Dwight Howard is currently sidelined with a herniated disk in his back and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. But when he does come back, he reportedly doesn’t want Stan Van Gundy to be around because, according to WKMG-TV’s David Pingalore, Howard no longer wants to play for Van Gundy.
The Orlando TV station’s report says that Howard’s opinion on Van Gundy soured after the Magic coach two weeks ago confirmed a previous Pingalore report that said Howard wanted him fired. In a comedic yet awkward turn of events, Howard denied the report mere minutes after Van Gundy made his confirmation.
After receiving treatment on his back in Los Angeles last week, Howard traveled to Cleveland to offer his teammates support against the Cavs on Sunday. However, he reportedly only stayed in the hotel and never made it to the game (perhaps to avoid Van Gundy?). While Howard is expected to be back for the postseason, WKMG’s report says that it’s possible he would sit those games out as well.
Reports of discontent between Howard and Van Gundy surfacing are hardly anything new anymore. Can’t wait to see if Howard awkwardly tries to refute this one.
And even if Howard will try his damnedest to come out looking like the good guy again, it’s hard seeing both guys being back in Orlando next season. With Howard probably spending next season with the team after waiving his opt-out clause, it’s likely Van Gundy will be the odd man out. If I were him, I’d just dip out Jet Blue flight attendant style at the first possible instance. Why should he remain in a place where his involuntary demise is inevitable? Good thing he’s apparently already thought about it.
H/T Complex Sports
Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
