With a contract worth $5.5 to $6 million per year on the table, a Magic source informed SI.com on Thursday afternoon that an official announcement had tentatively been scheduled for Friday in Orlando.
link:SI.com - NBA - Donovan set to become Magic coach - Thursday May 31, 2007 5:57PM (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/05/31/donovan.magic/index.html?eref=si_ncaab)

Dick Vitalie says its not happenin.........

Dick Vitalie says its not happenin.........

No....

He said, "It's not happenin..............................BABY!"

What will all these coaches have in common?:

Donovan
Saunders
Brian Hill
Larry Brown



None of them will believe Darko can play.:stirthepot:

What will all these coaches have in common?:

Donovan
Saunders
Brian Hill
Larry Brown



None of them will believe Darko can play.:stirthepot:



But Sheed thinks he can.......:stirthepot:

Fox Sports is reporting (http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6883162) that the Orlando coaching situation might be on the verge of becoming very bizarre:

Billy Donovan is having second thoughts.

According to two sources close to the situation, the former Florida coach, who accepted the Orlando Magic job on Friday, is attempting to return to Gainesville.

Donovan agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Magic late last week, but has approached both sides about getting out of the deal.

According to one source, Donovan was forced to make a rash decision by the Magic management — and he regretted it shortly after agreeing to the contract.

What will all these coaches have in common?:

Donovan
Saunders
Brian Hill
Larry Brown



None of them will believe Darko can play.:stirthepot:

Hey, Low, now you went and got Donovan fired before he even took over. That is four out of the four :gun1: :nerd2: :nerd2: :nerd2: :nerd2: !!

I told you guys Darko was a coach killer. :pound:

Otis Smith - "Welcome to the Orlando Magic and good luck coaching Darko Milicic"

Billy Donovan - "Darko plays for Orlando?"

Otis Smith - "Yes, he's going to be our franchise player."

Billy Donovan - "Can I see that contract again?"

I told you guys Darko was a coach killer. :pound:

Otis Smith - "Welcome to the Orlando Magic and good luck coaching Darko Milicic"

Billy Donovan - "Darko plays for Orlando?"

Otis Smith - "Yes, he's going to be our franchise player."

Billy Donovan - "Can I see that contract again?"

:pound::pound::pound::pound::pound:

I look at the hiring of Billy Donovan as a pro-Darko move," Marc Cornstein, Milicic’s agent, told the Sentinel on Saturday.
Cornstein had said Milicic’s re-signing might depend on whom the club would hire as its coach to replace Brian Hill. (Orlando Sentinel)

Hmmm. Good thing they didn't go for Stan Van Gundy.



"Coach Donovan, from what I can tell from what he did at Florida and when he was with (Rick) Pitino at Kentucky, likes big guys who are versatile and athletic," Cornstein said. "Those seem to be his type of players. Darko fits that mold.



Well...he is tall.


So now that Donovan got scared off by Darko maybe Van Jeremy is next in line?

interesting. Darko's camp puts out a statement and the next day reports surface that Donovan wants out.

All kidding aside, there was a story on how the Magic put on this grand show to lure Duncan and Hill to the team. It was related to AMway? Is that still the case with the ownership.

The Magic are owned by the DeVos family, they are the AMway people.

the art of the hard sale. they did the ol' razzle dazzle.

Yeah, Orlando's stadium is now called Amway Arena. Apparently they've been trying to get local funding for a new building, without much success. This latest farce isn't going to help their cause very much on that front.

Looks like it is going to be The Hedgehog taking that job after all.

My interest with this story has more than one angle--not just the continuing PF.com Darko saga, but also because I'm a Kentucky fan, and Donovan-to-UK was the big drama that played out before he turned them down to stay at SEC rival UF (they play twice a year, not including potential matchups in the conference tourney). Now that he's pulling this ridiculous crap, I've definitely lost a lot of respect for him. You can't hate on the back-to-back NCAA ships, which has only been done one other time since the Wooden era (Duke in the early '90s), but this is an absurd way to treat your employers in the coaching business. Not to mention the fans and players of both teams, especially the new recruits at UF, who have to be wondering what the hell their coach is liable to do at any given moment from now on.

What a dip.

Donovan could be banned from NBA for 5 years - NBA - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18965269/)

What a dip.

Donovan could be banned from NBA for 5 years - NBA - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18965269/)

Perfect. He can come back and coach the Magic in five years....just when Darko will be starting to fulfill his promise as an NBA player.

Otis Smith - "Billy, your ban is up, and now we would like to offer you the Magic head coaching job again."

Billy Donovan - "That sounds great Otis. It's been a long 5 years and I am ready to commit now."

Otis Smith - "That's wonderful. We're going to have an exciting offseason, announcing you as our coach, and re-signing Darko Milicic to a new contract."

Billy Donovan - "Darko is still here? You are going to re-sign him?"

Otis Smith - "Absolutely. Darko's per 48 minute stats are off the charts, and he can run like a gazelle. He even made a 3 pointer two years ago."

Billy Donovan - "Please ban me again."

He just knew that Darko is essentially a coach on the floor and it would make him a lame duck.

Although he handled it in the worst way, I think Donovan made the right (second) choice for his career. College coaches have real control and long careers. The NBA is quite fickle. Maybe he should have called Rick Pitino before he made his (first) decision.

Reports have it that Pitino advised him to take the Orlando job, as the best opportunity to break into the NBA that he was likely to get.

Reports have it that Pitino advised him to take the Orlando job, as the best opportunity to break into the NBA that he was likely to get.

Maybe Pitino also advised him that breaking into the NBA isn't all it's cracked up to be.

So Pitino might have told him: "Dennis Scott's not walking through that door. Greg Kite's not walking through that door. Darko IS walking through that door. Your decision." :nopompom:

So Pitino might have told him: "Dennis Scott's not walking through that door. Greg Kite's not walking through that door. Darko IS walking through that door. Your decision." :nopompom:

Not just any Darko. A sunburned, tinted windowed, mustachioed Darko.

Van Jeremy will be the man.

Report: Donovan, Magic agree to nix deal; Van Gundy tabbed - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiXQ2iMPgZqc_2ggwo_42Yw5nYcB?slug=txdono vanmagic&prov=st&type=lgns)

Orlando Magic, National Basketball Association - CBS SportsLine.com (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/10214471)

from the WTF files
RealGM: Wiretap Archives: Magic Offer Van Gundy Coaching Job, But Heat Want Compensation (http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/46391/20070606/magic_offer_van_gundy_coaching_job_but_heat_want_c ompensation/)

from the WTF files
RealGM: Wiretap Archives: Magic Offer Van Gundy Coaching Job, But Heat Want Compensation (http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/46391/20070606/magic_offer_van_gundy_coaching_job_but_heat_want_c ompensation/)

Personally, if I were the Magic, I'd demand blood work and a really hot shower from Van Jeremy before offering him a deal.

I don't understand why Van Gundy isn't being given his job in Miami back now that his "family issues" are obviously resolved.... :stirthepot:

I don't understand why Van Gundy isn't being given his job in Miami back now that his "family issues" are obviously resolved.... :stirthepot:


That's funny. Here is a quote from ESPN 12/2005...


Van Gundy has always professed to being a family-first man, someone who abhors road trips and the idea of spending holidays away from his wife and four children. He said that because of travel, games and practices, he would have seen his children at home only 49 days out of 170 this season.
"That's just not enough any more for me. It's just not enough," Van Gundy said. "I mean, it's been like that for my kids' entire lives. I've got a 14-year-old daughter and it started to hit me when I started thinking about her birthday, which was last month. I've got four more years left with her. Four. And then she'll be off to college and I'm just not willing to sacrifice any more of those four more years."


I guess he could only tolerate a year and a half of family time.