Donovan is Leaving

<p>Ohhhhhh Myyyyyy</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/06/01/ap/sports/d8pftoto0.txt%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/06/01/ap/sports/d8pftoto0.txt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I guess $28.5 million over 5yrs can buy anyone.</p>

<p>I dont think money had much to do with it. He was set to make 3 mill a year. Magic gave him 5+ mill a year. Theres no way billy could have spent 3 mill a year and he wont spend 5 mill a year. The reason hes going to the magic is for a new challenge.</p>

<p>I think it's a good move. Money is of course an issue, but he's done pretty much all he can do at Florida and it is time for him to try to take his coaching skills to the next level. I wish him luck.</p>

<p>Since he is now pro, he can probably get noah and others to play for him.</p>

<p>Yeah ASMAJ, I hate pro ball and even though I live in Orlando have no interest in the Magic even if Billy is there, but if he could get a former gator to play for him again I would def. watch.</p>

<p>I wish him luck even though it sucks that he is leaving.</p>

<p>theres a good chance he can't draft noah, brewer, or horford for the magic unless they are unexpectedly drafted later in the round...they are listed at top 10 picks and orlando isn't in the top 14 as the magic were in the playoffs</p>

<p>I don't know much about the draft, so I have some questions.</p>

<ol>
<li>If they get picked by another team, could they turn them down and wait for the magics to pick them?</li>
<li>Can they join the team, like a walk on or something?</li>
</ol>

<ol>
<li><p>No, it would be against their draft contract. The only way is if their team trades them for a future first rounder plus money. But that will come exclusively from the team's management. </p></li>
<li><p>They already declared for the draft. There are tryouts for teams, but those players usually come from players who went undrafted and decided to play in Europe to develop their skills so that a team can sign them. But even so, in a business sense, it would be a bad idea for Brewer/Noah/Horford. They are very marketable players and so they will be able to leverage a higher salary coming into the league through the draft rather than walking on the team. This is not to mention that it would be pretty awkward that three of the hottest players in the draft have to resort to trying out for the team. It wouldn't make much sense.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Because Orlando lost its 15th pick for Detroit (from a previous negotiation), they will have the 44th pick. So there is no way they will get BHN. BHN are projected to be top 10 picks. But regardless, Donovan doesn't need BHN to have a good team, he has a lot of talent to work with. It's all about coaching at that level of the game. He has most of the players (Dwight Howard is a beast) to make a strong team.</p>

<p>Yeah, I was definitely upset when I heard this. But, he basically has done everything he could have at Florida, but I would have liked him to stay even longer. I'm hoping we get a good coach, I've been hearing rumors about getting Anthony Grant who was Assistant Coach for Bill Donovan for 10 years so his techniques are very similar to Donovan's. I do wish him the best coaching in the NBA [even though I've never been a big fan of the Pro's..NBA, NFL etc].</p>

<p>This sounds like sour grapes, but I think Billy made a mistake. Pro coaching is different than college ball...the pros have guaranteed contracts, and player talent is (IMO) more important in the pros than it is in college. Billy’s headed to a mid-pack team at best and he won’t have the level of influence he had at Florida. He may very well be considered just another also-ran failed college coach in another 5 years. I think he would have done better to stay at Florida until he could have gotten a gig with a major-city team.</p>

<p>Still, I wish him well. He did the Gators proud.</p>

<p>The magic dont have a first round pick this draft. they traded it.</p>

<p>supposedly he's having cold feet about it :)</p>

<p>Yeah, I think he read my post #11. You guys can thank me later. lol.</p>

<p>Donovan wants out </p>

<p>By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
June 4, 2007</p>

<p>After working throughout the weekend to free himself from his freshly minted $27.5 million contract with the Orlando Magic, team officials apparently have stopped trying to change Billy Donovan's mind and allowed him to return to the University of Florida. </p>

<p>The Orlando Sentinel reported on its web site early Monday morning that the franchise had relented and allowed Donovan to back out of his agreement, though the Magic maintain that the dialogue between Donovan and the team will continue. Foxsports.com first reported the story of Donovan's desire to return to Florida, where he had won back-to-back NCAA titles.</p>

<p>I think Orlando's hands are tied with this. If they don't let him go, it might become a huge PR issue since hes so loved but i guess it can go either way...</p>

<p>This just in...Magic to release Donovan from deal according to ESPN</p>