Since August I've been living in London, where basketball coverage is limited to highlight videos of John Amaechi and people protest when someone touches the ball with their hands. Needless to say I haven't been able to watch many games. So with that being said, can someone enlighten as to why Gortat dropped off the face of the earth this season? Did we end up getting lucky when we couldn't sign him or is his lack of production due to a bad situation?
hes playing behind Dwight Howard, which means he doesn't get minutes. The gortat resigning was a bad move by orlando, I dont see how they can justify paying him the MLE for only 10-15minutes a game
and, uh, looking at his stats...dude didn't drop off the face of the earth, his minutes actually went up. he didn't do much in the first place.
Gotcha I just remember being pretty hopeful last offseason that we would be able to sign him as backup to Yao even though a few teams were competing for him. Now it seems like there'd be a lot less interest in him from teams if his contract expired this year instead of last.
It's actually a great move. Gortat helped them tremendously in last year's playoff and proved he's a starting center for most teams. When DH is in foul trouble or tired, Gortat give you valuable minutes instantly. If we have had him to backup yao, we would've beaten LA and maybe championship already. Mutombo is a great backup when healthy, but at that stage he's cheap for a reason and Gortat is expensive at surface but cheap essentially(He's paid more than MLE).
Because Orlando is smart and realize that if your all-star center gets injured, it is nice to have a reliable backup. Maybe Houston should take some tips.
If this is a debate on Gortat's worthiness, I would take him hands down over David Anderson, Chuck Hayes, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong, pretty much any other backup Center that the Rockets would be able to realistically sign this off-season.
How is it a great move? he costs 6Mil this year and he only gives you 12 minutes of action a game. I dont see how you think he is cheap. You can sign a a starting calibur centre for 8-9 mil, how on earth is he cheap? 12 minutes, he gets 12 minutes of court time....12! 6 mil for 12 minutes?
Consider him Orlando's insurance policy. If Dwight's ever in foul trouble they won't get dominated by size.
The thing that Orlando really misses out on is they played the wrong strategy. They should have informed the world that they would retain Gortat at all cost. That way, maybe the Mavs won't sign him to the maximum allow for his situation (limits to the MLE). Otis Smith really messed up by trying to steal Brandon Bass from the Mavs, whos is now a 8.X Million injury reserve.
The Magic will have to use both Bass and Gortat, if the reach the NBA Finals. No way, they beat the Lakers, 4 games playing with a small lineup, outside of Dwight Howard.
I have to agree this. It's even more mind-boggling considering our starting center is significantly more injury prone.
We had a reliable backup, but he retired. Morey didn't want to add cap killing payroll when it was obvious we weren't winning a championship, which is why he signed a bargain basement center. I expect an additional quality big man will be added before the deadline, probably before the season starts.
Gortat's value will be seen if they make the finals against the Lakers. They will need that extra size in the paint to beat LA. He may not be worth the money if you are looking at stats and playing time and your team's situation, but he was worth it to Orlando and that is what ultimately counts. They were still able to get the scoring SG they wanted and resign their big backup C, that's why they are going to the championship this year.
Its a great moe because when you're in contention, you want all bases covered. Unlike the rockets, they dont have to trot a 6'5 center out there and act like its ok. Not to mention it buys them a year. This summer they can trade him and get value back. If the rockets had gortat, they probably make the playoffs.