He said "no" two weeks ago, but something apparently changed Chuck Daly's mind about the Orlando Magic head coaching job.
Daly has agreed to a 3-year, $15 million deal to coach the Magic, NBC and the Orlando Sentinel reported, citing unnamed sources. Daly was due in town today when an official announcement is expected, the newspaper said in today's editions.Magic general manager John Gabriel would not confirm Daly's pending hiring. Reached at his office Sunday, Gabriel told the Sentinel: "We have had discussions, but no details have been finalized."
But NBC, in its pre-game show Sunday for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, cited unidentified sources that the deal was done.
The Sentinel said the Magic persuaded Daly to take the job after talks were renewed over the weekend.
Richie Adubato, who took over the team in February after a player revolt ousted coach Brian Hill, was told Sunday he still had a contract to return to the assistant coaching job he held for three years under Hill.
"I don't know what I'm going to do. This is a job I wanted," Adubato said. "I haven't pursued anything, but I probably lost one opportunity. It's the toughest thing I've ever had to deal with."
Daly, winner of two NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons, had rejected an informal offer from Gabriel on May 19.
The 67-year-old Daly, who led the Detroit Pistons to NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, last coached the New Jersey Nets during the 1993-94 season. He also coached the U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Along with Bulls coach Phil Jackson, Daly had been considered one of the team's two top choices. After he withdrew from consideration less than two weeks ago, he said: "They never actually offered me the job. It's a wonderful job, a great area. But for me it's not going to be there. Just one of those things."