The Magic have waived 26-year old shooting guard Von Wafer.  Wafer played in 33 games (1 start) for the Magic last year and he averaged 14.2 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Wafer has now played in 200 games (14 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Wafer was solid off the bench, but this is the first move of the new regime.

31-year old shooting guard Jason Richardson continues to fade for the Orlando Magic.  Richardson played in 54 games (all starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He only shot 40.8% from the floor and 36.8% from three point range last year, which is awful for a shooting guard.  Richardson has now played in 109 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Magic and he is averaging 32.2 minutes, 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Richardson is just a shadow of the player he used to be.  Richardson has played in 805 games (794 starts) in his first 11 years in the NBA and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

The Orlando Magic had goals of competing for an NBA Championship in 2011-12, but it just didn’t work out that way.  They finished up with a 37-29 (56.1%) record during the regular season and they were 1-4 in the playoffs.  A lot of the disappointment had to do with Dwight Howard, as he was complaining most of the year about being in Orlando.  He also caused a ugly rift with his coach.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Magic in 2011-12:

Team MVP:  Dwight Howard – I was hesitant in picking 26-year old center Dwight Howard as the team MVP, but, I didn’t see anyone else worthy of the honor.  Howard played in 54 games (all starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 38.3 minutes, 20.6 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.1 blocked shots per game.  He shot 57.3% from the floor but only a paltry 49.1% from the free throw line last year.

Biggest Surprise:  Ryan Anderson – 24-year old power forward Ryan Anderson was outstanding last year for the Magic (until the playoffs), as he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2011-12.  Anderson played in 61 games (all starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Biggest Disappointment:  Jason Richardson – 32-year old shooting guard Jason Richardson was supposed to add some zip to the Magic offensively, but he really didn’t last year.  Richardson played in 54 games (all starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

The rookies of the Magic didn’t get much P.T. in 2011-12.  21-year old PF/C Daniel Orton showed some promise late in the regular season for the Magic.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 11.7 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Orton shot 56.7% from the floor but only 44% from the free throw line last year for the Magic.  He has a nice upside.  24-year old shooting guard DeAndre Liggins played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 1.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He shot 48% from the floor but only 47.4% from the free throw line.  22-year old power forward Justin Harper played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Magic last year and he averaged 6.0 minutes, 1.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He only shot 29% from the floor last year.

52-year old head coach Stan Van Gundy did the best that he could do under the circumstances with the Magic last year.  It will be near impossible for Van Gundy and Dwight Howard to co-exist going forward and that could cost Stan his job.  The Magic were 37-29 (56.1%) last year and they were 1-4 in the playoffs.  Van Gundy is now 259-135 (65.7%) during the regular season in his five years with the Magic.  He is also 31-28 (52.5%) in the playoffs.  He now has a 371-208 (64.1%) career record during the regular season (8 years) in his NBA career.  Van Gundy is also 48-39 (55.2%) in the post-season.  It will be hard for the Magic to find a better coach than Stan Van Gundy, so they better thing long and hard about keeping him.

UPDATE:  (5/21/2012) – The Orlando Magic have fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith, in moves to appease Dwight Howard.  This is amazing to me.  I think Van Gundy and Smith will get jobs with new teams in the near future.

The Magic were leading this game 71-69 heading into the 4th quarter and then the roof caved in on them.  They were outscored 36-16 in the 4th quarter and it did them in, ending their season tonight.  Jameer Nelson led the way for the Magic with 27 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals tonight.  Glen Davis (15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots), Ryan Anderson (14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) and J.J. Redick (12 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) also pitched in for the Magic tonight.  The Magic lost this series 4-1 to the Pacers.

The Magic outscored the Pacers 28-16 to get the game into O.T. yesterday, but then they got outscored 12-10 and it killed them.  Jason Richardson (25 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Glen Davis (24 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) led the way for the Magic in this game.  Jameer Nelson only shot 4 of 15 from the floor in this game, but he still finished up with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists.  Hedo Turkoglu (11 points), Ryan Anderson (11 points) and J.J. Redick (10 points) also pitched in for the Magic yesterday.  The Magic are now down 3-1 to the Pacers in this series.

26-year old Glen Davis is playing out of position at center for the Magic in the playoffs and he’s looking good.  Davis has started 3 games for the Magic against the Pacers so far in the first round of the playoffs and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 18.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  He is only shooting 42.6% from the floor, but that’s nitpicking as he has been by far the best offensive player for the Magic so far in the playoffs.

23-year old power forward Ryan Anderson has won the 2011-12 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award.  He played in 61 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Anderson really deserved this award as he played really solid basketball during the regular season for the Magic.  In 2010-11, Anderson played in 61 games (14 starts) for the Magic in which he averaged 22.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

The Magic were outrebounded 46-33 earlier tonight and it did them in.  Glen Davis came to play tonight as he led the way for the Magic with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  J.J. Redick (13 points and 1 assist) and Jameer Nelson (10 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) also pitched in for the Magic tonight.  The Magic are now down 2-1 in this series.