Stan Van Gundy's deal with Orlando Magic may be for 4 years, $16 million

A win-win negotiation ended Thursday with former Miami Heat Coach Stan Van Gundy taking over as coach of the Orlando Magic.Within hours of announcing they had let University of Florida Coach Billy Donovan out of his six-day-old contract to return to the Gators, the Magic completed negotiations with the Heat for the services of van gundy.In exchange for allowing Van Gundy out of the final year of his consulting contract, the Heat will receive a second-round pick from the Magic in the June 28 NBA Draft, plus other considerations.While the teams have yet to release the details of the agreement, an NBA source said the Heat also would have the right to swap first-round draft positions with the Magic in a future first round, likely 2008, provided Orlando's selection is not in the lottery. The Magic does not hold a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Should the first-round swap not be made, the Heat instead would receive a future Magic second-round pick.After Donovan backed out of a five-year, $27.5 million package, Van Gundy is believed to have received four years at roughly $16 million.Van Gundy had targeted the Magic as his desired destination since Brian Hill was dismissed as Orlando coach shortly after the regular season. However, because the Heat and Magic both play in the Southeast Division, Heat Coach Pat Riley, in his dual role as team president, stepped in and requested compensation.With the initial request involving a first-round pick, similar to the compensation the Heat paid to get Riley out of his Knicks contract in 1995, Van Gundy found the situation with the Magic at a stalemate and traveled Wednesday to Sacramento to consider the Kings' coaching vacancy.That, however, was when Riley and the Magic reached the compensation agreement that now will have Van Gundy coaching against the Heat four times during the upcoming regular season."Pat was great at the end,'' Van Gundy said Thursday. "The last call with him was fabulous."Van Gundy, who turned down an offer last month to coach the Indiana Pacers because of lifestyle concerns, said he arrived in Sacramento with the intention of pursuing the Kings' vacancy."I wouldn't have flown out there just to negotiate with the Magic. I know it was a crazy day, but why would anybody do that?" Van Gundy said. "When we went out there, we were not only thinking about it, we took stuff for the press conference and everything."There was not believed to be a Heat compensation demand from the Kings. The Heat are limited to two games per season against Western Conference Sacramento, which it could not face in the playoffs until the NBA Finals.The Kings were looking for a replacement for Eric Musselman, who was dismissed at the close of the season, after one year in Sacramento.Van Gundy stepped down as Heat coach in December 2005, citing family issues. He said by using the past 18 months to reconnect with his wife and four children, he was ready only now to commit to a coaching return."I didn't want to do it sooner," he said. "This year was the year. This is when I started thinking about it and wanted to get back in, but only in the right situation."I wasn't desperate to get back in. This was just from a professional and family standpoint the way to go."The Orlando job affords Van Gundy proximity to his parents, who live in the Miami area, and his mother-in-law, who lives just outside of Orlando in Lake Mary. The Sacramento vacancy offered a similar comfort zone, with Van Gundy raised in Northern California.With Riley yet to commit to coaching the Heat this coming season, Van Gundy was asked about possibly having waited for that job to reopen."The thing is," he said, "I wanted to get back into it now. I didn't want to be out a longer period of time or anything, and I did not want to go back as an assistant or anything like that."I felt if you're out longer, then it gets tougher to get back in, so I think that was all part of the timing also."Van Gundy joined the Heat as an assistant coach on Sept. 20, 1995 and took over from Riley as coach on Oct. 24, 2003. He left as Heat coach December 12, 2005, after recording a 112-73 record in his two-plus seasons as coach.It is possible Van Gundy seeks permission to bring some of his former Heat staff with him. Van Gundy had grown particularly close to Bob McAdoo and Keith Askins during his Heat coaching tenure, with the two now serving on Riley's staff. Van Gundy also is close with Erik Spoelstra, but Riley's lead assistant is now viewed as Riley's eventual successor.Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@sun-sentinel.com.