Magic’s Van Gundy gone after season, Otis Smith to follow?

With all this drama surrounding Dwight Howard and his alleged desire to have his head coach Stan Van Gundy fired, people forget that Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos also put general manager Otis Smith’s fate in Howard’s hands.

And although Howard publicly washed his hands of those responsibilities in the press there is still the belief that he will have a big say so in whether either one of those guys will be working for the Magic next season.

So it occurs to me that Smith has a lot more to gain from saying that the allegations against Howard were false. Van Gundy is a sure goner and that was probably before his public declaration that Howard wanted him removed.

Smith on the other hand has been able to hide in the shadows throughout all of the controversy and struggles that the Magic have had this season. Sure his name comes up every now and then but he is usually the forgotten participant in all of the Magic’s drama when stories are being written about the sad state of this franchise.

And it doesn’t help Smith’s credibility if he removes Van Gundy at Howard’s behest, especially if it's seen as an olive branch to help ease the tension that also exists between him and Howard. Howard has stated publicly in the past that management had not moved on some of the trades that he favored.

That is Smith’s department so even though Howard never called out Smith’s name specifically, everyone in the media knew who he was referring to. Orlando has had one of the highest payrolls for years and it is no secret that DeVos is willing to spend money to bring a championship to the Magic Kingdom.

So Van Gundy is not the only person in Orlando feeling the squeeze from the Dwight Howard situation. Van Gundy is out as soon as the Magic are put out of the playoffs this season but will Smith find some way to salvage his own job out of this mess? If he doesn’t, it won’t be for a lack of trying.

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.

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