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Gortat was abused by Odom when he tried to guard him.
You're aware that Gortat has this other guy ahead of him in the rotation that's pretty good, right? The "he's not even good enough to start" line is getting progressively more lame, folks.
Gortat was abused by Odom when he tried to guard him.
Marcin Gortat’s agent is telling teams he already has a full midlevel offer. League executives think it is likely from the Houston Rockets, who met with Gortat after midnight on Wednesday.
The story is that Heisley was frustrated with Jerry West's lack of results, and walked into his office demanding to know why he wasn't getting players signed. So West immediately called Cardinal's agent and offered him the full MLE, then turned to Heisley and said, "There. Happy now?" They swear it's a true story, and it's about the only way that contract makes sense. It's safe to say the Spurs are in no danger of anything remotely like that deal.
Last edited by GSH; 07-01-2009 at 01:29 PM.
You mean when Odom was hitting threes and running the floor? I can't imagine why.
A team would be nuts to pay him anymore than the MLE.
Marcin Gortat’s agent is telling teams he already has a full midlevel offer. League executives think it is likely from the Houston Rockets, who met with Gortat after midnight on Wednesday.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...yhoo&type=lgns
Or when the same franchise (Houston) gave Kelvin Cato a $42million dollar extension. I'd like to think their GM is a little smarter than that now. Either way... they are making a huge push for Gortat since they are in scramble mode with Yao's future up in the air.
A team without a center that took the Lakers to seven games would be stupid not to pay to get a guy that can block shots, rebound and defend in the post.
richard justice, a reliable houston reporter, was on the radio earlier and bluntly stated that the rockets did not offer the full mle and would not be raising their offer to the full mle.
Agent is trying to drive up the price- or force some team to up their offer.
I am going to laugh at the team that believes this guy can play 30+ minutes against starters and produce good numbers...But hey, as long as it isn't the spurs who throw mle kind of money its all good.
Then they probably won't get him as it sounds like Orlando is prepared to match up to $4M a year. It's going to take the full MLE to pull Gortat away.
Rockets offer Gortat contract
The Houston Rockets launched an all-out bid to sign Polish center Marcin Gortat on Wednesday, including an offer for the Orlando Magic backup player.
With the future of star Yao Ming uncertain, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey showed up at Gortat's home in Orlando just after midnight local time, virtually the minute that NBA teams were officially allowed to begin negotiating with free agents.
Morey even announced the meeting on his Facebook page and urged fans to leave notes for Gortat at an e-mail address -- [email protected]. Morey said that within 10 minutes of his face-to-face meeting with Gortat, more than 100 e-mails had already arrived and the number climbed above 2,000 by noon Wednesday.
"He was reading them with some intensity," Morey said in a phone interview. "He was impressed by the number of messages and how much the fans seem to care about their team. I knew Rockets fans would come through."
Morey said the Rockets made Gortat an offer, but would not divulge details.
"He's someone we've targeted for some time, even before this season," Morey said. "Although he's early in his career in terms of experience, we feel like he's a guy who has a lot of potential over time."
Gortat's agent, Guy Zucker, did not immediately return a phone message.
All the love for Gortat is driven by the uncertainty surrounding Yao. A team doctor said on Monday that the hairline fracture in Yao's left foot could potentially threaten his career.
The team said last week that Yao was out indefinitely and was seeking other medical opinions to plot a new course of treatment. Morey had no update on Yao's condition on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-11 Gortat averaged just 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season and 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds during the Magic's playoff run to the NBA finals. He's a restricted free agent, meaning the Magic can match any offer from another team to keep the player.
Gortat is one of the few true centers among this summer's crop of free agents, and the Rockets aren't the only team interested. The Dallas Mavericks jumped into the mix on Wednesday, too, sending coach Rick Carlisle to handle some of the recruiting.
Dallas is looking for a big man to back up starter Erick Dampier, though Dampier's expiring contract makes him a juicy trade target this offseason. The Mavericks may be dangling a bigger role for Gortat, either right away or by the start of the following season.
Dallas also can offer the chance to be part of a team that's won 50 games and made the playoffs each of the last nine years. With Dirk Nowitzki still in his prime, team owner Mark Cuban is doing all he can to win now -- something that might be tougher for the Rockets to do with Yao and Tracy McGrady recovering from serious injuries.
Morey said that the Rockets were looking for a reserve center even before the severity of Yao's injury was known. Dikembe Mutombo, who backed up Yao over the last five seasons, is retiring.
"We were targeting lots of players," Morey said. "We feel like Marcin would not only make a good backup, but also has the potential to be a solid starter."
My God, that's ing stupid. And of course, Jethro in Liberty County was sending the Big Pole an email at midnight while dry humping his Clutch the Bear doll."He was reading them with some intensity," Morey said in a phone interview. "He was impressed by the number of messages and how much the fans seem to care about their team. I knew Rockets fans would come through."
One wonders what a certain Greek in Montrose was doing...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4299705
Rockets, Mavs chasing Gortat
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
Archive
Restricted free agent Marcin Gortat was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Dallas Mavericks, ESPN.com learned, making the Mavs the second Texas team to personally court the Orlando center in the first 24 hours of free agency.
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Moray showed up at Gortat's home in Orlando just after midnight ET Wednesday, virtually the minute teams were officially allowed to begin negotiating with free agents. Morey even announced the meeting on his Facebook page and urged fans to leave notes for Gortat at an e-mail address -- [email protected].
"He was reading them with some intensity," Morey said. "He was impressed by the number of messages and how much the fans seem to care about their team. I knew Rockets fans would come through."
A third Texas team, the San Antonio Spurs, also was making a play for the 6-foot-11 center from Poland who spent the past two seasons backing up Dwight Howard with the Magic. Other teams that have expressed interest include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, a league source told ESPN.com.
Orlando has the right to match any offer Gortat receives, but such a move would put the Magic far into luxury tax territory. The Magic's other key free agent, Hedo Turkoglu, is unrestricted, and Orlando has similar luxury tax concerns in deciding whether to retain him. Turkoglu was scheduled to meet Tuesday night with Blazers coach Nate McMillan, then fly to Portland later this week.
Gortat has only two years of NBA experience, putting him into a category known as an "Early Bird" free agent.
The "Early Bird" rules were changed in the last collective bargaining agreement after the Washington Wizards signed Gilbert Arenas to an offer sheet that the Golden State Warriors were unable to match because of their existing salary cap commitments.
Under the new rules, no team can offer Gortat more than the mid-level exception (expected to be about $5.8 million for the upcoming season) in the first two years of any offer sheet.
But a team could include a third year (and a fourth and/or fifth) at any number up to the maximum allowed under collective bargaining rules -- provided that the team tendering the offer sheet has enough space under the cap to absorb Gortat's new cap number, which would be different from his actual salary. (For instance, Oklahoma City could offer a three-year deal with salaries of $5.8 million, $6.2 million and $12 million, which would put Gortat on their cap for $8 million -- $24 million divided by three -- in each of the next three seasons. But if Orlando were to match such an offer, Gortat's actual salary, not his average, would go on the Magic's cap.)
Gortat's agent, Guy Zucker, said Morey even showed up in Orlando with a Rockets jersey with Gortat's name on it. He also said his client was interested in the Rockets.
"We had planned to meet teams later on in the process," Zucker said. "So this was a big surprise. The jersey with his name on it really caught him off-guard."
Morey said the Rockets made Gortat an offer, but would not divulge details.
"He's someone we've targeted for some time, even before this season," Morey said. "Although he's early in his career in terms of experience, we feel like he's a guy who has a lot of potential over time."
All the love for Gortat is driven by the uncertainty surrounding Yao Ming after the team doctor said Monday that the hairline fracture in Yao's left foot could threaten his career. The team said last week that Yao was out indefinitely and was seeking other medical opinions to plot a new course of treatment. Morey had no update on Yao's condition on Wednesday.
Gortat averaged just 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season and 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds during the Magic's playoff run to the NBA Finals.
Dallas is looking for a big man to back up starter Erick Dampier, though Dampier's expiring contract makes him a juicy trade target this offseason. The Mavericks may be dangling a bigger role for Gortat, either right away or by the start of the following season.
Dallas also can offer the chance to be part of a team that's won 50 games and made the playoffs each of the last nine years. With Dirk Nowitzki still in his prime, team owner Mark Cuban is doing all he can to win now -- something that might be tougher for the Rockets to do with Yao and Tracy McGrady recovering from serious injuries.
Morey said that the Rockets were looking for a reserve center even before the severity of Yao's injury was known. Dikembe Mutombo, who backed up Yao over the last five seasons, is retiring.
"We were targeting lots of players," Morey said. "We feel like Marcin would not only make a good backup, but also has the potential to be a solid starter."
Zucker said Gortat was very tempted by the Rockets' offer. Houston pressed the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the second round of the playoffs and Zucker said that performance is a factor in Gortat's decision.
"It is a great potential situation," Zucker said. "It's a team with a great winning tradition, a very good roster and very good character. The team played extremely well in the playoffs and showed incredible spirit against the Lakers. It is a very interesting situation to Marcin."
Another offseason priority for the Rockets was re-signing Ron Artest, who is an unrestricted free agent after earning more than $7 million in a productive first season with Houston. Morey said he has contacted Artest's agent, David Bauman, to open negotiations. Bauman would not comment on the progress so far.
Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Useful info.
This from a Polish newspaper:
"NBA Magic have no intention of wasting a Pole, and is likely to offer him a new contract."
Heh... I like that. A Pole is a terrible thing to waste.
I actually wanted Gortat on the Spurs. He would fill a piece of the puzzle in order for them win to a championship.
But, it looks like its going to take the full MLE to get him. I don't know if the Spurs wanted to do that.
You guys are underrating Gortat. He isn't a stud, but he is an average NBA center...and those cost you right around what the MLE goes for. The guy has decent athleticism for his size, he can finish, he can board and he is a solid defender. All of those traits would be very noticeable if you watched him play in the postseason. He also defends the pick-n-roll well and did ok in the Magic's offense....so I think he would do ok in Adelman's motion offense.
I'm fairly certain it was the Mavs that offered him the full MLE. They've long had a hard-on for Gortat.
I just hope the door of FA bigs won't close for us
Houston is deperate with Yao out for the season and maybe forever. They have NO center at this point.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...BA&eid=4299705
Oh God.A third Texas team, the San Antonio Spurs, also was making a play for the 6-foot-11 center from Poland who spent the past two seasons backing up Dwight Howard with the Magic. Other teams that have expressed interest include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, a league source told ESPN.com.
Spurs are probably contacting everyone they are interested in if Plan A doesn't work.
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