Orlando Magic part ways with Coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith – NBA News
Orlando Magic have fired their head coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith in a much expected move.
Magic have had a tumultuous season both on and off the court. Their worries started when their All Star centre Dwight Howard asked for a preseason trade that took the basketball world by surprise and started
many rumours about the relationship between Howard and team management.
The issue reached a boiling point when during the season; Coach Stan Van Gundy said in a press conference that a high ranking team official had told him that Howard had requested the team management to fire the
coach.
That was the last nail in the coffin, and Orlando’s season went down the drain from there on. They did reach the playoffs and started it with a win, but lost in five games to the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
The Magic front office has finally gotten down to handling business and in the first move towards an expected complete shake up of the team; the management has fired Coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis
Smith.
"It's time for a new leadership and a new approach. We simply came to the decision that we were not on the right track” said team CEO Alex Martins.
After the falling off between Howard and Van Gundy, many were predicting this move to take place and it finally did, marking an end to the relationship gave rise to one of the most successful eras for the Orlando
Magic basketball team.
Martins did not give any specifics about the replacements of the two people that have been let go, but did say that he wanted to sign a new General Manager before the NBA Draft.
Martins had a great relationship with both Smith and Van Gundy and said that this say was “the most difficult day of my career”. Smith and Van Gundy have contracts extending to next season and the contracts will
be honoured.
So far, both Smith and Van Gundy have not made any comments on the decision.
Van Gundy was a successful coach in Orlando, leading his team to six back to back playoff appearances, including an Eastern Conference Championship in 2009. He has ended his affiliation with a 259-135 record,
and a 31-28 record in the playoffs.
Martins also said that he is hoping to fill the coaching spot with a coach who has the ability to form great relationships with players, and has the championship pedigree.
With the decision made, the spotlight now switches back to Dwight Howard, who is currently in Los Angeles recovering from his back surgery which had him missing the final few games of the regular season and all
of the playoffs. He has also opted out of the U.S Olympic team for this year’s Summer Olympics in London.
Howard is signed with the Magic till next season and the team management will now want to re-sign him for the next couple of years. Howard now needs to make a decision as to whether he wants to stay with Orlando
or move to a different team. If he does not sign a contract extension, the Magic might want to trade him.
"I think the decision is on Dwight now. Dwight needs to decide where his future lies” said Martins.
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