The Oklahoma City Thunder hired Florida coach Billy Donovan to be their new head coach on Thursday.
Donovan replaces Scott Brooks, who was fired last week. Thunder general manager Sam Presti has wanted Donovan to be the coach of the Thunder for a long time. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but the deal is for five years, according to Fox Sports. Donovan recently agreed to a contract extension with Florida, but there was no buyout in the deal which made it easy for Donovan to leave Florida. He was scheduled to make about $4 million for the next four years, with $454,000 available in incentives, USA Today reports. Last year the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves pursued Donovan, but he declined both jobs.
"I am honored and humbled to be named the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. I knew that it would take a unique opportunity to leave the University of Florida and that is clearly how I look at this situation," Donovan said in a statement. "The Thunder represents so many of the values that I embrace as a head coach; the commitment to the team above oneself, the dedicated pursuit of excellence, the commitment to organizational culture, the identity they have established and the fact that the Thunder and the community are so intricately woven into the fabric of one another."
Donovan had been the coach at Florida for the last 19 years. This past season he led Florida to a 16-17 record and failed to make the postseason for the first time since 1997, according to ESPN. It was Donovan’s first losing season since 1998. He led Florida to two national titles, four Final Fours, seven Elite Eights, and 14 NCAA tournament berths. Donovan was 502-206 at Florida and Marshall.
The first job for Donovan will be to try to get Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to stay with the Thunder. Durant’s contract expires after next season, and Westbrook’s contract expires the season after that.