team when healthy, and now it is Donovan’s job to try to push them past that.
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