Colleges

Donovan nearer to Gators return

The Magic's next target as coach appears to be Heat executive Stan Van Gundy.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH AND DAVE SCHEIBER
Published June 6, 2007

GAINESVILLE - The strange saga of Billy Donovan and the Orlando Magic might be coming to an end.

Days after Donovan stunned the Magic by asking to be released from his contract, lawyers for both sides met Tuesday and moved closer to finalizing a deal. Donovan resigned Friday from Florida and signed a contract to become the Magic coach. Shortly after, he began to change his mind.

ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that Donovan and the Magic have agreed upon a non-compete clause which will prohibit Donovan from coaching in the NBA for five years, one of the terms of his release from the contract. A final deal had not been reached late Tuesday.

Jeff Van Gundy knows his brother might be the biggest beneficiary of Donovan's decision to back out of his Magic contract.

But Van Gundy, most recently the Houston Rockets' coach, feels bad for Donovan just the same.

"He's a really good man who feels very badly that he's put the Magic in a tough position, " said Van Gundy, an ABC analyst who is close friends with Donovan and talked with him about this situation. "But he's following his heart and his heart is telling him that he should be at the University of Florida. And even though it took him a while to come to that realization, I applaud him for not living with a mistake but trying to rectify it."

Stan Van Gundy has two teams bidding for his services, with the Sacramento Kings and the Magic both reportedly offering him a job.

"I'm hopeful he gets another shot, " Jeff Van Gundy said of his brother. "He did a great job at Miami and he deserves another opportunity."

Stan Van Gundy's status might depend on how long it takes to unravel Donovan's contractual commitment to the Magic and whether the Heat will seek compensation; Van Gundy remains on the staff in an administrative capacity.

The Magic is represented by the Orlando office of Baker Hostetler, a 91-year-old Cleveland-based firm with more than 600 lawyers in 10 offices coast to coast. Among the firm's clients are Major League Baseball, ExxonMobil and IBM.

The final negotiations might be as much about rivalries as Donovan. In blocking his access to the NBA for five years, the Magic would effectively keep Donovan away from in-state foe Miami. Donovan and Heat coach Pat Riley are friends and Donovan has often been mentioned as a possible successor. The Magic could try to ensure that Donovan doesn't spend another few years in Gainesville then take off for the Miami job, and asking for that in writing is Orlando's prerogative.

That would appear to be a reasonable provision, said Thomas Ramsberger, adjunct professor of sports law at Stetson University's College of Law in St. Petersburg.

"From straight contract law theory, I think that's enforceable, " Ramsberger said.

In the case of a breached contract, he added, the Magic can say, "Well, I can't force you through the courts to be my coach but what I can do is file an injunction against other teams to prevent you from being able to be employed by them because you're under contract to me."

Ramsberger thinks one complicating factor would be that Orlando sold several hundred season tickets after Donovan's hiring, and those customers might want their money back.

"That's part of the reason the Magic is saying this isn't as easy as, 'Oh, let's have a mulligan and let's tee it up again and act like it didn't happen.' "

"If that's what is going on, it sounds to me like Orlando is saying they need to get something in return for this to compensate for the breach, " said Rick Karcher, assistant professor of law at Florida Coastal School of Law and director of the Center for Law and Sports. "What we can assume is that Orlando is just not walking away from this deal without trying to get something out of it. Because that would be an easy press release. That's a done deal; it would say, 'Orlando has released Billy Donovan from his contract.' End of story. Why aren't we hearing that?"

Donovan has hired his own attorney and the two sides negotiated Tuesday.

Legal experts said the complications might be highly specialized. If Donovan did not receive any money, based on contractual law it may make it easier for him to get free, if he meets the Magic's demands.

Times staff writer Brian Landman contributed to this report. Antonya English can be reached at english@sptimes.com Dave Scheiber can be reached at 727 893-8541 or scheiber@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 6, 2007, 01:30:01]