Earlier on Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski wrote that any hope that Dwight Howard was giving the Magic that he would stay in Orlando was "a misdirection play," so that he could join the Nets in July without his new team having to lose any assets in a trade.

Howard's quotes after his Magic beat the Heat in what could have been his final home game in Orlando on Tuesday night seemed to jive with Wojnarowski's story. "For the past two or three weeks, I've been telling (the Magic) that I want to finish the season here," Howard said. And with the deadline looming, the Magic "have to roll the dice."

After that, Magic CEO Alex Martins said, "We will do what is in the best interest of the Magic organization, its ownership & its fans."

Before the game, Stan Van Gundy went on a tirade about an ESPN report that stated the Magic had given Howard the right to dump the Magic coach, which the Magic later denied.

Too late, Stan had already gone off, "Look, I've said to you guys all along, and I'll just reiterate this: If they want to fire me, I don't care," Van Gundy said. "If it's Dwight or anybody else, fire me. My brother, as I told you, had the best line on being fired anyway. It's not being fired that hurts. It's what leads up to it."

• Is Dwight working for Nets, playing for Magic? - Brian Schmitz - Orlando Sentinel
• Stan Van Gundy: "If Dwight wants to fire me — fire me" - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
• GM Otis Smith: No trade by the Magic is imminent - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
• Magic CEO 'We're just going to have to make the best decision for the organization' - - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
• Sadly, we probably said goodbye to Dwight - Brian Schmitz - Orlando Sentinel
• For Dwight Howard, the Price of Leaving Orlando - Harvey Araton - New York Times
• Time Grows Short for Magic to Move Howard - Harvey Araton - New York Times