Oklahoma City Thunder and Billy Donovan parting ways is the right move

The Oklahoma City Thunder parting ways with Billy Donovan makes sense for both sides.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the biggest pleasant surprises in the NBA this season, so on the surface, the team’s mutual decision to part ways with head coach Billy Donovan seems surprising.

Dig a little deeper, however, and it actually makes a lot of sense for both sides.

For starters, although the Thunder were a highly enjoyable, playoff-caliber team this season, the roster could look drastically different after the upcoming offseason. Chris Paul revived his trade value with an incredible year with this young Thunder squad, and with the length of his contract (only two more years) slightly mitigating its staggering financial blow ($85.6 million), OKC could be trading its best player for another bevy of future draft assets and young players.

Danilo Gallinari, another key piece on both ends for the Thunder, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. So is Andre Roberson, and both Steven Adams ($25.5 million) and Dennis Schroder ($15.5 million) only have one year remaining on their deals.

Between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley and about 26 future first-round draft picks accrued in the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trades, the Thunder are heading for an inevitable rebuild, whether it comes in 2020-21 or the following year.

With the final year of Billy Donovan’s contract up after the 2019-20 campaign, which ended in a solid year but a first-round playoff exit, it made little sense for both sides to negotiate a deal. He had proven to be a good but not great coach, particularly come playoff time.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski described their discussions as “collaborative” and “realistic,” while adding that the decision to split was an “amicable” one. With the NBA’s offseason timeline and salary cap line still in a state of flux, there were too many questions about OKC’s short-term plans for the two sides to come to an understanding.

Now the Thunder get the chance to hire a new coach to usher their youngsters into a new era, while Donovan instantly becomes one of the more attractive coaching options on a market where several NBA teams still have vacancies.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, he will be a candidate for the open Philadelphia 76ers job:

It may seem like a strange and sudden divorce, but it’s actually better for the kids — and everyone else involved — this way.