Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Rich history wasn't enough to lure Billy Donovan away from Florida. In the end, it was just riches.
Donovan will have plenty of them after he was hired to coach the
Orlando Magic on Thursday. The team confirmed the hiring Thursday night and scheduled a news conference for Friday morning.
Donovan agreed to a five-year deal paying $5.5 million annually, an official in the NBA told The Associated Press.
"Billy Donovan is a winner," general manager Otis Smith said in a statement. "We feel he is the right person to develop and maximize the talents of our players. We look forward to Billy leading us to the next level."
The Magic scheduled a news conference for Friday morning.
Donovan has been the subject of speculation since the Gators' second straight NCAA championship in April. He turned down an offer to coach Kentucky, whose storied program launched his career as an assistant in 1990, and was more recently linked to the
Memphis Grizzlies' vacant coaching job.
He seemed to squash those rumors after turning down the Kentucky position, proclaiming, "I love the University of Florida."
But Orlando, about 115 miles south of Gainesville, proved too strong to resist. The Magic job pays more than twice Donovan's $1.7 million annual deal with the Gators.
"There's going to be a lot of hamburgers, a lot of filet," departing Florida star Joakim Noah joked.
Donovan, his agent and Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley didn't return phone messages left by The AP.
School president Bernie Machen said he didn't believe Donovan had yet accepted the Orlando job, but there were no hard feelings if he had.
"There's always a next," Machen said at the Southeastern Conference's annual spring meeting in Destin, Fla. "Billy Donovan has been here for 11 years, won two national championships.
He's been a great ambassador for the University of Florida. We'll always love Billy Donovan, whether he's here 11 years or 21 years."
Both Donovan and the school had said all along they were negotiating a contract extension. Machen said Thursday the deal was basically done, just not signed.
At the NBA predraft camp, Donovan's former players said they hadn't heard anything about him switching jobs.
"I've talked to him, just not about that," Al Horford said.
Donovan replaces Brian Hill, who was fired after two consecutive losing seasons. Hill's ouster followed the Magic's first playoff appearance in four years, which ended in the first round against Detroit.
If he's going to go, now could be the best time for Donovan. Florida lost its top seven scorers after the season, including potential top-10 NBA picks Noah, Horford and Corey Brewer.
In Orlando, Donovan inherits a team without a single first-round draft pick -- or much veteran experience. Orlando is rebuilding around third-year player
Dwight Howard, who made his first All-Star team this season, and counting on bigger contributions from
Trevor Arizaa and
J.J. Redickk.
The Magic have vowed to re-sign free agent
Darko Milicic, who flourished despite an injury in the playoffs, but the 7-footer still has to prove his NBA value.
Besides the coach, the big question mark for Orlando is whether
Grant Hill will return. The often-injured star's contract expired this season, and he could opt to retire or chase a title elsewhere. If Hill leaves, it would open up a big load of salary cap room for a skilled offensive player.
Donovan has shown he can improve even mediocre programs. At Florida, a traditionally football-oriented school, he made it to the NCAA title game three times in his 11 years. He led the Gators to nine straight 20-win seasons, nearly doubling the amount it had before his arrival. Florida won three SEC championships under Donovan after getting just one in 77 years previously. He became the winningest coach in Florida history on Dec. 20 and now has 261 victories.
With the Magic, he'll face a similar challenge. Orlando hasn't been out of the first round of the playoffs in a decade.
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