Billy Donovan agrees to five-year deal with Thunder

Done deal. The Thunder have agreed to a five-year deal with Billy Donovan to become the next head coach.

“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,” Sam Presti said. “We wanted to identify a person with the traits associated with high achieving leaders in their respective fields; a continuous learning mentality, the ability to adapt, evolve and innovate, intrinsically motivated, humility, and great tactical competence.

“While we created a comprehensive analysis regarding the qualities we were looking for, it became quite evident that Billy was the ideal fit for the Thunder as we look to transition our team into the future. Billy has achieved an incredible level of success and experience within his 21 years as a head coach and has shown the unique ability to not only create but sustain an elite program. His emotional intelligence, commitment to the concept of team, and relentless approach to incremental improvement have allowed him to bring his players together and establish lasting relationships through competitive success. Billy’s core values and alignment with our culture and community, as well as his proven tactical abilities, make him an ideal addition to the Thunder organization.” ‎

Donovan has spent the last 19 years at the University of Florida, where he won two national championships and appeared in four Final Fours.

“I am honored and humbled to be named the 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. “The Thunder represents so many of the values that I embrace as a head coach; the commitment to the team above oneself, the dedicated pursuit of excellence, the commitment to organizational culture, the identity they have established and the fact that the Thunder and the community are so intricately woven into the fabric of one another.

“To have the ability to work with such a talented and high character group of players is also rare, and I am excited to forge ahead creating those relationships. It is of course bittersweet as the University of Florida will always hold a very special place in my heart and in my family’s. I’ve had the good fortune of working with the best athletic director in the country in Jeremy Foley over the last 19 years, and I’ll be forever grateful and thankful for the opportunity and his friendship. Countless players, students, and other people in the administration were responsible for our success and for the meaningful connection we had with the Gainesville community. I have a deep appreciation for what the University of Florida will always mean to me and I’ll forever be a Gator.”

The Thunder fired Scott Brooks after seven seasons with the team on April 22. Donovan was immediately Presti and the Thunder’s focus to replace Brooks, with no other candidates interviewed for the position. Presti had made a number of trips to Gainesville in the last year to scout Donovan.

The Thunder have hired two of Donovan’s staffers in the last year, bringing in Mark Daigneault to coach D-League affiliate and Oliver Winterbone as an information analyst. Presti and Donovan have a previous strong relationship and have similar ideas about team culture and advanced metrics, which will provide added organizational synergy, something Presti highly values.

Kevin Durant is said to be on board with the hire, doing his own research of Donovan.

Donovan, who turns 50 next month, has flirted with making the transition to the NBA for a while, and was courted last offseason by both the Timberwolves and Cavaliers for their then-vacant positions.