I still have no ing idea why the Magic matched the Mavs' offer sheet.
Gortat’s Growing Discontent
SportingNews
The basketball world was stunned over the summer when the Orlando Magic not only signed Brandon Bass, but also matched the Mavs’ $34 million offer sheet on Polish center Marcin Gortat. Gortat had made a name for himself in the playoffs, the Mavs desperately needed a big man who wasn’t Erick Dampier and the Magic were already spending a ton of cash. Oh, and they had Dwight Howard playing the bulk of the minutes at the five.
Gortat had no choice but to be happy about it. After all, there was every reason to believe that the Magic would make a le run again this season. Maybe Howard loomed large in the starting lineup, but after what we saw from Gortat last spring and all the money he was being paid, surely Orlando had plans to turn him into a bigger factor. Right?
So far, not exactly. Gortat’s averaging a scant five minutes per game, and while he isn’t demanding a trade, he wants the world to know that he’s feeling unhappy. From the Orlando Sentinel:
"I love the organization, but I’m not going to stay here being a back-up player and playing five minutes a game," Gortat said. "I hope people understand that. I know I can have a bigger role on another team." […]
He said he’ll likely meet with coach Stan Van Gundy after the season to discuss his future and direct his agent, Guy Zucker, to talk with general manager Otis Smith. "I really don’t think about this now. But at some point, I want to have the chance to sit down with coach Van Gundy and tell him how I feel and where I want to go with my career," Gortat said. "I’m 100 percent sure coach will understand and will do the right thing for me and the team.
Stay tuned, I guess. Retaining Gortat was a luxury and perfectly within the Magic’s rights. You’d have figured, though, that this year would’ve brought us more Gortat, so it’s understandable he’s frustrated. Presumably talking it out will make sense of it all, because it would’ve been massively weird of the team to sign two backup centers if they only planned on playing Howard. If they do end up trying to move him, though, there should be takers for a young, skilled center—like maybe the Mavs?
I still have no ing idea why the Magic matched the Mavs' offer sheet.
they matched his offer just to play him 5 minutes a game!? sounds like a defensive move to keep the mavs from getting too strong. I think we would definately be a legit contender with him, and moving howard for a legit SG
I didn't think he really made a huge name for himself. Definitely not enough to be complaining openly about his role...
players who command the whole mle deserve more than 5 minutes per game. the whole situation is just stupid, i really can't blame him for being pissed. i'd probably do the same
While I agree with your sentiment that he is getting paid to play more than 5 minutes, I just don't know if he is really worthy of starters' minutes like he wants and thinks he's deserving of.
Because Otis Smith is a dumbass. Also, check out how much burn Brandon Bass is getting versus what they're paying him. They were already in luxury tax territory when they matched and signed Bass.
4 years, $18 million for Bass. What's he up to lately?
14 minutes against the Bobcats
6 minutes against the Zombie Sonics
9 minutes against the Bucks
2 minutes against the Knicks
5 years, $34 million for Gortat. What's he been doing?
7 minutes against the Hawks
8 minutes against the Bucks
7 minutes against the Knicks
6 minutes against the Knicks
Looks like they've both been getting some DNP - CDs. I'd trust Bear Sterns with my money before this dumb :
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Looks like they matched gortat for the sole reason of blocking mavs.
Last time bass played significant minutes, he scored 17 points in 18 minutes 7-12 shooting. Just saying.
Gortat, the same pussy who rejected the Rocket's offer because he didn't want the pressure of replacing Yao.Thanx Gortat, we're happy with Ariza
No, they did it because they think he's a trade asset and they didn't want to lose him for nothing. It's calculated greed. He might get hurt, he might not do in his limited minutes. The Mavs were the only team willing to give him the full MLE. Any team that wants to acquire him has to be okay with taking on that contract. And he's put up a lot of 0's in his last few spot appearances.
He's not playing significant minutes on a regular basis. Since they're in the luxury tax, they're in effect paying twice for 4 years, $18 million to park his ass on the bench.Last time bass played significant minutes, he scored 17 points in 18 minutes 7-12 shooting. Just saying
That might have been his excuse, but maybe it was because if he had gone to the rockets, he would have been playing behind yao when yao is healthy, and he would be in the same situation he is in right now.
Obviously he wants to be the starter, not a backup anymore, and not like he can slide to PF, he sucks at the 4.
That may be true, but IT IS because of his limited minutes that people might overpay, or be interested in him, because let's face it, lotsa players don't show their mettle till they get 15+ minutes on a regular basis.
Hard to say that so early in the season, if Bass get's over 60 DNP's over the season then yes you could say waste of money for a bench warmer, but it's early still, wait and see what SVG does with their rotation.
Nobody except Dallas was willing to pony up that money beforehand, and you would want to see a little bit more of him than in mop-up duty before committing to taking on that contract.
He's there for injury depth. I bet Bass right about now thinks this is not what he signed up for. He got more burn in Dallas.Hard to say that so early in the season, if Bass get's over 60 DNP's over the season then yes you could say waste of money for a bench warmer, but it's early still, wait and see what SVG does with their rotation.
HAHAHAHAHA....oh yeah.
Delusional Mavs fan are the best!![]()
were better than your ty team without howard, why wouldn't we be better with both of those guys?![]()
We need him
They matched Gortat's offer sheet because at this price he's a very valuable asset in a future trade (and, obviously, a great backup center to have).
that would be true if he hasn't looked atrocious in his limited minutes, I think people feel his dogging it, not giving it his all to force a trade from orlando. In that sense i feel there will be many takers come the trade deadline.
Gortat has never hidden he was unhappy with Orlando's decision to match the offer. He said it immediately there after. It shows he's not the kind of guy who's happy collecting a salary, he really wants to play and prove himself (and not because he's going to be fighting for a new contract any time soon).
The way I see it, Orlando wants to keep him in for depth, but if he's gonna piss and moan the whole time and only give 50% hustle and energy, their better off trading him for a piece this season to help them.
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