After a grueling shortened NBA regular season and short run in the NBA playoffs, the Orlando Magic’s front office decided to clean house by firing head coach Stan Van Gundy and agreeing with GM Otis Smith to part ways. Both of these moves were expected with Van Gundy almost certainly on his way out and Smith clearly unhappy in Orlando.

Despite Van Gundy and Smith leaving Orlando being a forgone conclusion in the opinion of many, the consensus was that superstar center Dwight Howard one was one of the main reasons for the departure of Coach Van Gundy.

Before the end of the NBA regular season, Van Gundy said that Howard asked the Magic to fire him. With the Magic doing everything within their power to keep Howard in Orlando, the front office was willing to bend over backwards to retain the three-time Defensive Player of the Year even if it meant firing Van Gundy.

After Van Gundy was officially let go by the Magic, Howard came out to discredit any rumors of his role in the firing of the longtime head coach. At this point, Howard saying anything contrary to the fact that he forced the firing of Van Gundy has been considered ridiculous as he obviously played a role.

Howard admitted that he and Van Gundy occasionally didn’t see eye-to-eye, but has been adamant that he had nothing to do the firing. The future of Howard in Orlando is very much up in the air right now with the superstar center potentially still wanting out. With that being said, firing Van Gundy may have been pointless if it was to please Howard or some desperate attempt to get him to stay in Orlando.

Needless to say, things aren’t going well in Orlando as the Magic might look much different next season with a few moves being made over the summer.

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