Orlando Magic Blog – Page 43 – NBA Blog

Shaq declines chance to discuss Magic GM job

NBA great Shaquille O’Neal has declined an invitation to interview for the Orlando Magic’s vacant general manager position.

O’Neal earlier had expressed interest in the job.

“When I first heard about the vacancy for the Orlando Magic general manager position, I was clearly intrigued,” O’Neal said in a statement Thursday. “I was drafted by the Magic, I have a great love for the franchise, and I have made the city of Orlando my home. Additionally, I have great admiration and respect for the DeVos family.

”However, this is not a job I have an interest in pursuing. I feel very fortunate to be with TNT and to have the best job in sports. I look forward to many more years with Charles (Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and E.J. (Ernie Johnson). I wish the best for the Magic and I am confident that they will select a great GM and coach.“

— Reported by the Chicago Tribune

Orlando Magic fire coach Stan Van Gundy, part ways with GM Otis Smith

Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins announced today that Stan Van Gundy has been relieved of his duties as head coach. In addition President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Otis Smith and the organization have mutually agreed to part ways.

“On behalf of the DeVos Family, we sincerely appreciate and thank Otis and Stan for all that they have done on and off the floor for the Orlando Magic,” said Martins. “These are the days you dread in this business, but we feel it’s time for new leadership and new voices.

“They both brought die-hard dedication and an unmatched work ethic on a daily basis,” added Martins. “Their success is well documented, as the Orlando Magic has had the fourth best record in the NBA over the last five years, and entering the playoffs this year the third most playoff wins over that period of time. The disappointment of getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs these past two seasons played a primary role in our decision, as we feel our momentum towards winning a championship has paused. We wish Otis and Stan all the best and we look forward to taking the next step towards winning that championship.”

Van Gundy was named head coach on June 7, 2007, becoming the ninth head coach in franchise history.

Van Gundy has a career NBA head coaching regular season record of 371-208 (.641), including 259-135 (.657) in five seasons in Orlando. He led Orlando to five postseason berths, three Southeast Division titles and the 2009 Eastern Conference crown. Prior to coming to Orlando he served as head coach of the Miami Heat for two-plus seasons.

In 2007-‘08, his first season in Orlando, Van Gundy guided the Magic to a 52-30 record and the Southeast Division Championship. It was the Magic’s first division crown since 1995-‘96. Orlando also advanced past the opening round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1996, defeating Toronto 4-1.

During the 2008-‘09 campaign Van Gundy led the Magic to a 59-23 record and through a memorable playoff run, capped off with the 2009 Eastern Conference championship and a berth in the NBA Finals, marking the second trip in franchise history.

In 2009-‘10, Van Gundy directed the Magic to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, after compiling a 59-23 record during the season.

Last season, 2010-‘11, Orlando finished 52-30 and made its fourth straight trip to the playoffs. It was Orlando’s fourth straight 50-win season and Van Gundy became the second-fastest active coach to 300 career wins and seventh-fastest all-time. He also coached his 500th career game and had the sixth-most wins in NBA history through 500 contests.

This past season, Orlando finished 37-29 (.561), good for sixth-best in the Eastern Conference. The Magic advanced to the postseason for the sixth consecutive time, the longest active streak in the Eastern Conference.

Smith was promoted to president of basketball operations on July 28, 2010. Smith was named general manager on May 3, 2006. He was assistant general manager during the 2005-06 campaign, after serving as director of player development for two seasons.

Under Smith’s leadership from 2005-‘06 to 2011-‘12, Orlando advance to the playoffs all six times, recorded 50-plus victories in a club-record four straight seasons (2007-‘08 to 2010-‘11), captured three consecutive Southeast Division titles (2007-‘10), advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in two straight postseasons (2009-‘10) and reached the 2009 NBA Finals after winning the Eastern Conference title. The Magic were 299-177 (.628) during Smith’s tenure as general manager.

Smith was a member of the inaugural 1989-‘90 Magic squad and spent three seasons playing in Orlando (1989-‘92). Smith averaged 11.4 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 1.9 apg. and 1.01 stlpg. in 195 games with the Magic. He played in 375 career NBA regular season games with Denver, Golden State and Orlando, averaging 10.5 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 1.01 stlpg. in 20.6 mining.

Status of Magic front office in doubt

Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said Tuesday night that his evaluation process of the team’s basketball operations department is still ongoing.

“No decisions have been reached,” Martins told the Orlando Sentinel via text message.

Martins and Chairman Dan DeVos have said team officials evaluate the performance of the basketball-operations department and other areas within the organization after every season.

But the status of Otis Smith, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager, and coach Stan Van Gundy are in doubt.

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Blog)

Mike D`Antoni might have interest in Orlando Magic coaching job

Though the rumor is Mike D’Antoni has some interest in taking his speedball offense to Orlando if Stan Van Gundy is fired, a person close to the former Knicks coach said he is just as likely to spend next season at home in New York “for personal reasons’’ as his son finishes high school in Westchester.

D’Antoni, who was in West Virginia yesterday continuing his fundraising work for his alma mater, Marshall University, will be on Mike Krzyzewski’s Olympics coaching staff from early July to mid-August, reuniting him with Team USA member Carmelo Anthony. The logistics of inheriting a new NBA position while preparing for and coaching in the London Olympics may be unwise. D’Antoni’s son, Michael Jr., will be a senior guard next season.

If D’Antoni is wooed to the Magic, he may want to bring along 3-point sharpshooter Steve Novak and even try to entice restricted free agent point guard Jeremy Lin. Nevertheless, the Knicks can match any offer for Lin.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Pacers beat Magic 105-87, advance to 2nd round

After years of losing and players finding trouble, the Indiana Pacers finally gave their fans something to really cheer about. Danny Granger scored 25 points to help the Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic 105-87 on Tuesday night and clinch their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-1.

”I’m just so happy for our fans,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ”They’ve endured a lot those years when we struggled. To finally see us come back and have a winning team again and somebody that has a chance to do something special this year. That’s what they deserve. Pacers basketball is back.”

The Pacers will play Miami or New York in the second round. Miami leads that series 3-1, and as the final minutes ticked away, fans began chanting, ”Beat the Heat.”

”It was electric,” Granger said. ”The crowd was crazy. They had a lot of momentum going. They pushed us in that fourth quarter.”

It was a tough series for Orlando, which played all five games without All-Star center Dwight Howard because of a back injury. They took the opener, then watched Indiana put together its first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs. No player on Indiana’s roster had won a playoff series while playing for the Pacers…

Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Magic 36-16 in the final 12 minutes…

Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 27 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers. Glen Davis, a thorn in Indiana’s side throughout the series, scored 15 but made just 6 of 17 shots. The Magic, who made just 5 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter, didn’t want to use Howard’s absence as an excuse.

— Reported by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press

Stan Van Gundy says he is not concerned with speculation about job status

Stan Van Gundy knows that speculation is rampant that this playoff series against the Indiana Pacers will mark the end of his tenure as the Orlando Magic’s coach.

But Van Gundy maintains the rumors don’t bother him.

“I’ve been around coaching my entire life — literally, my entire life,” Van Gundy said after the Magic finished practice Monday at Amway Center. “I really think, for all coaches, I don’t think that’s disconcerting at all. You sort of know when you go into it — and, for me, I knew long before I went into it because I’d been around it — that’s all part of it. You don’t worry about that.

“I think the only thing you worry about is winning games, and you’re not happy being down 3-1. I’m upset about losing Game 4 and the whole thing. But the rest of it, I don’t have any control over that. I do have some control over getting our team ready to play.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Pacers beat Magic in OT, take 3-1 series lead

George Hill hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to help the Indiana Pacers survive squandering a 19-point fourth quarter lead and beat the Orlando Magic 101-99 on Saturday to take a 3-1 series lead.

David West scored 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter and four in overtime for Indiana. Danny Granger added 21 points.

The Pacers won their third straight game and will try to close out it out Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Orlando had a final chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Glen Davis’ fade away jumper bounced off the side of the rim.

Jason Richardson led the Magic with 25 points and Davis added 24 points and 11 rebounds…

Hibbert finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Hill started slow, but was huge down the stretch and ended up with 12.

All five Magic starters reached double figures, with Nelson adding 12 points and Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu chipping in 11.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Ryan Anderson wins 2011-12 NBA Most Improved Player award

Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.

As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Anderson to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.

The 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its fifth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards, and this year for the first time, Rookie of the Year. It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month which are awarded during the regular season.

Pacers dominate Magic 97-74 to take 2-1 lead

Danny Granger had 26 points and nine rebounds, Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Orlando Magic 97-74 on Wednesday night to a take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

The Pacers regained home-court advantage with the victory, riding good shooting early and building a 29-point lead in the fourth quarter.

They also dominated scoring underneath thanks to a 46-33 rebounding edge and have outscored the Magic 81-43 in the third quarter in the series.

Glen Davis led the Magic with 22 points, and J.J. Redick added 13. The Magic never led, struggled to get any scoring in the paint, and made a series-low five 3-pointers.

Game 4 is Saturday in Orlando.

Indiana coach Frank Vogel’s implored the Pacers after each of the first two games to make better shot selections.

They finally did it in Game 3.

It translated into their best shooting of the series as the Pacers built a 23-point lead in the third quarter and led 76-55 entering the fourth.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Tyson Chandler wins 2011-12 NBA Defensive Player of Year award

Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks is the recipient of the 2011-12 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today. Chandler becomes the first player in franchise history to earn the honor.

Chandler received 311 points, including 45 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka finished second with 294 points and Orlando’s Dwight Howard, who had won the award each of the previous three seasons, finished third with 186 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.

With Chandler anchoring the middle, New York’s defense improved markedly from the previous season in multiple categories. The Knicks ranked among the top half of the league in several key defensive categories, including opponent turnovers per game (17.0, 2nd), opponent field goal percentage (.442, 10th), and opponent scoring (94.7 ppg, 11th). Opposing teams averaged 22.5 more points and shot .520 from the field when Chandler was not in the lineup. Opponents shot .438 with Chandler in the lineup. In addition, Chandler grabbed 22.1 percent of his team’s defensive rebounds when he was on the floor.