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

NEIL DOUGH

Stan Van Gundy is still awake. He’s sitting in his hotel room breakfast nook, reading his morning paper, gently sipping on his mocha choka latte, and throwing down his Denny’s Grand Slam. He is also smiling from ear to ear. In his mind the Magic got away with one last night, and that is what he is going to tell his team. “We didn’t get beat, we beat ourselves.”

The Magic were not going to win game one last night. They could of doubled their terrible feild goal percentage from 30 to 60, and still would of lost. They could of fed Dwight Howard the ball on every possession, fouling out Bynam and Gasol at the same time, and it wouldn’t of mattered. Jameer Nelson could of sparked the Magic with 20 off the bench, but Stan Van Gundy is happy he didn’t. He’s smiling because now they have an excuse, a reason as to why they lost game one that he can actually build on. Deep down though he knows the truth. Kobe wasn’t losing game one. No matter what the Magic did.

There were moments in the 2nd and 3rd quarter where Kobe Bryant played like he was possessed. He looked hungry, mean, and determined. He wanted the ball on every possession, got the ball on almost every possession, and took it to the Magic every time. Aside from the moments where Kobe seemed to be on a planet all his own, the Lakers played unbelievable defense. The doubles on Howard, the perimeter defense on Hedo, and holding Rashard Lewis to only 8 points went a long way to sealing the game one victory. Poor shooting in the NBA is usually the result of great defense, and last night was no exception.

We will see how good of a coach Van Gundy really is in these next few days. He is definately going to blame the loss on poor defense and poor shooting, but will he make any adjustments? Will he tell his team to just play better d-, and hope the shots fall? Because on the other side of town sitting in the living room, still awake and burning insence there is a coach with heavy hands, and he is smiling too. He has Kobe Bryant.

Photo: Reuters

NEIL DOUGH

If there is ever a fight, or a tussle, even an argument in an NBA game, I still look for Jeff Van Gundy’s bald head to be sliding on the court holding onto Mourning’s leg. That is an image that’ll be stuck in my head for a long time, as will the quote from Stan the former “Master of Panic” Van Gundy about the BCS.

Has anyone ever summed up the stupidity of that situation so eloquently? These two brothers of basketball have me excited for a Lebron James-less finals, and I didn’t think that was possible. Jeff Van Gundy is the best color commentator sitting on an NBA sideline today.

If the Charlotte Bobcats were playing the Spurs (the most boring team of all time) for the title, I would still watch every minute if I knew Van Gundy was gonna be yelling into a mic. Watching the Nuggets get a Nancy Botwin style spanking from L.A., I can’t even tell you the number of times he had me cracking up. He has his own cult following, and certainly doesn’t need me kissing his you know what, but I have to get my opinions out there.

I do not want to hear boring statistics the whole game (Doug Collins). I don’t want to listen to whiny criticism (Bill Walton). If the game isn’t a nail-biter, then give me funny, funny, and more funny. Jeff Van Gundy alongside Mark Jackson provide non-stop ear action. Not to mention, when they aren’t being hilarious, the incredible insight that comes along with 30 plus years of combined NBA experience.

I can’t wait to watch and listen to Jeff calling the game while his brother is coaching.

Speaking of his brother…Stan Van Gundy, or as I like to call him “The quote-a-minute man”, has slowly but surely made a name for himself amongst the elite NBA coaches. I can’t remember seeing a better job of coaching than what I saw against the Cavs. He had his team ready to play (or come back) every night. He had the perfect game plan every night, and he actually talks to his team during time outs. (Mike Brown—you getting all this?).

How can you not root for this guy? After being called out by the Diesel, he coached his team back to beat the Celtics, and did the impossible by beating the Cleveland King James’. His antics on the sidelines during the game, and during the time outs are sometimes more entertaining than the game itself.

You can bet all the money you won by picking the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup (is that thing over yet?) that he will have his Magic ready to play against Kobe and the Lakers.

Game one is tomorrow night. I’m ready, the Van Gundi is ready (are ready? not sure), the question is…are you ready? I’m just kidding. I’m really not that corny. Thanks for reading.