Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have officially terminated head coach Scott Brooks, their search for his replacement seems destined to lead them to Billy Donovan.
According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Donovan was considered a "serious candidate" well before the Thunder fired Brooks. Wojnarowski reported last week the Thunder were reevaluating Brooks as their coach and were eyeing college coaches such as Donovan and UConn's Kevin Ollie.
Ollie effectively pulled his name out of the running for any vacancy, leaving Donovan as arguably the most likely college coach to jump to the NBA. As Wojnarowski reported, Donovan may be a frontrunner for the Thunder job given his longtime friend Sam Presti, the team's owner.
During last year's offseason, Donovan agreed to coach the Orlando Magic only to call of the deal and return to coach the Florida Gators. After a disappointing season in the SEC and a failure to make the NCAA Tournament, Donovan may be less hesitant about leaving the college game.
Many unnamed sources around Donovan have told Wojnarowski and other media members the coach has been eyeing the NBA for some time. Now even a former player is going on record saying he expects Donovan to make the jump.
Speaking on the "Dan Patrick Show," Wizards guard and former Gator Bradley Beal said his college coach will "definitely leave" Florida.
But if Donovan is actually ready to coach in the NBA, other teams will come calling as well. Wojnarowski reported last week the Denver Nuggets have Donovan on a list of potential candidates to reach out to.
