Coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith were fired Monday from their positions in Orlando. It was the inevitable as the team struggled throughout the season and relationships were disintegrating quickly and publicly.

GM Otis Smith's firing took way too long. In 2009 they had a great season, falling short of a championship to the Los Angeles Lakers. During that offseason Smith questionably traded for Vince Carter. Carter's career and numbers were clearly declining. He had been through a couple of injuries. 
The upside of this trade was getting Ryan Anderson, who had a breakout season for the Magic. Most noticeably, he nearly shot 40% from three-point range during the regular season.

Smith's next move made even less sense. He brought over Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards for three-point shooting machine, Rashard Lewis. Then traded Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat for Hedo Turkoglu (whom they had the opportunity to sign during the offseason), Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. 

Jason Richardson was also on the decline. Gortat together with Dwight Howard would have been a force on the glass. Gilbert Arenas was a problematic player at the time. He had the infamous altercation in the locker room where he pulled out an unloaded gun on ex-teammate Javaris Crittenton. 

GM Smith thought the move would bolster the Magic lineup and bring winning back to Orlando. In 39 games with Orlando, Arenas only averaged around 13 points a game and was a huge disappointment. That probably would have been a good time to get rid of Otis.

Coach Van Gundy was unfortunate and was caught in the middle of the Magic trying to re-sign Howard. Sentiment around the league was that Howard did not want Van Gundy as his coach. The rumors swirled.

Once it gets to that point, there is no coach better than the superstar, especially when a team is pressing the superstar to re-sign with them. 

Did Van Gundy do a great job? Without a doubt. He won 52 games twice and 59 games back to back in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. This past season, however, the Magic faltered.  They were just eight games over .500 during the regular season and got bounced out by the Indiana Pacers in the first round. 

The Magic are looking for a new coach that can start fresh with Howard and they are looking for a GM that can wisely surround Howard with a winning cast. Otis' exit was long overdue. Van Gundy should have been let go in a classier manner because chances were he would be replaced at some point. Firing Smith and Van Gundy together made it seem like they purposely collaborated in the Magic's demise. 
A coaching candidate mentioned by Shaun Powell from NBA.com, seriously being considered is Pacers' assistant coach Brian Shaw. Shaw played with the Lakers under Phil Jackson and has been an assistant coach for the last few years. 

It will be very interesting to see if Van Gundy lands on the Knicks radar as they look to solidify the head coaching position.