Howard believes Van Gundy lied when he told reporters he knew Howard asked for his dismissal because, a league source familiar with the situation said, he never specifically did. There is no love lost between Howard and Van Gundy but sources close to the All-Star center said it was Orlando’s front office that first approached him about canning Van Gundy in December, before the Magic’s season deteriorated. Â Read more after the jump.
Howard has not forgotten management’s silence on the subject, it’s refusal to either fire Van Gundy when he hung Howard out to dry or, at the very least, publicly disclose all the facts. Howard quieted rampant speculation about his future when he waived his opt-out clause last month, but there are indications that over the next few months the relationship could sour to the point where Orlando could be forced to explore dealing Howard again.
Teams will call and maybe, this time, the Magic will be more receptive. Relationships between a team and its superstar have gone south before (think Karl Malone and the Jazz, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers) only to eventually be repaired. But the Magic and Howard may have reached their breaking point. There is a part of Howard that wants to stay, that wants to continue being revered by a fan base that has supported him unflinchingly. He doesn’t want to be LeBron James, but there are those close to him who say that the daily drama of the last month has bothered him so much that it is becoming increasingly more realistic that he could, again, ask to be moved.
