Trending News|May 01, 2015 09:56 EDT
Oklahoma City Thunder NBA 2015 News: Billy Donovan Named Next Head Coach
The Oklahoma City Thunder never had a chance this season, with injuries derailing their campaign every step of the way. And while it was on the hardwood, and players said they've had their troubles, they decided to make a change on the bench. Following the firing of then head coach Scott Brooks, the Thunder have agreed to terms with Billy Donovan to be the next Oklahoma City head coach.
As noted by the official team release, Donovan becomes the third head coach in franchise history after spending the past 19 years at the University of Florida, where he led the team to two National Championships and four stints in the Final Four.
"We are thrilled to welcome Billy and his family to the Oklahoma City Thunder organization. When we began the process of identifying the next head coach of the Thunder, we started with a vision and the identifiable qualities that we felt were necessary for our organization as well as the ever-evolving role of the head coach in today's NBA. We wanted to identify a person with the traits associated with high achieving leaders in their respective fields; continuous learning mentality, the ability to adapt, evolve, and innovate, intrinsically motivated, humility, and great tactical competence," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said.
While terms of the deal were not officially disclosed, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that sources say the deal is for five years and $30 million.
"I am honored and humbled to be named 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.
Donovan will be tasked not only to lead a promising Thunder team, but also to convince its stars who entering free agency, Kevin Durant after the 2015-2016 season and Russell Westbrook the year after that, to stay with the franchise.