Timing can be a funny thing in the sports world. The Orlando Magic are currently undergoing a search for their next head basketball coach and on Monday, the Detroit Pistons parted ways with former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
Van Gundy is the unquestioned choice for greatest coach in Magic history and the conversation in the Twittersphere immediately centered around fans pining for his return to Orlando. Before everyone gets too far down this road, I am going to end this pipe dream.
First off, time heals all wounds, but Van Gundy's Orlando departure was particularly acrimonious. He and his brother, former NBA head coach and current ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy, have both publically ripped team CEO Alex Martins.
There is no doubt that Van Gundy will eventually have a plaque in the Magic Hall of Fame, but it may very well have to come at some point in the future when the DeVos family has sold the team and Martins no longer presides over day-to-day business operations. While the ex-coach's relationship with the team's most important executive is the biggest obstacle to moving back into the Amway Center, there are other reasons why this makes no sense for either side.
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Van Gundy will not be back in Orlando or likely with any other NBA franchise because of how taxing his Pistons tenure has been. As the head coach and director of basketball operations, he was tasked with leading the organization on and off the court.
Van Gundy was active in the trade market to try to improve the Pistons fortunes, but things never quite came around. In four seasons, he went 152-176 and made the playoffs just once, getting swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
With the frustrations Van Gundy experienced in the Motor City, it makes all the sense in the world for him to take either an extended or permanent break from coaching. He also has the perfect example for such a route with brother Jeff who has eschewed past interest from teams to remain in the broadcast booth.
One final thought about Van Gundy that should influence the way Magic fans feel about a reunion is a broader examination of his resume. Everything about his history in coaching says that he is not the right fit for this Orlando team.
Van Gundy has proven to be a great coach for teams that are on the cusp of making postseason noise. He led the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals before Pat Riley needed to come back to the bench to lead the franchise to a title and he also built Orlando into a contender.
I imagine if he would have been given another opportunity with the Andre Drummond/Blake Griffin-led Pistons roster, he may have been able to pull off the same thing. While these upstart groups have been Van Gundy's forte, he has not been known as a deft developer of talent.
Fans will remember how Van Gundy buried J.J. Redick on the bench in Orlando early in his career. The prize first-round pick of his Detroit tenure, Stanley Johnson, has not evolved into anything but a role player either.
There is no question that Magic fans remember Van Gundy fondly and they should. He led the team to one of their two Finals appearances, was a colorful personality with the media and invested a lot of time in the Central Florida community.
As father time keeps ticking, however, sports reunions and comebacks very rarely go as well as their first editions.
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