Can you honestly say you’re surprised?
The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly after Stan Van Gundy to be their next head coach in hopes that his presence will give them a shot at signing free-agent superstar Dwight Howard.
Though the Los Angeles Lakers remain the favorite to retain the NBA’s best center, he is also considered a legitimate flight risk. He initially wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Playing alongside Kobe Bryant was not his first option. After barely making the playoffs and then being swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs, nothing about his future in Hollywood is etched in stone.
Which means teams like the Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and even Houston Rockets will be lining up to acquire his services. And when attempting to pry a talent like Howard away from one of the most storied franchises in NBA history, every advantage counts, including coaching.
So it makes sense that Atlanta would try to lure in Van Gundy, Dwight’s former coach with the Orlando Magic. Or, you know, maybe not.
Things didn’t end well for Howard and Van Gundy in Orlando. The latter was fired (likely at Dwight’s behest) and the former forced his way into a bigger market.
Not only is Atlanta the exact opposite of a super-sized market, but is the tension between Van Gundy and Howard likely to have subsided. I say yes. To the point of them reuniting, though? I’m not sure. And Van Gundy appears to have his doubts, too. He isn’t even sure if Dwight would play for him again.
Stan Van Gundy told @theschwartznbc that he’d still LOVE to have Dwight Howard on any team he coaches.
— David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 16, 2013
And could you blame him? I mean, that one press conference was awkward. So awkward. Like a bad episode of Punk’d awkward.
Van Gundy has previously stated that the two are still friends and even reminisced about the good times, but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared to reunite to the point where it feels so good. On so many levels, it would feel just wrong.
Stan is a very hands on coach who Dwight interpreted as a tyrant. One season outside of the comfy confines of Orlando, perhaps he has a new-found appreciation for Van Gundy. But we’ve also got to understand that this might not be a relationship fated to yield championship results.
Although they may be friends, working together is much different. They didn’t seem on the same page during Howard’s final season with the Magic and their tenure together came to an unceremonious—okay, absolutely ugly—ending. Will Howard and Van Gundy be able to put that behind them? Better yet, are the Hawks appealing enough to make them want to?
Um, no. I can’t see Van Gundy swaying the pursuit of Howard in Atlanta’s favor. I’m on the fence about them working together again, but even if they were amenable to, the Hawks aren’t enough.
Barring the wildly unlikely event that the Hawks clear enough space (they’re almost there) and convince Chris Paul to sign in Atlanta as well, you can close the book on this one.
Strike that, you actually don’t have to. Because it never opened.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
