Get Isaiah Thomas to coach and then promote someone from within the organization for the GM position. Then give Howard a 50% voice for player trading.
Here's what Stan needs to do now that he's free: Stan Van Gundy Jeff Van Gundy Serving as co-head coach of a girls AAU basketball team. Document the drama.
There aren't many better coaches than SVG in the league and the ones better than him are not going to be coaching the Magic.
A coach can be replaced (sans Pop), but I don't think you can replace Howard. I hope this isn't enough to convince him to re-sign with the Magic.
Nate McMillan and Brian Shaw... if I were the Magic that is who I would be looking at. Also, if I were the Magic, I'd trade Dwight as soon as possible. End that crap now and let the players just think about playing basketball for the first time in over a year.
Let's get this straight: Otis Smith was just about the worst GM in the league. Kaaahn! had some clown moments, but at least he mixed it up with really good decisions (like hiring RA and drafting Peko). Smith got Dwight from the previous GM and didn't do anything with him. His highlight move was signing Rashard Lewis and making him Juwan Howard part 2, and then replacing him with Arenas whose knees were shot. That team was pure garbage outside of Dwight, its no wonder he wanted out. However getting rid of SVG is just a wrong move. He's one of the elite coaches in the league, and honestly he's one of the few who keeps it real. The Magic owners should have made him an institution like Pops in SA, instead they fired him and catered to DH. When DH leaves them one year from now they only have themselves to blame.
Kahn's case is interesting, he's mainly known for the blunder of the '09 draft, but I read somewhere that McHale had left Kahn a list of his top ranked players, with Rubio and Flynn next to each other. Being his first time as a GM, Kahn most likely panicked and went ahead with the list evern though it didn't actually make sense.
If Duncan wanted pop gone he would have been fired. MJ wanted Collins gone and he was fired. There are a handful of super stars in the league you do whatever you can to keep them.
Probably a good time to post this: <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rztY0oxObXI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The end of an era. I'm gonna miss Stan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>My man @<a href="https://twitter.com/Chris_Broussard">Chris_Broussard</a>, on ESPN's NBA Countdown, just reported Shaq could meet next week w/Magic to talk about GM job. Yes, that @<a href="https://twitter.com/SHAQ">SHAQ</a></p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/205437257539268608" data-datetime="2012-05-23T23:17:13+00:00">May 23, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If Shaq becomes the GM I doubt he trades Howard to LA- the last thing Shaq wants is Kobe waving another ring in his face.
Would be fitting if the first significant act of Shaq the GM is to oversee the departure of the franchise center.
Sorta like Larry Bird's (from ISU) first act as President of Indiana was to fire the state's other hero (from IU), Isiah Thomas.
