Orlando Magic went from a team that might be able to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs to one of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams in the blink of an eye. During that process, they fired their coach Jacque Vaughn and interim coach James Borrego took over.
Now it seems like the Magic coaching job has been talked about including everyone, except Borrego and those talks now include a name that’s been involved with the Orlando Magic for years now, even being named their head coach for about a week. Florida Gators head coach, Billy Donovan.
Following from ESPN’s Marc Stein.
There is a growing sense in NBA coaching circles that Florida’s Billy Donovan will give renewed consideration to making a move to the pros after a rough (by his standards) season in Gainesville. Although there is no firm indication yet that the Orlando Magic will pursue Donovan again when they ramp up their coaching search in late April, it’s a scenario that’s bound to be talked about.
Hopefully the Magic can talk to Donovan and prevent him from flip-flopping like he did before when they originally brought him in as the head coach. The last time though, it was a little different. That Florida Gator program was one of the tops in the nation fresh off winning 2 national championships. Now, well the program has taken a turn for the worst.
It just makes sense to bring Donovan in, he’s from the area and the fans would love a Florida guy as their head coach. Donovan is a skilled coach but the only problem he’s had this past season is the skill of his players recently haven’t matched his level of coaching. Some of his recent players have included Jon Horford, the younger brother of Florida alum Al Horford, Patric Young, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Nick Calathes and of course, the national championship team that included Marreese Speights, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer.
Do it Donovan, continue your success in the state of Florida. With such young, skilled talents like Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic, that trio could be a good start as a new head coach.
