According to a pair of sources close to the situation, the Magic offered Donovan
a six-year, $36 million contract Wednesday night. Donovan agreed to accept the
offer late Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.
The leading candidate to replace Donovan is former Florida assistant coach
Anthony Grant, who in his first season at Virginina Commonwealth, led the Rams
to a first-round upset over Duke in the NCAA tournament.
If Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley does opt to go with Grant, it's
likely that the top recruits Nick Calathes and Chandler Parsons will honor their
committments to Florida. However, point guard Jai Lucas, the son of former NBA
coach and player John Lucas, could opt to go elsewhere now that Donovan is
leaving. Kentucky is considered an option for Lucas.
Donovan is coming off back-to-back national titles with the Gators and was
set to sign a lucrative, long-term extension at some point in the next couple
weeks.
He had lost nearly his entire team after Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green all decided to go pro and sign with agents. Seniors Lee Humphrey and Chris Richard also graduated.
Shortly after winning the second national title in April, Donovan spurned
interest from Kentucky to remain in Gainesville.
However, Donovan has never denied the fact that he would be interested in
coaching in the NBA. He recently told FOXSports.com that he was happy at Florida
and would only leave for an ideal situation.
The job in Orlando could be ideal since it's nearby — and the Magic have
one of the best young stars in the game in big man Dwight Howard. Orlando will
also have some salary cap relief as Grant Hill's contract expires this season.
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