It looks like Florida head coach Billy Donovan will become the next head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, replacing Scott Brooks. As reported, Donovan and the Thunder started negotiating a potential deal on Wednesday.
Thunder GM Sam Presti is making a critical decision for the future of the franchise, particularly with Kevin Durant’s free agency coming up next summer followed by Russell Westbrook’s in 2017. There’s no question that this hire will have a direct impact on that future, and hiring Donovan comes off as somewhat of a gamble.
Apparently, Presti has not been in contact with the players about it. Via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Donovan has had an interest in trying to speak to the Thunder’s key players, including Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, before accepting the job, but it was unclear if that would be facilitated for Donovan, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Throughout the Donovan process, Presti hasn’t conferred with his top players, nor their agents.
I suppose this could be read in a few different ways. Presti and Donovan are old friends, so one might sense a hint of stubbornness in the sense that Donovan is Presti’s “guy” and no one else has a say in the matter. Although, Presti did show interest in hiring Kevin Ollie, which came off solely as a way to appease Kevin Durant.
This could also be viewed as a stubborn complex, but maybe Presti just feels that he knows what’s best. Maybe he hasn’t been pleading for feedback from his top players because he just thinks he knows them and what they want from their coach. Maybe he just really feels that Donovan can be that guy for them, and maybe they trust his judgment.
It’s still a bit hard to believe that Durant and Westbrook haven’t at least been funneled information about the process with Donovan and the plan to move forward. At some level they had to have expressed either their approval or trust in the decision, even if they weren’t consulted extensively. One thing is for certain, if there were any signs of red flags from those guys, Presti would hear about it and Donovan’s stock for the job would plummet. None have yet surfaced and thus Presti has moved forward with Donovan as the clear frontrunner.
