You can smirk and snicker about Greg Ostertag and his game all you want. But take it to the bank that Utah's 7-foot-2, 280-pound center will be one of the most sought-after free agents in the league this summer.

That's not to say Ostertag is going to get huge money. He's probably going to have to take a significant pay cut from the $8.6 million he made this season. Fellow center Erick Dampier, expected to exercise an opt-out clause in his Warriors contract, will likely get more money.

But Ostertag will draw more interest. Teams will pursue Ostertag because he is a proven shot-blocker and rebounder and he's durable. Ostertag, who averaged almost two blocks and eight rebounds in just 27 minutes per game last season, never has missed more than eight games in any of the past six seasons.

Of course, he's not a great center. But unless you have Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming on your roster, you're basically looking for part-time competence at that position.

Ostertag long has had a reputation for apathy. But in the past year or so, he's had run-ins, shouting matches and confrontations with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. That's a good thing. It has shown there's something there.

In a league that continues to emphasize physical interior play, fouling to prevent easy buckets and brawn over finesse, Ostertag will continue to have a role.

In this day and age of the NBA, you figure Ostertag might be worth $5 million or so a year, which is right around what the mid-level exception will be. Many teams have that exception to utilize -- and several will see if Ostertag is interestedlink