Stan Van Gundy Has Proven Worth in Orlando

Published: 9th May 12 7:17 pm
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Stan Van Gundy Has Proven Worth in Orlando
Howard Smith-US Presswire

Shortly before the end of the NBA season, it was announced that Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard would have back surgery ending his season. It was a season that started out with a trade request and ended with an awkward press conference where head coach Stan Van Gundy announced Howard has asked for his ousting.

Going into the playoffs, the Magic were given no shot against the Indiana Pacers. Without their star center, it was deemed an impossible task by many to even win a game. However, despite their 4-1 series defeat which ended Tuesday night, the Magic fought valiantly. While the series served as a disappointing end to a tumultuous season, it proved that Van Gundy leaving is not the answer.

Not much was expected to be taken out of what was predicted to be an early exit by the Magic. However, what was learned was that Van Gundy has immense respect from the players outside of Howard. Players such as Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson, and J.J. Redick spoke publicly about how they feel about their coach and how they do not approval of his possible dismissal.

The Orlando Magic will continue with or without Dwight Howard and it is still unknown whether he will commit to the Magic in the future. The team may have to lose either Howard or Van Gundy but losing both would set the team back exponentially. For all anybody knows, Howard could be gone already. If so, it’s imperative that Van Gundy remains to rebuild the team back to prominence.

Whether Otis Smith remains with the Magic as general manager or not, the decision of whether to keep Van Gundy will ultimately come down to whether the team will continue to attempt to appease Howard with the hope of him committing the team for the future or to do what’s best for the organization going forward without their franchise center. It is impossible to know how the players that will be in Orlando next season will respond to a new head coach if Van Gundy is fired but the final few weeks of the season showed that they will play for the one they have.

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