Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stan Van Gundy’s Future In Orlando

May 8th, 2012 at 6:15pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Magic take on the Pacers this evening in what could potentially be Stan Van Gundy's final game as the team's head coach. HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler predicts Van Gundy will lose his job shortly after the team finishes its season. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for Van Gundy, writes Kyler, as the Magic and SVG may both benefit from parting ways this offseason.

Van Gundy's looming dismissal has little to do with his coaching ability but rather represents the beleaguered franchise's lone chance to win favor with Dwight Howard as he enters the final year of his contract with the team. Howard's disdain toward Van Gundy has been made clear over the course of the season, leaving the Magic front office with little choice but to appease its superstar in hopes of improving the team's chances of re-signing him in 2013. Simply put, a very good coach is replaceable in the NBA but a superstar talent like Howard is not.

Since becoming head coach in 2007, Van Gundy has won 259 regular season games with the Magic, a number that will make him an attractive candidate to teams looking for a new head coach. Van Gundy has also enjoyed success in the postseason as he's taken the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals twice during his tenure in Orlando along with an appearance in the NBA Finals against the Lakers in 2009. While it's unlikely that Van Gundy would be interested in turning around the Bobcats' fortunes, he may be a good fit for the Trail Blazers.

Replacing Van Gundy won't be an easy task for the Magic, but there are a few viable options for Orlando to consider this offseason. If the team is looking for an experienced head coach with a track record of success, then they should consider hiring Nate McMillan, writes Kyler. Patrick Ewing, who is a candidate for the Bobcats' opening, would be better off staying in Orlando if the team looks to stay in-house and seamlessly transition from the Van Gundy regime.

Coach/GM Notes: McMillan, Petrie, Woodson, SVG

May 7th, 2012 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

As teams continue to play their final games of the 2011/12 season, jobs on NBA benches and in NBA front offices will begin to open up. Already, rumors are swirling about who could be on the hot seat and who could be in line for a new position, so let's round up a few Monday morning coach and GM updates….

It seems likely that Nate McMillan will return to an NBA bench soon, and the former Trail Blazers coach isn't necessarily interested in a win-now position, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. "Coaching is coaching," McMillan said. "It would be a new beginning for me. Young team or a veteran team….If you're saying, 'I'm just looking for a veteran team,' that's not true." There has been some speculation that McMillan could be a fit for the Bobcats.
McMillan's old team in Portland is seeking a GM, and Kings president Geoff Petrie has been cited as a possible candidate. Victor Contreras of the Sacramento Bee says that if the Blazers are interested, Petrie should listen, given Sacramento's uncertain future.
On a conference call with reporters this morning, Knicks coach Mike Woodson dismissed questions about his future with the team: "Right now, it's not about Mike Woodson and my contract… I'm still coaching this team and the job is not done."
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel doesn't believe Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy have "kissed and made up" and says it would be impossible for both to return to the Magic next season.

Odds & Ends: Allen, Hawks, Anderson, Voting

May 6th, 2012 at 11:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was a day of odd sightings on the hardwood, as the Knicks overcame the loss of Baron Davis to a dislocated kneecap to win their first postseason contest in 11 years. A No. 1 seed lost a third straight playoff game as the Bulls fell to the 76ers. And in Denver, a woman with a history of stalking the Nuggets came onto the court during Game 4 against the Lakers, reports J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today. Here's the rest of what raised eyebrows around the Association today:

Teams interested in Celtics free agent Ray Allen this summer might not have to worry about how he'll respond to ankle surgery, since he says he may not go through with the procedure he originally thought was inevitable. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com first tweeted the news, and Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com adds detail.
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News believes the Hawks will deal either Josh Smith or Al Horford if the team can't rally from its 3-1 deficit to the Celtics (Twitter link). Of the two, Smith seems the easiest to trade, since 2012/13 is the last season on his contract.
Despite a subpar showing in the playoffs so far, restricted free agent Ryan Anderson figures to be near the top of this summer's market for power forwards. There's mutual admiration between Anderson and the Magic, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who also notes the team's recent history of matching offer sheets.
The NBA released a statement acknowledging that Ernst & Young, the same accounting firm that handles the draft lottery, made an error tabulating the Most Improved Player of the Year voting, reports Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com. A first-place vote meant for Andrew Bynum was mistakenly counted for Andrew Bogut. Either way, award winner Ryan Anderson comes out on top of the voting.
Fran Blinebury of NBA.com examines the divergent career paths of Spurs point guard Tony Parker and Jazz counterpart Devin Harris, more than four years after Parker expressed relief that Harris was traded away from the Mavs.

Odds & Ends: Van Gundy, Smith, Bynum

May 5th, 2012 at 10:28pm CST by Ryan Raroque

We have our first playoff elimination, as the Thunder defeated the Mavericks to advance to the second round. The victory wasn't without cost though, as Kendrick Perkins suffered a strained hip during the first quarter and didn't return to the game. As for Dallas, they become the first team since the 2007 Heat to be swept the following year after winning an NBA Championship. With that aside, here are tonight's noteworthy links:

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Stan Van Gundy, who he refers to as the "best coach the Orlando Magic have ever had," may have coached his last home game with the team. Bianchi adds that if the Magic are to remain a viable franchise, they must side with Dwight Howard in the standoff between him and Stan, which would all but seal Van Gundy's departure. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel echoed similar sentiments about Van Gundy's reputation, saying that the team's performance against the Pacers today was evidence that the team did not quit on him.
Hawks forward Josh Smith is eyeing a return for Game Four against the Celtics regardless of how his knee feels, according to Ben Golliver of CBS Sports.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum attributed his poor performance in the first half of Game Three from not being able to complete his regular pre-game routine, says Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. While teammate Kobe Bryant lauded Bynum for holding himself accountable, coach Mike Brown wasn't as thrilled: "You hope at this time of the season everybody who steps onto the floor is ready."
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston provides a closer look at Mickael Pietrus' value to the Celtics defensively.
Enes Kanter went from sitting out last year's March Madness at Kentucky to being a part of a playoff team with the Jazz in his rookie season. Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune spoke with Kanter to elaborate more on this experience.
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld ranks the most disappointing performers of the NBA playoffs thus far.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Profits, Suns, Draft

May 4th, 2012 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was another wild night of playoff basketball that included more unfortunate injuries, this time to the Bulls Joakim Noah and Avery Bradley of the Celtics. Here's what's been going on off the court while you've had your eyes fixed on the hardwood:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel dissects the latest comments from Dwight Howard, who told TMZ that he would never quit on his team or Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, with whom D12 says he's had several conversations since the start of the playoffs.
Commissioner David Stern says that most NBA teams will turn a profit this year, and predicts all 30 franchises will be profitable within two years, according to a report from Jonathan D. Salant of Bloomberg News, who rounded up comments Stern made on a Bloomberg Television show airing this weekend. Stern had said during the latest CBA negotiations that NBA teams had lost a combined $300MM over the previous three seasons.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the desire of the Suns to keep restricted free agent Robin Lopez.
HoopsWorld unveiled its mock draft, with all four contributors agreeing on Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal for the top three spots. Steve Kyler adds a report that Arnett Moultrie and Andrew Nicholson are rocketing up some teams' draft boards.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune compares the approaches of Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor and Spurs GM R.C. Buford, both of whom share a connection with longtime NBA coach Larry Brown.
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida breaks down the potential U.S. Olympic team roster, and Rob Mahoney of The New York Times examines what the team needs.

Ryan Anderson Wins Most Improved Player

May 4th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

12:35pm: Anderson has officially been named the league's Most Improved Player. Ersan Ilyasova was the runner-up, with Nikola Pekovic, Greg Monroe, and Andrew Bynum rounding out the top five. Jeremy Lin finished sixth.

8:46am: The Magic have announced a press conference for 12:30pm CT today, and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that the team and league will announce an award winner at that time: Ryan Anderson will be named the NBA's Most Improved Player.

After averaging 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest in 193 games over his first three years in the league, the Magic forward broke out this season, increasing his averages to 16.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG. While an increase in minutes, from 22.3 MPG in 2010/11 to 32.2 MPG in 2011/12, played a part in his increased production, Anderson also set career highs in rate stats like FG% (.439), 3PT% (.393), FT% (.877), and PER (21.2).

Ersan Ilyasova, Jeremy Lin, Goran Dragic, and Nikola Pekovic were among the other players expected to be in the running for the award.

Kyler On Williams, Nash, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert

May 4th, 2012 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM column at HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler shares the latest rumblings on a handful of this summer's top free agents. Here are the highlights:

It's far from a done deal, but the general feeling around the Nets is that they're in the driver's seat for Deron Williams. Kyler names the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic as other teams that figure to aggressively pursue the point guard.
Steve Nash continues to tell people that returning to Phoenix is a "real and viable option." Kyler points out that even if Nash ends up elsewhere, the Suns could work out a sign-and-trade to get something out of it.
It's nearly a lock that Eric Gordon will be retained by the Hornets, but it's not clear how high the bidding will go. The Hornets were unable to agree on an extension with Gordon earlier this season, and while that was due in part to not having new ownership in place yet, there are also questions about the 23-year-old's durability.
According to Kyler, there's a good chance O.J. Mayo doesn't become a restricted free agent this summer, since a qualifying offer would put the Grizzlies over the tax line. If Memphis doesn't extend a qualifying offer, Mayo would be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Kevin Garnett would like to finish his career with the Celtics.
The Pacers are prepared to match just about any offer for Roy Hibbert, and will let the market set the price for their center.
The Nets hope to deal with Brook Lopez's free agency after working out some of their other situations, but Lopez could disrupt their plans if he signs an offer sheet with another club early in the free agent period.

Odds & Ends: Raptors, Bulls, Magic, Frye

May 2nd, 2012 at 10:37pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are this evening's miscellaneous stories:

Lang Greene of HoopsWorld had his weekly chat with fans tonight. Among the more significant things he talked about were the chances that Tyreke Evans gets shopped this summer, the Nets pursuing Kevin Garnett if Deron Williams leaves, the Hornets matching any offer for Eric Gordon, and Portland being the realistic destination for Goran Dragic.
With $12MM in cap space before the draft, Bryan Colangelo talked about the Raptors' approach going into the offseason: "If there was going to be a year to make a bigger splash, whether in free agency or utilizing the space to acquire players by trade, I felt that would be better served in a subsequent season and that’s probably this summer" (Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld reports). Colangelo also told Brotherston that he and Ed Stefanski will be very active in terms of placing and entertaining calls with other GMs in the upcoming weeks and months.
Scoop Jackson, Melissa Isaacson, and Jon Greenberg of ESPN cover a few topics on the Bulls, including how Derrick Rose's injury will affect Chicago's title hopes over the next two years, whether Luol Deng should immediately get surgery and skip the Olympics, and Carlos Boozer's reliability in the playoffs.
Magic GM Otis Smith traveled to Los Angeles to check on Dwight Howard as he recuperates from surgery, according to Illiana Limón and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. While there had been speculation that Howard is estranged from the franchise, Smith and Magic CEO Alex Martins say that he hasn't asked for a trade.
Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times provides a "to-do list" for the Nuggets if they are to have any chance at beating the Lakers.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas wonders if the Mavericks should make strategic defensive adjustments on Russell Westbrook or just hope that he starts missing mid-range jumpshots.
An article posted on Suns.com reports that Channing Frye underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder today.

Odds & Ends: Pistons, Kobe, Nelson, Nene, Nets

May 2nd, 2012 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Some Wednesday afternoon items from around the NBA:

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News identifies John Henson as a potential fit for the Pistons in the draft and explores the team's upcoming amnesty-related decision.
Prior to last season's blood-platelet therapy, Kobe Bryant was seriously questioning his basketball future, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
In addition to conducting a Cavaliers-centric chat this afternoon, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio examined a few potential NBA coaching openings.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com also answered questions in a chat that featured a number of interesting draft tidbits.
The Magic and their fans shouldn't let the Dwight Howard saga overshadow Jameer Nelson's future in Orlando, argues Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes about the positive influence Nene had on the Wizards' young players following the deal that sent him to Washington in March. When I previewed the Wizards' offseason yesterday, I noted that finding another strong veteran presence like Nene could have a strong impact on the team's young nucleus.
Fred Kerber of the New York Post wonders which of the Nets' free agents will be re-signed this summer.

Odds & Ends: Kahn, Howard, Parzenski, Kings

May 1st, 2012 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Celtics, 76ers, and Nuggets look to even up their respective series tonight before heading home, let's round up some odds and ends from around the league:

NBA commissioner David Stern doesn't believe Derrick Rose's torn ACL or other major injuries were caused by the condensed 2011/12 schedule, as he told Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio. ESPN Chicago has details and quotes.
Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld wonders if keeping David Kahn as the team's GM is the best idea for the Timberwolves. Minnesota exercised its option on Kahn for 2012/13 last week.
Magic GM Otis Smith will travel to the Los Angeles area to check in on Dwight Howard's recovery from back surgery, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Polish seven-footer Jakub Parzenski declared for the draft prior to Sunday's early-entry deadline, tweets Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com. Parzenski is ranked just 20th among 1991-born international players by DraftExpress.
Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee outlines the latest developments, or lack thereof, in the "unhappy marriage" between the Kings and the city of Sacramento.