Magic fires coach Stan Van Gundy, GM Otis Smith

Orlando, FL, United States (AHN Sports) – Stan Van Gundy said he could see it coming for months and Monday he was proven correct as he was fired as coach of the Orlando Magic.

The team also let go of general manager Otis Smith after a season of tumult with superstar Dwight Howard’s status up in the air.

Team management indicated it was time to move on from the Van Gundy/Smith era, that, while successful, didn’t provide the Florida city with an NBA championship.

“These are the days you dread in this business,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement Monday. “But we feel it’s time for new leadership and new voices.”

Van Gundy, brother of ex-Knicks coach and current ABC-TV basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy, was 259-135 in the regular season in his term but the Magic was bounced in the first-round by the Pacers as Howard sat with a balky back.

Rumors abounded that Howard told team management he could no longer play for Van Gundy.

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