Hey, at least Dan Hurley didn't take the job with the Los Angeles Lakers, then hesitated, hesitated, changed his mind, and backed out a few days later.

That's what Billy Donovan did to the Orlando Magic 17 years ago when, like Hurley, he had just won two straight NCAA championships and was the most coveted coach in all of basketball. Billy D. accepted the Magic's blockbuster contract offer, was introduced at a press conference, and Central Florida was overwhelmed by Donovan's delirium.

“It’s exciting to have America’s hottest coach join our team,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who sat in the front row at the conference at the packed RDV Sportsplex.

“Wow,” said Magic rookie JJ Redick. “This is a 'wow' hire. This is awesome. You couldn't get a better coach for our team or our city.”

Of course, everyone knows what happened next. Donovan got cold feet, changed his mind, and returned to coach the Florida Gators. The Magic were so upset that Donovan wasn't living up to his contract that they made him sign a non-compete agreement that prevented him from coaching any other NBA team for five years.

Hurley's snub from the Lakers earlier this week, while not quite as embarrassing as Donovan's about-face, was humiliating nonetheless. Please excuse my gloating, but is there anything better than seeing the hated, stuck-up Lakers, who usually get everything they want, get snubbed by a college coach who has finally come to his senses?

I believe this happened to Donovan in the summer of 2007, when he had just led the Gators to back-to-back national titles. The Magic were cracking down on Billy, who was just beginning to suffer the dirty business of college basketball recruiting.

Even though the Magic had just fired Brian Hill, even though they were battling their way into the playoffs with a 40-42 record, they were an up-and-coming team built around a young Dwight Howard. Donovan, who grew up in New York a Knicks fan, seemed euphoric about making the jump to the NBA, but then perhaps the same thing happened to him that seemed to have happened to Hurley earlier this week.

After the courtship is over and you get the big salary offer (the Lakers reportedly offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million contract), you realize that as a coach in the NBA, you won't really have complete control over your team.

You have to answer to an owner, a team president, and of course, multimillionaire players whose salaries far exceed yours. An NBA team's analytics department has more to do with roster construction than you do, and often the GM even tells you which players you need to have on the court.

Who will ever forget former Magic head coach Scott Skiles voluntarily quit his multimillion-dollar job in a fit of frustration because former GM Rob Hennigan was interfering in the hiring of assistant coaches and the discipline of players?

Seriously, why would a great college coach like Hurley want to leave a dynamic, dynastic program at UConn to go to a dysfunctional, weakened team like the Lakers, where he takes his orders from LeBron James?

Hurley has a chance next season at UConn to become the first coach since the legendary John Wooden to win three consecutive national titles. Why should he go from being the next Wizard of Westwood to being the next Frank Vogel or Darvin Ham or Mike Brown or any of the other six head coaches the Lakers have hired and fired over the past 13 years since Phil Jackson? Why should he go from being a living legend to being a living layman?

“I don't know why Dan Hurley turned down the Lakers and stayed at UConn, but it's probably the same reasons Billy changed his mind about coaching the Magic,” said former UF athletic director Jeremy Foley, recalling the tumultuous days when he thought Donovan would move on to the NBA. “Billy told me then that he finally realized he had built something special at the University of Florida and was happy coaching the Gators, so why leave?”

Especially when there are plenty of other ways to get to the NBA at any time. Donovan finally had a change of heart and left UF to take the job as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder when the team still had superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Hurley will also have even better opportunities in the coming years if he wants to coach in the NBA one day.

As for the Lakers, maybe they should hire Stan Van Gundy like the Magic did when Donovan turned them down. It was one of the best things that ever happened to a franchise, as Van Gundy led the Magic to the NBA Finals and became the best coach in the organization's history.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure Stan would even consider the Lakers job after becoming one of the NBA's most sought-after TV analysts. However, keep in mind that one of Stan's former Magic players, JJ Redick, is now considered one of the favorites to coach the Lakers after Hurley turned them down.

Yes, the same JJ Redick who, as a rookie, was wide-eyed when Donovan's delirium turned into Donovan depression in Orlando.

Who knows, maybe JJ will be to the Lakers what Stan was to the Magic.

As the great NBA expert Garth Brooks once told us, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

Email me at [email protected], contact me via X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6-9:30am on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen.