Things Get Dirty as Orlando Magic's Stan Van Gundy Decides to Air It out

The Orlando Magic need to quiet this clash—and fast—or their championship hopes will be dashed and the team's once bright future will become a thing of the past.

The Magic are crumbling under the weight of a years-long drama concerning the future of the franchise.

In a very interesting and unfortunate chain of events, Stan Van Gundy has acknowledged that he is aware of Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard’s demands that he be fired.

The video from Orlandomagic.com is extremely telling about the current rapport between coach and player.

Stan Van Gundy says that he’s uncomfortable with denying that something's true:

“To come in and…no comment…deny that it’s true…That only thing that ever liberates me is to come in and be honest and deal with what’s out there. Some people have a hard time with that.”

A very obvious shot at Howard’s perceived indecision and his constant non-answers.

Howard seemed to fire right back, though, perhaps questioning Van Gundy’s focus in the midst of a playoff run.

The 6’11” center interrupts the interview with Van Gundy and addresses the gathered media, saying, “Yeah Stan we’re not worried about that.”

Orlando’s Superman turned interviewer and asked Van Gundy, “What’s our main concern right now?”

Both men replied that it’s “the New York Knicks”.

It’s clear that management is backing Howard and that makes sense in a superstar league where players make a lot more than coaches and speak with the power of guaranteed contracts.

Plenty of teams would be happy to have Van Gundy turn their franchise around and take them to the playoffs in his first year as he did in Miami and Orlando.

The Two Most Successful Figures in Franchise History Battling

It’s obvious that both men are great at what they do.

Dwight Howard is a proven star and the best center in the league. He’s the Magic's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and blocks

Van Gundy has coached the team into the playoffs every year he's led Orlando, and it would seem their careers have been intertwined in a very positive way. He is the franchise's leader in wins, playoff wins and postseason appearances as a head coach.

Howard and Van Gundy enjoyed a season of emergence in 2008-2009 as Howard won his first of three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Awards, the Magic upset LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals and Van Gundy helped lead the team to its first win in the NBA Finals during a 4-1 series loss against the Lakers.

Howard, a six-time All-Star, leads the league in rebounding, is fourth in blocks and third in field goal percentage this season.

Van Gundy, faced with such an uneasy situation, has held the team steady and despite problems with shot selection and defense, the Magic are 32-22 should be talking about prepping for another chance at a title.  

A Recipe for Disaster Finally Boils Over

Before the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season began, Howard demanded a trade—specifically to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks or New Jersey Nets.

Howard’s announcement that he would opt to stay with the Magic for the 2012-2013 season should have silenced the uneasiness between the two sides but things have only gotten worse between player and coach.

When the Magic lost by 22 points in a nationally televised contest at New York on March 28, things took another bad turn. The Magic allowed the Knicks to score 21 unanswered points and unfortunately Howard and Nelson were caught smiling away from the team huddle during the blowout.

Stan’s brother, Jeff Van Gundy, was working ESPN’s telecast and called attention to the players’ behavior.

In their next game, the Magic blew a 15-point lead and lost to the Dallas Mavericks at home. Van Gundy called out his team for missed shots, turnovers, shot selection, defense and missed turnovers.

Howard was 6-of-13 from the field and 7-for-16 from the free-throw line in the loss and though he had a solid game (finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds) he also questioned the Magic's shot selection late in the fourth quarter, when the Magic often seem intent on shooting three-pointers for better or worse.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and a rapidly shrinking lead against Dallas, Howard made a layup and was fouled, missing the ensuing free throw.

Howard did not take another shot in the game and Orlando’s jump shooters missed several three-pointers down the stretch as the Mavs came back to win.

Howard will play tonight against the Knicks for the first time since that loss, having sat out two games with back spasms.

Orlando currently has a four-game losing streak and the team has lost six of its last nine games.

Van Gundy has made it clear he would like Howard to make more free throws and develop more moves on the offensive end, while Howard has made it clear he would like Van Gundy to curtail the team’s three-pointers, get him the ball in clutch situations and most importantly encourage his teammates to play better on defense.

It would have been nice to see both problems solved and a championship banner brought to the city but when it hits the fan, no amount of Orlando Magic can fix things.