When Kevin Durant was selected by the Seattle Sonics last week, fans in the area began to get a little bit giddy over the possibilities of Durant playing alongside Ray Allen and possibly Rashard Lewis. Now, it’s Durant’s franchise. Allen was traded to the Celtics on Draft Night and earlier today, Lewis agreed to a max deal with the Orlando Magic.

The agreement between Lewis and the Magic was confirmed Tuesday by Tony Dutt, Lewis’ agent. “That he’s going to Orlando doesn’t change the fact that he had good years in Seattle,” Dutt said.

The exact value of a max contract won’t be known until the league announces the salary-cap figure in effect next season on July 11, but it’s believed to be between $75 million and $85 million over five seasons.

Before the regular season started, I told everyone to get on the Magic bandwagon. They rewarded my faith with a playoff sweep berth. Putting Lewis alongside Dwight Howard immediately bumps the Magic into the upper echelon of teams out east. Is a max deal too much for Rashard Lewis? Maybe. But you need to put some players around Dwight Howard, your franchise player.

Although the contract can’t be officially signed until July 11th, nabbing Lewis out of free agency is huge for the Magic. The guy is going to score, it’s that simple. He’s put up over 20 points a game the last few years and should make things easier for Dwight Howard to operate inside. Darko Milicic is expected to be a cap casualty as a result of this deal. But then again, Darko Milicic sucks ass so it’s not a big loss.

The Orlando Magic went through an embarrassing enough week dealing with Billy Donovan lready, it looks as if things are only going to get worse for the team. Within 24 hours of his hiring, about 200 season ticket packages were purchased (boy those Orlando fans really love their coaches) to see the Magic for this year. Now the Magic are offering refunds to those who bought the season tickets in the immediate aftermath of the hiring.

This reflects just terribly upon the Magic as an organization. The fans only wanted to see your team because of a specific coach, and the fact that he isn’t going to be there gives them a cop out of the tickets. I think it’s stupid for the Magic to offer the refund. The people knew what team they were getting themselves into when they bought the tickets, the only thing that has changed is the person on the bench, and really it shouldn’t matter that much. I think everyone has seen their favorite team deal with a coach they despised, but if that causes you to not attend games or to void your season tickets, then you have a problem as a fan.

The Magic didn’t announce if anyone had taken the opportunity to take their refund, but I’m sure there are a few peope who did, and it’s shameful. You aren’t paying to see Billy Donovan in a suit on the sidelines, or at least I hope you aren’t. You’re paying to see the five guys who take the court, and why the hell would a coach change your mind about that? I hope for the organizations sake that none of the fans take this way out, but I’m afraid it will happen and as a sports fan that disturbs me greatly.

With Florida Magic coach Billy Donovan plotting a return back to the Gainesville campus, NBA suits are pissed off. Should this flip-flop be complete, Donovan will lose a few things. For one, he’ll lose an additional 2.5$ that he won’t make at the University of Florida. But he also might lose a chance coach in the NBA for the next five years.

Multiple sources said that Donovan is being asked to refrain from coaching in the NBA for five years as one of the terms of his release from his Magic contract. Especially in light of this newest wrinkle, negotiations were expected to continue into Tuesday.

The decision really makes sense. When franchises fire coaches, it’s a big move. It means they want the culture of the team to change and for a new era to be ushered in. Because the “Donovan Era” lasted all of a weekend, the Magic are now in turmoil. Where do they go next? Who do they contact? Is Stan Van Gundy the man? These are all questions that wouldn’t have been asked if Donovan thought harder about what he wanted to do with his life.

Nick Saban stuck it out for a couple years before burning every bridge he had in the NFL. Rick Pitino stayed in Boston for a few years and got his ass handed to him. But if Donovan really wants to be at Florida, he needs to know it’s a commitment, which seems to be a tough thing for him to get through his head.

I always thought a contract was a written guarantee. In sports, that’s clearly not the case. You always hear about players demanding new contracts? just months after signing one. But the problem is also present in the coaching ranks. Look no further than Florida Magic coach Billy Donovan. Just days after signing a five year contract with the Magic, Donovan is reportedly wanting to return to his original position at Florida.

An AAU coach who has a player being recruited by the Florida staff said he learned through conversations with assistant coaches for the Gators and Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday that Donovan had second thoughts about his five-year, $27.5 million deal and had contacted UF athletic director Jeremy Foley about returning to his old job.

First, there was George O’Leary, who fudged his resume to get hired at Notre Dame before resigning in disgrace just days later. Then there was Dan Marino, who decided to quit his job as VP of Football Operations with the Dolphins just a couple weeks after signing. Now there’s Donovan, who has came to the same realization that we all had before. When you’re at the top of your sport, why switch to a sport that hasn’t been so kind to college coaches?

If you’re the Magic, you have to be shaking your head. This is a franchise with some pretty lousy fortunes. They’ve suffered through the losses of superstars like Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady and they’ve had another big star in Grant Hill destroy every part of his leg. They don’t have a choice in this matter, they have to let Donovan walk. If your coach isn’t committed to the job, your team will fail. Simple as that. If Donovan’s heart wasn’t into it, then walking away now is better than walking away halfway through the season.

Ever since Florida’s National Championship in 2006 there’s been whispers about Billy Donovan leaving Florida. Those whispers turned to roars following Florida’s repeat a couple months back. It looked like Billy D. would remain loyal to the Gators, even rejecting the once-prestigious job at Kentucky. Let’s see how loyal he is now. It’s reported that the Orlando Magic have offered Donovan their vacant coaching position.

Team officials told the Orlando Sentinel, which first reported the story on its Web site, that Donovan is expected to take the job. But as of 4 p.m. ET, multiple sources close to Billy Donovan confirmed to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz that Donovan has not accepted the job yet.

What’s this all mean? For now, we’re not sure. It’s no surprise that the Magic’s hometown paper would jump the gun on the announcement but until Donovan says anything, we’re unsure of it. Can Donovan’s style translate to the professional game? We all know the struggles that some college coaches have in the NFL. Rick Pitino, Pete Carroll, and Steve Spurrier come immediately to mind. The money ($6 million a year) and glamor of the NBA are definitely appealing but dollar signs shouldn’t be a huge influence on Donovan. After all, his new contract at Gainesville will pay him around $3 million a year, which isn’t a bad chunk of change.

The Magic have a couple pieces in Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson but you can’t beat the sports atmosphere at Florida. They’re twice-defending basketball champions and also the reigning champions in college football. It’s a fun time to be on that campus and I don’t think it’s worth trading for guys like Hedo Turkoglu.

Update: It’s official. Donovan has agreed to coach the Magic. The twice-defending champs now need a new coach. Press conference tomorrow at 11 AM EST. Good luck Billy, you’re going to need it.

If you missed last night’s game between the Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs, you missed one hell of a finish. In just .2 seconds, Dwight Howard showed everyone in the league why he’s one of the best young players around. And he also showed why I was so high on this team in the preseason.

Howard somehow pulled down an inbounds pass with just .2 seconds left, slamming it home for a Magic win. It had been over 4 years since an NBA game ended on a slam dunk. Highlights of the dunk are available here. The fact that Howard soared over superstar Tim Duncan is even more fitting. After all, it was Duncan who said he’s glad he’ll be out of the league by the time Howard enters his prime. Unfortunately for the NBA, Howard’s prime is still a few seasons away.

Howard showed great defensive prowess from the moment he entered the league. But now he’s adding a sick offensive game to go with it. He’s improved his scoring average from 12 points as a rookie to 15 points last year. This year, he’s averaging over 17. He’s exceeded the 25 point plateau seven times already this year. After scoring 30 points for the first time in his career last month, he’s now done it two games in a row.

Not to be forgotten was JJ Redick’s nice contributions last night. Redick came off the bench and scored 16 points, a season/career high. Redick’s first few months were pretty damn forgettable because of injury but he’s starting to find his way a bit. It’s a damn shame we haven’t seen the Magic on national television much. At least we’ll get a good glimpse of Howard in Las Vegas next weekend. He’s competing in Saturday’s Slam Dunk Contest and playing in his first All Star Game on Sunday.