Despite nothing but success in both of his sunshine state stops, Stan Van Gundy has left a blaze of unforgettable exits from his two NBA head coaching tenures.

In Miami he wanted to spend more time with his family. In Orlando (despite compiling an impressive 259-125 record, going 31-28 in the playoffs), Dwight Howard apparently wanted no part of SVG in his basketball family.

And so, the outspoken, oompa-loompa looking brother of TV Analyst/Former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy is gone. Fired from a job he did exceptionally well in; One could argue, almost too well. A product of a team that exceeded expectations in a run to the 2009 NBA Finals, resulting in expectations that his team was never able to match from there on out. Questionable trades that netted guys like Vince Carter and Gilbert Arenas, ultimately cost the free-wheeling Magic the flexibility to improve a very flawed roster, and despite a beautiful palace of an arena in downtown Orlando, the Magic eventually maxed out, culminating in this season’s grand fiasco: a first round 5 game ouster to the Pacers with Dwight Howard saddled with back surgery.

2008-09: 59-23 / 1^st in Southeast / Defeated by Lakers in NBA Finals 4-1
2009-10: 59-23 / 1^st in Southeast / Defeated by Celtics in East Finals 4-2
2010-11: 52-30 / 2^nd in Southeast / Defeated by Hawks in First Round 4-2
2011-12: 37-29 / 3^rd in Southeast / Defeated by Pacers in First Round 4-1

The downward trend from championship caliber to first round fodder is easy to spot, as Orlando has dropped down at least a notch every season since their surprise 2009 Finals run. In 2011-12, a lockout shortened season, they just about dropped off the grid and if Howard leaves, they might not even contend for the playoffs at all.

So Van Gundy is gone. GM Otis Smith is gone. The last power broker left in Central Florida is ’so called’ Superman, who has put himself in an unenviable position. He can’t win any longer, unless he wins… in Orlando. But once again, despite supposedly getting his wishes for new leadership accommodated, Howard still reportedly wants out.

Good luck with that Dwight.

If he truly cares what people think, and if loyalty really matters, Dwight will stay. If he’s chasing a ring as his Twitter so adamantly suggests, then he’s gone too. The Magic have the league’s second largest payroll and they’re a franchise in total disarray.

But the way this mess has panned out in the public, ending in debris of blue and black scattered about, Howard has officially left himself as the last possible savior on a sinking ship. And an outstanding suspect for ruining a previously well run franchise. You can’t help but get the feeling he’s ready to jump.

But when he does inevitably skip town, he better be ready for the ridicule. If he thought this season was bad, wait till he goes somewhere else and faces LeBron like pressure. Everyone is already drinking the “Dwight can’t win a title as the go-to guy of a franchise” kool-aid. Just wait till he teams up with someone else’s star and the first time he falls short.

***

After those 2009 Finals, I wrote an article posing the question of whether Howard could make that next step: the step towards an unstoppable offensive game. I asked whether he was mature enough, whether he could be a true leader, whether he would take on the blame when things went wrong (and this was well before any sign of future turmoil was in sight).

Yes, he’s only 23, and yes, he didn’t even go to college, so he’s still relatively new to this whole “handling the pressure” thing, but if I had to give Howard a grade as a team leader, it wouldn’t be all that high.  What bothered me most is it was never anything he could have done better.  It was always someone else or the team.  The great ones take it upon themselves, but you never seemed to hear from Howard during this surprising playoff run that he would, “work harder” or “play smarter” or that his foul shooting “cost the team the game.”

For a player who has so much talent, and so much potential, it was somewhat disheartening to see that Howard still has a lot of growing up to do.  Even though he didn’t pick up a technical in the Finals, Howard needs to learn to control himself better.

3 years later those questions are as pertinent as ever.

Howard has yet to take that next step. And his likability and leadership skills have regressed to the point where some Magic fans want to run him out of the city. The same fans who were ready to erect a statue for the guy had he just kept his yap shut and gotten better.  While he’s improved his short shot, he’s still a two-trick offensive pony that is limited in his ability to take over games.

That contagious smile of his evolved into a sarcastic one, and all that good will behind the once great kid (doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, has strong faith) developed into diva-like tantrums and repulsive amounts of drama, unbecoming of a true ‘leader.’

The Magic were built around Howard and he is simply not good enough to anchor a championship team. There I said it.

He needs help. He needs a good support system that gives him advice which doesn’t run his once sterling reputation into the ground. Eh, it’s probably too late for that.

***

Back in January 2011 I interviewed Magic Director of Player Personnel, Adonal Foyle (who allegedly has interviewed for the GM position, though he denies it). I asked him at the time about Otis Smith’s decision to pull the trigger on getting rid of Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, Vince Carter, and Rashard Lewis. This is what Adonal told me:

“Nothing surprises me with Otis, because unlike most GM’s he’s constantly there.  He’s always present, he’s at every shoot-around, every practice, he travels with the team, he watches every single game that these guys play.  I think in many ways, when he does something it’s because he sees something.  He knows that something needs to get done.  He’s seen it.  It’s not theoretical, it’s very basic in practicality.  Obviously when you have guys that you’ve been with awhile, you’re emotionally connected to them and you obviously become a part of their inner circle of who they are.  But when things aren’t working and you make a change it doesn’t make it easy.  It just makes it business that you have to do.  Things that you don’t normally want to do, but it may be in the best interest of the team.  So I think those decisions have been very difficult to kind of lookout and watch, but at the same time I understand them.  I understood them in a way, just by being there, seeing how diligent he is, that he’s earned the right to make those decisions because of how he is as the general manager.”

Well, he’s not there any longer and that trade ultimately did Smith in, who had a few chances to reshape Orlando’s roster to elite status but failed. Bringing back Hedo flopped. Taking on Gilbert Arenas’ massive remaining contract was an epic fail. That trade brought on the demise of the team.

But Howard could’ve signed a contract extension for years, which would have in turn given the team superstar stability. Then maybe another star would have been interested in Orlando. He didn’t. No superstar washed up in the Magic Kingdom, and Howard was left with spare parts that shot themselves out of the playoffs. You already know about the on-again off-again trade rumors that persisted this past season, and that epic Van Gundy media shakedown was as awkward as it gets.

So now, after one of the strangest seasons one franchise has dealt with in some time, the Magic are starting anew, hoping their front-line center sticks this time, because they’ve bowed to his every need. The Magic are on their hands and knees worshiping at the altar of Dwight, fearing another decade of irrelevance if he bolts like Shaq.

Everyone is to blame for this epic disintegration of the team hierarchy, but Dwight is the poster-child.

The Magic have done everything they can to appease their centerpiece. Now the ultimate question becomes, does he really care?

Or is this all just one giant game for Dwight the puppeteer.

With the Magic literally on his strings.

Photo: AP

The short term and possibly long term future of NBA franchises hang in the balance.  Reload or rebuild. Take a chance or blow it up and start anew.

Dwight Howard is available.  Rajon Rondo is being dangled as trade bait.  The Lakers already tried to ship Pau Gasol out of town but David Stern had other plans. These guys must be sitting there in their workout rooms, with their dumbbells and maybe even their boxing equipment, ready to take out their fluid uncertainty onto something.

While suspense movies are a popular genre, generally the people in them, don’t exactly lust for the question mark that is their fate as they bounce around room to room not knowing whose behind the next door or behind them for that matter.

Howard has asked for a trade, even giving the Magic a list of teams he’d like to be dealt to, but Orlando has yet to oblige to their superstar’s wishes. Instead Orlando is trying to deal for another guard or wing guy to pair with Superman, to convince the larger than life defensive monster to stay.

The Magic don’t want to slip into irrelevance after being one of the NBA’s contenders for the past 5 or so years. They don’t want to go from talked about title contenders to playoff-locks to lottery-locked.  And if they trade Dwight they want to get something they can build off of.  They want picks, players, and they most desire another marquee name to sell tickets.

But really, they just want to keep Dwight.

Any trade they make of him, could blow up in their face, whether it be picks or salary crap contracts they might bring in. They certainly don’t want to be Detroit, where they unload the old guard (Chauncey Billups was the first domino to fall and then came Rip Hamilton, etc.), and end up with a bunch of over-priced mismatched nothing. It’s a tricky situation for the Magic who want to win, and believe they can bring a title to the city of magic with a little sly maneuvering.

But if Howard leaves and Orlando gets nothing, then the Magic end up with another Shaq like gap in their franchise, and it took a long time and a lot of mediocrity to land Dwight Howard. Or in laments terms, a fall to the very bottom to land the number 1 pick.

In this economy, with fans careful about how they spend, we’ve seen how trading your star can annihilate a fan base’s zeal. The Hornets dealt Chris Paul and the no name team they field on a nightly basis struggles to draw any kind of buzz in the Crescent City. While some cities like Portland are hard-core NBA towns no matter what, there are more cities that only show up for winners.  With D-Wade and no one else, the Heat were a middling team struggling to draw fans.  With LeBron, Bosh, and Wade Miami has sold out every game since.

So you have to have stars and you have to win if you want to stay afloat and in the limelight in the current economical landscape. The Nets know this, with their Brooklyn departure in 2012 their big chance to start over.  But really, they’re just hoping to have a machine in place, the dream scenario pairing Deron Williams with another star. The nightmare of course is Deron bolting a listless Nets team for a team like Dallas, or anyone else already winning right now.

The Suns were a hot ticket with their Seven Seconds or Less showcase and sold out games season after season. A number of bad personnel decisions later, and even with Steve Nash in tow, the Suns are a struggling franchise stuck in neutral, struggling to draw butts to the seats. They too have the difficult decision of whether they want to keep the 38 year old fan favorite or if they want to trade him while his value is still high. It’s certainly not a fun position to be in.

The Celtics are an iconic franchise with the most banners in the sport, but Danny Ainge realizes that their aging Big Three can no longer carry the load that led them to 2 NBA Finals appearance and one championship. While uber-popular and unbelievably successful as a unit, the demise of the Big Three has been swift, and as they currently stand, Boston would barely make the post-season if the season ended today. While potentially scary as a post-season spoiler, Boston is old and slow, and expecting them to make another title run is silly and short-sighted. Hence, their best asset, Rajon Rondo is up for grabs. While he can’t shoot, and he’s probably not a franchise player, Rondo has proven to be elusive, dynamic, and clutch. Anyone would take him.  But what is he worth?  That’s the question Boston is feeling out.

In this shortened season, this year’s trade-deadline isn’t so much about getting that extra piece, but it’s about figuring out the future. Do the Lakers believe they can win with their current cast of players, or is breaking the bank for someone new, the way to go?  Owner Jerry Buss is on record saying he’s not looking to up the ante on the team’s salary, so any move they make is likely to be some kind of swap of pseudo stars.  What is Pau Gasol worth?  Can he be the linchpin to a title team not linked to Kobe? Is trading him and Bynum worth it if you can get Dwight?

With so many big names’ status unknown with the deadline upcoming, it also leaves teams like Houston and Golden State in interesting positions. The Magic want Monta Ellis reportedly, but rumor has it that Golden State is trying to put together a package to get Howard. The Magic want to pair Howard with Ellis, so you can see why the math doesn’t add up. The Rockets are enamored with Gasol, and the Nets know they have to appease their star point guard or he’s off to the races with another team.

Bit players will be dealt, they always are, but their trade deadline could determine futures of franchises. The move you make (or don’t make) now could burn or boost your team for years to come. The Nets and Magic could end up with dynamic unstoppable duos, or empty-handed come season’s end. The pendulum could swing one way or another.

People forget that Miami could’ve been left at the altar had Wade left for New York or Chicago.  Bosh was only going if Wade was there, and LeBron was only going if both were locked in.  The Heat could’ve been New Orleans, star-less, young, and hoping for a high draft pick to rebuild.  They could have been Cleveland after LeBron left them.  But the balls bounced beautifully for the Heat who landed all 3, and in essence had a title team over night. Had the Suns gave in, and locked up Amar’e Stoudemire, despite his checkered injury past, maybe they too could be a limelight team.  Instead, they passed, choosing to fill the void with Hakim Warrick and more Channing Frye.  The Suns later traded for Marcin Gortat, a trade that led to the demise of Orlando’s title chances.

Had the Suns kept Amar’e, the Knicks don’t get him, and if New York doesn’t land that big star, they probably don’t draw Carmelo, and if they don’t draw Anthony, most likely Tyson Chandler stays in Dallas.  It’s a ripple effect in sports. One move can make a franchise.

That’s what makes this deadline so intriguing is the ramifications it has on everyone. Once one piece falls, the others will follow. The NBA’s power structure cold be staring at another restructuring.

So no pressure NBA general managers.

None, whatsoever.

Photo: AP

SHANE SMITH

Cousins has just begun his second season with the Sacramento Kings and has created some of the most underreported locker-room turmoil in the NBA.

Cousins, who was known as a problem child whilst playing for the god-father John Calipari at Kentucky, has demanded a trade(allegedly)  from the Kings who invested the 5^th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft on him.

The Kings knew what they were getting themselves into when they drafted Cousins ahead of Greg Monroe, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Paul George to name a few, but they could not have fathomed that one year into his rookie contract he would be (allegedly) demanding out. This isn’t some situation where a player is griping over playing time or production. Cousins has played in over 28 minutes per game and has started the season averaging over a double double. This demand just seems to be about a lack of connection to the team’s culture and Cousins’ character.

“Kings coach Paul Westphal released a statement before Sunday’s game against New Orleans, saying when Cousins “continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.””-ESPN.com

The Kings seemed to be heading in a great direction, with Cousins at the core of the team. Now they have to regroup and may be set back immensely due to Cousins inability to control his ego. Teaming up Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thorton, JJ Hickson, Chuck Hayes, and Jimmer Fredette,  Cousins and company was primed to be a force in the future of the Western Conference.  Now the Kings have to see what best offer they can get for this freakishly talented cancer.

Cousins is a player of immense talent, and immense stupidity. It doesn’t take more than googling “DeMarcus Cousins fight” to find dozens upon dozens of different incidents where Cousins takes a cheap shot at a smaller player (poor Luke Ridinour), cries about a call, or gets ejected for his second technical. It is pretty remarkable to actually see a team be willing to remove its top 5 pick from a year ago and give up working with him; that alone speaks to the self-centered bonehead Cousins truly is.

Now the question remains, who takes a shot on DeMarcus? What teams can handle his idiocy to be able to see a return of investment with his talent for the long haul?  Will someone be willing to deal a first round pick for him or will the Kings be forced to take back next to nothing for a player with all-pro potential? With all the trade chatter lately focusing on Dwight Howard maybe the potential of sending Cousins to Orlando opens up a three team trade chat, or maybe an aging team lacking an inside presence like the Celtics gives the kid a chance.

Regardless of who the Kings end up selling Cousins off to, all I know is this… Cousins will not succeed in the NBA unless he moves to a no non-sense team. Cousins best shots would be in Boston with seasoned veterans and Doc Rivers, San Antonio with Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich, or maybe as a rebuilding piece in Cleveland under Byron Scott. Who knows where Cousins ends up, but honestly if this guy can’t survive a year with his talent on a team like Sacramento, I think his lack of maturity is going to cost him an incredible career. (and honestly I hope it does and his childish behavior sets an example for future players to not follow)

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

Here’s what we know.  Leagues shouldn’t own teams.  Because when the interests are mixed between what’s right for one team, and what’s right for all, you get dumbfounding situations like Thursday, when an agreed upon trade which would have sent all world PG Chris Paul to the Lakers, gets vetoed, by one, David Stern.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wrote another epic letter, this time to the commish, telling him that amongst other things, “it would be a travesty” and that the league should “just change the name of the 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals.”

While Gilbert is taking a lot of heat for this email, which was published by Yahoo! Sports, it raises some good points:

1. How did we get here?

How did we get to the point where every big-time player the NBA has, just lines up behind one another (like it’s Black Friday or something) and basically dictates where they want to play?  People want to blame LeBron and friends, but this goes much further back than that.

Remember when Alonzo Mourning refused to play for Toronto after being traded to the Raptors in 2004?  He bought his time, until they bought him out ($10 million to do nothing, where can I sign up?) and eventually landed with the Heat where he helped them bring home a title.

Ironically, the same deal that sent Mourning to the Raptors was also the one that shipped Vince Carter out of Canada.  Air Canada was “to Canada what Michael Jordan was to the Bulls,” said Donyell Marshall at the time.

That was over 7 years ago.

Today the problem seems to only be getting worse.  Superstars are forcing the hand of their teams, with many trying to dictate where they land.  It’s becoming sickening and exciting as a sports fan to watch; sickening, because well, no one seems happy playing for 25 of the NBA’s Washington Generals teams anymore and exciting because these super teams are fascinating to watch.

No matter what side of the fence you’re on, it has made the NBA almost more interesting off the court then it is on the court.  But small market teams are reeling as their home-grown stars flee for greener pastures in bigger cities.

Of course there are two sides to every story, so I’m not 100% sympathetic to owners either:

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, who were critical pieces in Los Angeles’ rise back to greatness, were merely pawns in L.A.’s offer to get Paul.  Andrew Bynum, who the Lakers have been dangling for years, could be next if it nets them almighty Dwight Howard.  The point being that loyalty is a two way street.  Some players are extremely loyal, and so are some owners.  But at the end of the day it’s a business and money talks.  And money is a real loudmouth.

So we’re left to ask ourselves: whose side do you take?  Do you take one at all?  You have to remember: owners sign players, then market them, profit off of their jersey sales, ticket sales, etc.  Basically they use each other.  And sports is one of the few professions where as a player you can’t just leave any time you want to work for another team/company.  If I’m a copywriter at a Minneapolis ad agency and I decide that I’d like a change of scenery, some nicer weather, and maybe some more seasoned team members to work with, I can try to find a job in Los Angeles or Miami or wherever. No one can stop me.

In the NBA you have free agency.  When you hit free agency you’re free to do whatever.  Under contract you’re a team’s property.  So I see both sides.  I see the rich players who get tired of an unstable or uncomfortable situation and decide they want to move.  I see the fans of these small market teams and how it breaks their heart to see their heroes defect for brighter lights and bigger cities.

The argument I don’t get is the attention one.  Look, if Dwight Howard wants to go to Los Angeles or Brooklyn, then so be it.  But if his reasoning is that he can be a bigger star there than he ever could in Orlando, I don’t buy it.  Superman is a household name to just about every casual sports fan, and if you asked a non-NBA fan to name a few current NBA players, besides Kobe, Wade, and LeBron, you’d have to think Dwight would be right up there.  If he wants to live in a bigger city, where you can actually experience seasons, get more opportunities to be in the public spotlight (aka: TMZ), and maybe do some acting or whatever, then I can understand the L.A. or Brooklyn argument.

It’s a sticky wicket.  We see these players as millionaires doing something many of us would do for free, and our first reaction is to tell them to quit complaining, enjoy their absurdly high paying job, and shut the heck up.  But when you look beyond money there’s an argument for both sides.

2. When everyone becomes the Washington Generals, you find yourself staring at something close to resembling a monopoly. That’s a scary thought for the NBA and it should be.

We hear the line all the time in pro sports: big markets equal big bucks.  It’s why FOX jumps for joy when the Yankees or Red Sox make it to the World Series.  It’s why ABC cringes when a team like the Spurs (small market by sports standards, not by city standards, cause that city is huge) gets to the NBA Finals.  Football is unique in that we will always watch the Super Bowl and even the playoffs, no matter who’s in it, because football is as much a star driven sport as it is a team one.

So back to the NBA:  What do you do when the rich keep getting richer, and the small market teams keep getting more irrelevant.?

Bosh’s trade to the Heat effectively ended any relevance in the U.S. that Toronto ‘s NBA team had.  Quick, name 3 Raptors starters.

LeBron’s defection to the Heat led to a 25 game losing streak for Cleveland last year and the eventual number 1 pick, which who knows, could lead to another star in Kyrie Irving who, defects after 7 years himself.

The Nuggets had to appease Carmelo Anthony in an awkward 4 month circus, before they finally dealt him to the Big Apple, a trade he basically forced upon them, because he wouldn’t go to New Jersey.

And now you have Paul, telling New Orleans I’m leaving (though I can’t blame him given the disarray that team is in) and Howard telling the Magic that he’s got one foot out the door too.  Utah knew they weren’t going to be able to resign Deron Williams so they dealt him to the Nets last year.

It’s a mess, and it only figures to get worse as players try to form their own super-star laden teams, while the talent pool runs dry for everyone else.

The NBA lockout was supposed to address these issues, but really the issue is pretty much out of their control.  Besides blocking trades, the NBA can’t wrap electric wire around the Staples Center or Madison Square so that future stars can’t get in.  Players will sign where they want to sign, but a league of 5 haves and 25 have nots can’t possibly be good for business.  Even if the haves are in attractive locales like New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles.

3. When the better team gets the better player, the better situation, and somehow ends up in better financial position than they were previously, putting them in play to became a rockstar super-team, and the league owns the team that’s letting it happen, how can they go through with it?

Gilbert also wrote this:

I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard. (They would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.)

This is a dicey situation for the league.  For Stern to regulate a trade and say this is fair and this isn’t, well, it totally undermines general managers around the league to do their job.

And what does the NBA want exactly?  If you don’t want a player under contract to dictate his destination, fine him if he demands a trade.  Suspend him.  Put some kind of system in place that destroys these situations before they ever occur. Because once you start making judgement calls on player transactions than your credibility takes a massive hit.

One thing the NBA should have addressed is its buy-out policy.  These empty contracts that teams trade for are ridiculous.  You want to blame big market teams, fine.  But the small market ones didn’t help this problem by trading away stars for expiring deals.  That said, the NBA needs to understand the impact of its actions and if this was about “basketball,” as they so claim, and not competitive balance or the rich getting richer, than how did the Pau Gasol trade, which years ago looked like the greatest fleecing in sports history get approved at the time?  The NBA doesn’t want to go down this path, just like the NHL doesn’t want to own the Coyotes beyond this year.  Owning one of your league’s teams is a giant contradiction and the NBA needs to find a solution to the New Orleans situation and fast.

Gilbert’s in a rough spot. His team is in rebuilding mode post-LeBron and he sees that places like Cleveland don’t attract big-time stars.  He probably fears that any star the Cavs can groom, will eventually want out too for a more glamorous destination.

But unless we put every team in a massive market or warm weather climate, there’s going to be some imbalance.  The NBA’s problem is not just monetary.  The Hornets would sign Chris Paul to a long term max deal in a minute; same with Orlando and Dwight Howard. But if those guys don’t want to be there, there’s little you can do about it, except get the best value for them possible before they bolt.

Super-teams are both good and bad.  Look at it like this: the Big 12 usually has a few really good teams at the top each year in college football and a lot of middle-tier teams and bottom feeders; though the Big 12 is usually in the BCS title game picture every year, its overall strength from top to bottom changes drastically as you move down the ladder.  Then you have the Big East, which this year was a free for all because every team was so mediocre.  The Big East was much more balanced, but far less interesting.

Now back to the NBA, which seems to want both competitive balance and super-teams.  The NBA wants what the NFL has: that chance for your team to improve drastically overnight and into a contender.  Every NFL team goes into each season with the belief that they can make the playoffs.  And with the exception of Buffalo and Detroit, new teams each year usually do.  But super-teams means super ratings, and more interest in the league than a bunch of mediocre squads playing bumper cars with each other.

Super-teams are far more likely to capture the interest of your casual fan than two ho-hum equal teams duking it out.

The NBA wants both, but I’m not sure in this economic climate that it’s feasible.

You’re either going to get teams like the Heat with LeBron, Bosh, and Wade or you’re going to get a bunch of teams like the Nuggets (good teams with quality players, but none who stands out).  The owners don’t want super-teams if they’re the ones who can’t attract ‘em.  But guys like Mickey Arison and Jerry Buss can’t be blamed because they have the resources to put these squads together.

In sports, just like life you can’t please everybody.  Right now, the NBA doesn’t seem like it’s able to please anybody.

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

The man with the million dollar smile and the multi million dollar contract sat on the podium, taking questions from reporters just minutes after a discouraging game five no show, in which his team’s season was on the line (but you would have never knew it by the way he played).  You could see his frustration, but you couldn’t tell if he was crushed.

Dwight Howard may be called Superman, but for much of these NBA Finals he was anything but.  And if Superman was selfless, Dwight came across as selfish the more and more this post-season progressed.

He had his flashes of greatness, moments that left you in awe, like his dominant game four performance in overtime against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals where he simply torched Cleveland’s bigs for 10 points in OT, refusing to let the Magic lose.  His game for the ages performance in game six of that series, 40 points and 14 rebounds, knocked the Cavs right out of the post-season and clinched a finals berth for Orlando for the first time since 1995.

But just like 1995 the Magic lost in the Finals, and I know I may not be popular for this opinion, but I put much of it on Howard.  Unlike Howard who never seems to put it on himself.

Yes, he’s only 23, and yes, he didn’t even go to college, so he’s still relatively new to this whole “handling the pressure” thing, but if I had to give Howard a grade as a team leader, it wouldn’t be all that high.  What bothered me most is it was never anything he could have done better.  It was always someone else or the team.  The great ones take it upon themselves, but you never seemed to hear from Howard during this surprising playoff run that he would, “work harder” or “play smarter” or that his foul shooting “cost the team the game.”

For a player who has so much talent, and so much potential, it was somewhat disheartening to see that Howard still has a lot of growing up to do.  Even though he didn’t pick up a technical in the Finals, Howard needs to learn to control himself better.

As for the tendency to disappear when he doesn’t get involved early?  Well, let’s just say Shaq never did that.  Howard claims that he wants the ball in his hands, but oftentimes he doesn’t seem to do everything in his power to make that happen.  I know the Magic are a jump shot happy team, but Howard can’t let that style take him out of games, especially important ones like the NBA Finals.

Just imagine the story we’d be writing today if Howard had an offensive game.  Take away his baby hook and wide open dunks and Howard has no offensive game.  His athleticism has gotten him this far, but he’s going to have to expand his offensive capabilities if he wants to become an elite player.

There were some games were you couldn’t help but buy the hype that the future of big men had arrived.  But there were other games where the big man looked lost.

That’s the problem.  For a team with no great players, and many good ones, the Magic need consistency from Howard not just defensively, but offensively to make the leap from good team to title team (and Patrick Ewing, his big man coach, is one hell of a former player to learn from).  They need Howard to run to the post, out-muscle his defender for position, take the ball up strong, and establish a presence down low.  Against guys like Anderson Varajeo, Howard looked like a stud.  But against the stronger Lakers Howard had moments in the series where he looked flat out confused.

And his foul shooting, well we won’t even go there.

What Howard needs to do this offseason is develop a much more well rounded offensive game.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, but he needs to add an 8-10 foot jump shot.  He needs to learn better how to catch the ball in traffic and go up strong.  For such an imposing dunker, didn’t it seem like there were times where Howard played really small?

Howard’s dilemna is that he doesn’t have the body frame of a Shaq to push people around, or the shooting touch that Tim Duncan came into the league with basically right out of college.  Maybe Howard would have developed a jump shot had he gone to college, maybe not.  But if he wants to make that step, that transition to greatness he needs to take the bitterness that yesterday’s loss provoked and turn it into motivation.

He needs to hit the gym, and work his tail off to improve.  Guys like Kobe and Wade have a desire and a hunger to get better, and their work ethic backs that up.  For Howard to become great he has to want it.  Right now he’s a good player with a larger than life nickname.  You would think Howard wants to be more than that.

Behind those pearly white teeth and that muscular physique is a man that needs to grow up.  He needs to become a leader, to put the pressure on himself so that he can take it off his team-mates.  Howard has the talent, no one denies that.  But does he have the drive?  Does he have the selflessness?

The sky is the limit for Dwight.  But for Superman to really start to fly he has to take that next step.

The fate of a franchise’s fortunes for the next five years and beyond are riding on it.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

Before I unveil the big news, let it be known that this is not a joke.

A huge company is unveilling a new ad for the NBA Finals tonight, and (GASP) it doesn’t feature LeBron James or Kobe Dean Bryant.

Okay, did you catch your breath, take a glass of cold water, find a nice place to sit, do what you need to do to take in the news?

Good!  Here goes then: Dwight Howard is getting his own Vitamin Water ad.  In fact, thanks to our big high falutent connections, we have already seen the ad (trust us, it’s good) and we’re offering you the chance to check it out too.

But more importantly, we’re giving Kudos to Vitamin Water for giving Howard a chance to show that he has the best personality of all the elite NBA players, including (GASP) Kobe or LeBron.  Superman is funny and comes across as genuine and real.  It doesn’t feel like he’s getting a million dollar check shoved down his pocket so he can force out a smile.  That’s what’s great about this commercial.

See it for yourself… After a word from our sponsors (get it, get it, cause we’re showing you a commercial)!  But seriously, see it after the jump.

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

They asked if Dwight Howard could stop joking around for just a few months, and finally get serious. They wondered if Stan Van Gundy, “the Master of Panic” was a good enough coach to take his team beyond the conference finals and into the championship.  They figured it was inevitable that the NBA was going to get their dream final of LeCleveland and the Black Mamba.

They were wrong.

Five years ago the Magic were the worst team in the sport.  Tonight, they’re kings of the Eastern Conference, sending The King home, and leaving Cavalier fans doomed to the thought of another post-season closer to his impending free agency.

There’s no question that Dwight Howard is a sensational talent, but tonight (and this series in general) he finally put everything together, going from great player to arguably elite.  Howard brought his cape tonight, and he looked like the Man of Steel.  Superman scored 40 points and 14 rebounds and completed his ascent from Defensive Player of the Year to Simply Unstoppable!

Van Gundy and Orlando finally came to their senses, and realized that Cleveland was powerless (and kryptonite-less) against Howard, feeding him the ball like a fat kid going after cake, and Howard delivered, out-muscling, out-hustling, and out-hustling Cleveland’s interior to the tune of anything he wanted.  When the Cavs doubled him, Howard found the open three point shooter.  When Cleveland let him go one on one, Howard destroyed Cleveland’s bigs.

And he made his foul shots too going 12-16.

Welcome to the show Howard.  His 14-21 shooting was just a tip of the iceberg for the Magic, and an Orlando team that looked like a nice story going into the post-season following a 59 win season, is all of a sudden four wins from their first NBA Championship.

Without All Star Jameer Nelson, the Magic were still able to shed their soft image, and bring the defensive toughness they needed to really make a move in the East.  Yes, they caught arguably the biggest break of the post-season with the Celtics playing KG-less, but no one can ignore the Magic now.   They’re for real, they earned this, and this team is no fluke.

They’re not a gimmicky team any more that lives on the perimeter.  Now they’re a mentally tough team that goes inside first, and burns you on the outside with their lethal three-point shooting.

Mickael Pietrus had another terrific game, nailing three more triples, and finishing with 14 points.  What a find he’s been for Orlando.

But it was a team effort for the Magic.  Whether it was Howard camping out in the paint and mutilating the Cavs inside or one of Orlando’s many slashers taking it to the basket and creating mismatches all over the court, the Magic exposed Cleveland, and sent the Cavs home.

We were all witnesses this series to the maturation of Dwight Howard.  Yes, he picked up some bad fouls in tough spots, but big men tend to do that.  What Howard did this series was seize the moment, use his size and power to overwhelm the Cavs while lifting the Magic (a perceived good team) into the NBA Finals.

I have to admit: I didn’t think Howard was an elite player going into this series.  Too many times in the past he had settled for bad shots, or wasn’t aggressive enough.  But that all changed after game five of the conference semifinals, when he called out Stan Van Gundy, demanding the ball in crunch-time.  Since then, he’s been a force (including the show he put on in overtime in game four), and the Magic, not surprisingly have gone 6-2.

“We’re not satisfied,” said an elated, but focused Howard on the podium after the win (and who can blame him either?  This team believes).

Whatever happens in the Finals, the NBA can’t be disappointed about this matchup.  Yes, BronBron versus Kobe would have been amazing star power, but Orlando is no slouch.  Not any more.  Not with a superstar of their own in Howard, and a supporting cast that just might be good enough to get him an NBA title.  Not with a “team” that plays together, shares the ball, and plays hard every night.  The Magic don’t have any prima donnas and when Howard stays out of foul trouble, and when the Magic are hitting their threes they are a tough out.  Beating the Lakers, who have a lot more talent than Cleveland will be a tough challenge but it won’t be impossible.

Will they do it?  I’m not ready to predict that just yet.  But these NBA Finals should be great.  No, wait, make that amazing.

The dream matchup of a perfect, epic final is slowly fading away for the NBA. What was once thought to be a lock is now slowly disappearing. If I were the gambling type I would have put some serious cash on LeBron James and his Cavs completely annihilating the Magic. I would have thought Kobe Bryant would have torn through the Nuggets. But then again sports and their athletes are fickle and anything can happen to change what had all but been assured.

Now don’t get me wrong, a Cavaliers-Lakers matchup could shake out to be the final, but all signs point to at least a few games of the championship being played in Orlando (not Cleveland). The Lakers are heading back to the finals after destroying Denver in game six, but people weren’t exactly thinking about a Kobe/Dwight Howard dream final—no offense to Howard, but this is the MVP’s team he could possibly oust.

So without a dream final what do fans have to look out for? Well, luckily just because sports are unpredictable does not mean that they are lifeless. Yes, a series minus LeBron would be a surprise to fans a few weeks ago (especially those in Cleveland who believed LeBron when he said his range was “unlimited”) but this does lead to the underdog storyline that audiences crave. Orlando fought their way through the playoffs with seven torrential games against Boston, eventually taking the series in the Celtics’ house. This is now the team that is likely to win against the Cavs—a team led by the league’s MVP who is putting up 30 plus points a game. This Orlando team is just the little engine that could. So why not root for the little guy, why not hope for a series that includes the underdog?

So Orlando wasn’t the dream we all thought about. No we didn’t play scenarios in our heads about Dwight battling Kobe and the Lakers. But sports are a world of unpredictability, where every team can have its night and turn their season around. While David Stern and networks may worry over this series not being as hyped as a Cavs-Lakers final, it’s still something to get excited about. Whether it’s the Cavs or Orlando, who take on L.A. this is still the NBA Playoffs and like the commercials say this is “where amazing happens.” So even if King James doesn’t end up facing KB24 we should just sit back, watch and enjoy it anyway because sports, like life, are unpredictable.

Photo: AP