So I Guess the Magic are Done.

I'm slow reporting this news because it took some time to analyze this. The Orlando Magic have fired coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith. SVG and Smith are responsible for assembling a team with the 4th highest winning percentage of the last 5 years, including an appearance in the NBA Finals 3 years ago, where they lost in 5 games to the Lakers. Dwight Howard reportedly wanted both men gone on condition of his staying in Orlando at the end of his contract and re-signing, but the latest reports from inside Howard's camp say that he still wants out, most likely because the Magic organization has made no effort to assemble a proper team around him. The Magic's loss in the NBA Finals can be directly pointed at SVG's insistence on playing the injured Jameer Nelson over Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston who had been instrumental in leading the team to the Finals, as well as refusal to double-team Kobe Bryant, a move that is seen as a no-brainer by the other 29 coaches in the league.


After the Finals loss, Otis Smith either traded away or did not re-sign every role player that got them to the Finals, including trading away Dwight Howard's backup center, Marcin Gortat and obtaining the incredibly questionable players Vince Carter and Gilbert Arenas. Since losing the NBA Finals, the Magics' strategy seemed to be assembling a 12-man rotation made up of Dwight Howard and 11 3-point shooters. The experiment has continued to fail, notoriously after Howard went down with a herniated disc before the playoffs this year.


If Dwight isn't satisfied with this, nothing will satisfy him. Although SVG isn't a great coach, there aren't many coaches out there with stellar resumes as free agents. Mike D'Antoni has become notorious as a coach who can't teach defense or command respect, and although Jerry Sloan has expressed interest in coaching the Magic, my gut says that he will coach the Bobcats as a favor to his friend, Michael Jordan. ESPN continues to talk nonsense that Phil Jackson will coach the Knicks, which I find hilarious since they are now in the final stages of signing Mike Woodson to a contract to remove the interim label on his head coaching position, but I bet ESPN will find some way to talk about how Phil will coach the Magic, because that's totally an ideal situation.


There is one coach out there that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned, Don Nelson, the winningest coach in NBA history and infamous for his ability to handle volatile personalities. He isn't retired, the Warriors decided to fire him when they changed owners and no team has decided to pick him up yet.