Donovan Contacted...You Saying Van Gundy Isn't Pretty Enough?

Well, the Magic finally did it. They contacted Billy Donovan to gauge his interest.

On one hand you have to say to yourself, "Sweet. Maybe there is the outside chance Donovan will coach the Magic. Not bad!"

On the other hand you have to say, "Well...when asked if he would coach the Magic, didn't he say last week that "My focus is on coaching at the University of Florida,'' and "I look forward to sitting down with Jeremy (Foley) and Dr. (Bernie) Machen and finalizing a contract in the very near future"?

One might also say, "Wait a second, if the Magic are just starting to speak to Donovan and the other candidates now, they really WERE doing absolutely nothing in that 3 week lull before they fired Brian Hill. All those 'the team is talking with Donovan' and 'they're secretly meeting with coaches' articles and statements fly out of the window and mean we literally sat on our hands on an organization until Bob Vander Weide came back from a trip to Michigan."

Ya know. One might say this.

Still, that aside, the Magic would look like morons if they didn't at least try. I'm pretty sure that is the organization's thinking as well. Billy Donovan is poised to be one of the highest paid college basketball coaches, has made the University of Florida into a powerhouse, and has established his name as one of the greats in the game.

The Magic know they are basically trying to lure Gollum away from the ring here, and I'm sure that is part of the reason they mentioned other names before his in the college coach search. If their first move was to talk to Billy, when he turned them down it would be yet more egg on the face of a team that seems to pride itself on fitting as many yolks on their mugs as possible. Now, they throw Donovan's name in there, nonchalant and smooth, and if he doesn't take it...ah well. I would like to see Otis Smith when he goes out cruising for girls. He probably dangles his phone number out, smiles, and says, "You can take my number, ladies, or not. It don't make no difference to a playa like me." At this point Otis then winks, escorts a girl out, and says, "Works every time" like Billy Dee Williams in the Colt 45 ads.

Still, as slim as the chances are of Donovan coming, contacting him at least makes things interesting. The team is obviously looking for a big name to help push their attempts at a new stadium through. The lack of a big fancy name and attractive persona is is what many people cite as the main reason behind Stan Van Gundy not being contacted yet. This is madness. In addition to being one of the best candidates for the job, Stan the Man has those movie star good looks and swagger that a coach needs. Who wouldn't be turned on by these images?

Hmm....well okay maybe they have a point there. Still, I hope the Magic contact and seriously consider Stan.