Really, after everything that’s happened Stan Van Gundy wants or even expects to remain the head coach of the Orlando Magic?  I’m sure he has no shortage of offers but apparently his heart is with Orlando despite the circus.  Read more after the jump.

@Shay_Marie x @gametimegirl

Stan Van Gundy said this afternoon that he wants to return as the Orlando Magic’s coach next season.

“I don’t have a scenario in my head where I wouldn’t,” Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel after he was asked whether he wants to return.

“They’re going to have to make decisions. But I’m a basketball coach and I know this: I don’t want to go anywhere else. I mean, I love Orlando, and this is where I want to be. And I want to coach.”

Van Gundy’s contract runs through 2012-13.

In recent days, speculation has run rampant that Van Gundy would not want to return for 2012-13, especially if Dwight Howard’s long-term contract status is not resolved.

On March 17, Van Gundy said that this season — a season marked by constant speculation about Howard’s future and the futures of other players on the roster — has been the most challenging season of his NBA head-coaching career.

On Thursday, in response to a direct question, Van Gundy told reporters that “the top” of the Magic organization’s management told him, perhaps before the regular season started, that Howard wants him to be fired. Howard has denied that he wants Van Gundy fired.

Howard, who waived his early-termination option on March 15, is under contract through 2012-13.

Howard, Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith met Thursday to talk about how they would move forward for the rest of the season.

This afternoon, after the Magic completed their shootaround at Wells Fargo Center, Howard was asked if the three of them are all on the “same page.”

“We have to get on the same page if we plan on making any noise in the playoffs,” Howard told reporters. “We all have to be on the same page.”

Asked if he and Van Gundy can regroup and develop respect for each other, Howard said, “I think we have respect for each other regardless of whatever is being said or being put out there. As a coach, I have the utmost respect for Stan. He’s been a great coach on our team for the last five years. So I don’t think that’s the issue. I think whatever happened, whatever was said, was said. But the only thing we can control right now is tonight.”