Both Jason Richardson and Earl Clark will be free agents this offseason and each have expressed interest in re-signing with the Magic.

"I would definitely love to play here for a long time," said Richardson.

"I don't want to play anywhere else," said Clark.

The Magic acquired both players in a December trade with the Suns.

Neither player has opened contract talks with Orlando.

Orlando general manager Otis Smith wants the relationship between Stan Van Gundy and Gilbert Arenas to improve next season.

"There's some growth there that needs to happen as it relates to him," Smith said of Arenas. "Their relationship is going to have to get a little bit better. The relationships in the locker room with one another is going to have to continue to get better."

Arenas averaged a little more than 16 minutes per game in five playoff games.

"In Game 4 and Game 5, he realized that I'm useful so he used me," Arenas said. "Before the playoffs, I was just sitting in corners. I wasn't a part of the offense. The offensive is built for Dwight (Howard) and shooters, and I'm more of a creator myself."

Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith said Friday that the organization has offered superstar center Dwight Howard a contract extension, but Howard said he hasn't seen it.

"The extension is on the table," Smith said.

That extension is believed to be for two seasons.

Howard can become a free agent following the 2011-12 season.

Smith, coach Stan Van Gundy and Magic players were available to speak to the media Friday, about 15 hours after they were eliminated in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks.

When asked about the contract extension Smith referred to, Howard responded, "I haven't seen a contract."
When a reporter followed up, Howard said, "I haven't seen it."

The Magic almost certainly will offer Dwight Howard a contract extension in the coming days or weeks, but Howard feels that it's not in his best interests to re-sign right now.

Howard would not discuss his future after Thursday's defeat.

"That has nothing to do with right now," Howard said.

"There's no need for me to comment on it. So, you know, let's not even talk about it. There's no need to bring it up. Right now, I'm going to figure out how can I get myself better for next season, not about what team I want to play for. But right now I'm with the Magic, so all the speculation can stop. There's no need to talk about it."

Whether the Orlando Magic win or lose their first-round series to the Atlanta Hawks, coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith both will be coming back next season.

Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide told the Sentinel on Wednesday that he and owner Rich DeVos' family feel comfortable and confident in Van Gundy and Smith.

"We're happy with Otis and Stan," Vander Weide said. "Neither are in jeopardy.

"I've been around now 20 years in the NBA and I've got a good idea of other people's skill-sets are out there, and Stan and Otis are as good a complement as any in the league."

Jason Richardson played through considerable pain on Tuesday night after stepping on glass at his home in Orlando in the afternoon. Richardson was forced to receive seven stitches.

When asked about how much it hurt, Richardson exhaled and said, “It’s tough. It hurts.”.

Richardson scored 17 points on Tuesday in Orlando's Game 5 win and is expected to play on Thursday in Game 6.

In Sunday's Game 4 loss to the Hawks, the Magic went 2-for-23 from 3-point range.

Stan Van Gundy and his assistant coaches analyzed those attempts, and they found that if they excluded tries that came at the end of a quarter or just as the shotclock expired or were simply bad shots, the Magic went 2-for-15 from beyond the arc.

Of those 15, eight were wide-open.

The Magic made just one of those eight wide-open attempts.

"We've got to make those shots," Van Gundy said. "Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. I don't have a drill for that. These guys are getting their shots up. We've got to make those."

Gilbert Arenas definitely will play when the Orlando Magic host the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 Tuesday night at Amway Center.

"I'm not stupid!" Stan Van Gundy said after the Magic completed practice today.

"Yeah, he's going to get his opportunity again tomorrow. There's no question. I think that he played great. I've tried to say this in his defense all year: If you look, last night with J-Rich out, he knew he would get more extended minutes. So I think he plays more — I'm not going to say 'relaxed' — but more confidently that he doesn't have to worry that it's going to be a four- or five-minute stint.

"I'm not going to sit him out tomorrow after what he did. We'll see how it goes. We'll see what adjustments they make to his pick-and-rolls."

Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew said the Magic have gotten away with some illegal screens.

“I know that the way they play is to fight through screens and there’s going to be some contact,” Drew said. “I don’t know, maybe what’s been said, maybe that evens up all the illegal screens that’s been set. We feel that they have allowed to play a certain way.

“Our big guys are put into a position where they have to set screens, and I want them setting screens. If they try to fight through it, I want them to hold their crowd, but if they go through it, it’s a foul. I don’t see any real flopping going on.”

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he’s fine with the physical play between his team and the Atlanta Hawks, but he’s frustrated by what he calls the Hawks “flopping” in an attempt to draw fouls.

“I like it when guys stand up and fight like men,” Van Gundy said Saturday. “I think that is what the game is all about. The one thing that frustrates me is all the flopping.”

Van Gundy cited three plays from the Hawks’ 88-84 victory in Game 3 on Friday.

Hawks center Jason Collins drew a charging call when he hit the court after contact with Orlando center Dwight Howard and later did the same to guard Jameer Nelson. Van Gundy said Howard “touched [Hawks center] Zaza Pachulia in the chest on a screen and that sent him to the floor.”

“The one thing I learned is our guys are a lot stronger than I thought they were,” Van Gundy said sarcastically.