Wednesday Quickies: Billy Donovan Edition

Somehow, someway a coach of the year candidate lost his job on Tuesday evening.

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Sep 9, 2020, 6:40am EDT

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NBA: Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder

There are many NBA teams that quickly move on from head coaches. The coaching carousel in The Association is always quickly-revolving and job security doesn’t come easy for a NBA coach.

There are a few names in NBA coaching that come to mind when someone says job security. Until Tuesday evening, Billy Donovan was one of those names.

ESPN story on Billy Donovan and Oklahoma City Thunder deciding against purusing a contract extension and parting ways: https://t.co/uM6GAMVU7f
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020

After being dealt less than a 1% chance to make the NBA Playoffs, Donovan and his veteran point guard Chris Paul hustled their team to a respectable 44-28 record and the fifth-seed in the Western Conference. It was far and away the most efficient and successful year Donovan has had with the Thunder.

So when the news broke that they’d “mutually parted ways,” something didn’t line up. Nonetheless, Donovan is now on the job hunt and will surely find a new landing spot quickly. Most remembered for his back-to-back championships at Florida, Donovan has posted a 243-157 record in the NBA (winning percentage of 60.8%).

He’s been serviceable in the NBA and proved he can coach up players regardless of the situation. With plenty of holes in the NBA, Donovan should at least a few options to choose from on where he will land next.

Tweet(s) of the Day

On a personal note, it’s well documented what a great person Billy Donovan is, but wanted to share one quick story: When my daughter was diagnosed with a terminal condition, we had a benefit dinner to help pay for her funeral. Billy surprised us and came. pic.twitter.com/lMg88bg92p
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) September 9, 2020

In addition to being one of the best coaches of his generation, Donovan is also a great human being.

2019-2020 NBA All-Defensive teams:

First team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Ben Simmons

Second team: Bam Adebayo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe, Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2020

How about those NBA Wildcats!?!?