Now, after all of this mess, the Magic just plan to move forward and play the season out.
"There's nothing for me to say," Howard said at practice Friday. "We just have to play basketball. That's the only thing that matters."
Van Gundy says that none of the things for the past three weeks were awkward, including the press conference a couple of days ago. However, he plans to keep the differences between himself and Howard.
"We keep that in the family," Howard said. "We keep that between each other and the locker room. There's no need for me to go back on whatever he said. Whatever we discussed has to stay between me and him and the team. There's no need for me to try and clear the air with anybody."
After Van Gundy's confirmation, the Magic would struggle big time against the Philadelphia 76ers the next day, getting destroyed 96-80. Orlando went from a third-seed to a six-seed in just a span of a couple of days.
Here's the rest, from the report:
Van Gundy spoke to reporters for more than 30 minutes after practice on Friday, with most of the questions focusing on his relationship with Howard. Van Gundy used the term "irrelevant" more than a dozen times.
"I answered the question honestly and let's move on," Van Gundy said. "That was my only intention.
"At least there's no more speculation. It's not going to go back and forth. It happened. To me, it'll go a day or two and then people are off of it, rather than it hanging out there and people bringing it up again."
Van Gundy said his main point on Thursday wasn't that Howard wanted him fired, but that it doesn't matter that Howard wants him fired.
"I don't really regret doing it," Van Gundy said. "It's the speculation. Everybody's sort of trying to massage the situation without saying anything, and I don't know, to me it's always easier to be honest and move on."
When Howard and Van Gundy met with Magic GM Otis Smith on Thursday to clear the air, they agreed to co-exist the rest of the season and put the team first. They also agreed that beyond this season doesn't matter -- all of the focus is on these final 11 games and the playoffs.
"We're capable of getting through anything," Howard said. "Right now, the leader is being attacked from all angles, and it's my job to stay strong for the team and not allow anything to break my spirit or who I am as a person and a player."
No matter what happens this season, it's going to be interesting. However, it looks like there's going to be more things to come once the off-season rolls around.
