With Billy Donovan leaving the Chicago Bulls, the former two-time college basketball national champion instantly becomes arguably the top coaching candidate out there for jobs in either the NBA or college. But while there's no shortage of teams that might want him, Colin Cowherd believes there are two that might sack their current coaches to bring him in.
On Tuesday's edition of The Herd, Cowherd made it clear that Donovan would be perfect for just about any team that wants to hire him. He then revealed that a pair of sources who predicted to him that Donovan would leave the Bulls have told him to keep an eye on the Orlando Magic as a potential suitor.
“I was told this weekend, two separate sources in the Eastern Conference … both said, ‘Keep your eye on Billy Donovan in Orlando,” Cowherd said.
“I said, ‘He’s staying in Chicago.’ They said, ‘He’s ‘weighing,’ not staying in Chicago. He’s weighing it.’ And remember, they love him in Chicago. This is not a Doc Rivers situation. They love him, the Reinsdorfs love him.”
Cowherd also briefly mentioned the University of Kentucky as a potential suitor, but didn't really give any explanation as to why the Wildcats would part ways with Mark Pope after two solid seasons.
“Orlando is ready to win now,” Cowherd said. “Even if you (Chicago) nail your picks, that’s like a three-year runway to get good, because they’ve made so many mistakes giving players away and missing on players. Orlando’s ready to win now. Now if Orlando beats Detroit in that series, I kind of got a feeling the Pistons are going to come back, blowout win… or keep your eye on Kentucky basketball.”
But he continued to sing Donovan's praises.
“This dude is hyper-competitive. He’s in unbelievable shape. I think he’s going to stay in the NBA, and I think people are out of their mind if they don’t consider hiring Billy Donovan,” Cowherd said. “And I’m not saying Orlando is going to fire its coach… I don’t like to see anybody get fired.”
Winslow Townson/Getty Images
Well, he may not want to say it, but he kind of has to imply that it will happen at least. Jamahl Mosley has led the Magic to the playoffs in each of the last three seasons after turning a team that struggled to win 20 games a year into one that consistently finishes above .500.
The Magic would need to have to make a bold choice to move away from someone who is working well to one that only might work better.
