Could Billy Donovan eventually head to the NBA? According to the Florida head coach, the NBA is “intriguing in a lot of ways.”
Donovan has flirted with the NBA before, and earlier this month, the Florida coach said the he has received some calls from NBA teams about their coaching vacancies. However, Donovan has been consistent in saying that he is happy with his situation in Gainesville.
Via CBS Sports:
Per the Associated Press, on Tuesday Donovan said, “I think when you start making guarantees about life and start making guarantees about where you’re going to be, that’s not good because if for some reason I ever change my mind and did something, I wouldn’t want (people) saying, ‘Well, he promised, he guaranteed, he said this on record.’ I just think when you start doing that, that’s a mistake.”
Certainly. Donovan’s coached in college for two decades now. He just completed a four-year run wherein he made a Final Four after reaching three straight Elite Eights. The Gators are set up to be good again next year, but you could see how this is an opportune time for him to take a chance in his career (and earn even more money). Donovan turns 49 on Friday.
Remember, he briefly left Florida for the Orlando Magic in 2007, only to double back and stay with the Gators less than a week later. Provisions in his contract made it near-impossible for him to flirt with the NBA after that; those provisions/that contract were wiped clean when Donovan signed an extension of three years to his deal this past winter.
“All I can say is I love Florida, I’m happy here … the school’s been great to me,” Donovan said, per the AP. “But at the same point, some of the NBA stuff, as I’ve said before, is intriguing in a lot of ways — the basketball part of it. That’s not to say that I’m unhappy here; that’s not the case at all.”
