[Florida Today] GM Otis Smith - We'll match any offer for Gortat

This is Marc Jackson all over again.

 

I say call his bluff. There is no way Gortat would want to play for SVG. SVG had a couple of brain freezes in the playoff with his play calling and wanting to play Jameer Nelson over Rafer.

 

and orlando can always ignore gortat's request

 

Just...great.

I just hope the pursuit of Zaza and Varejao isn't too aggressive...or expensive. I'd rather tank than have to look at Varejao's hair bounce up-and-down the court all game. Restricted free agency sucks.

 

Whether Gortat wants to play for SVG has little to do with it. He's a restricted free agent. If Orlando really wants him back, and they're willing to pay luxury tax, they'll get him back.

 

The only one who wins in this situation is Gortat. He could spend the rest of his life counting the money he will receive this offseason.

 

they could match any offer... doesn't mean he'll choose to sign with the magic to be howard's backup. i think he wants to be a starter.

 

Good call.

Wonder if Gortat will end up busting like Marc did.

Saw him in a Euroleague game not long ago - he did have some decent
skills.

 

true but is it really smart to resign a RFA when he says he doesnt want to come back AND you have to go into lux tax hell in doing so

 

Pretty much. They'd be kind of stupid to just blow money like that. That's way too expensive for a back-up.

 

He doesn't get to choose. If Orlando matches the offer, he will be with Orlando. This is what a restricted free agent is.

That being said, if Gortat really does want to get away from Stan Van Gundy and have an opportunity to start a lot with us (or another team), he can put pressure on the Magic not to match the deal.

 

People calm down. The Magic are in the same situation that the Rockets were in last year with Landry. The Magic are already at $69 million bucks, which is likely the lux tax level and have only signed 8 players. They only have their MLE and Bi-annual exception to sign players, and after that would have to use vet minimum exceptions for those last few players.

That is at least $10 million in luxury taxes, and assumes they can find 3-4 players who will play for the vet minimum. They may be able to go after some undrafted rookies, but still.

I honestly feel that this is a a ploy. Gortat is important, but given they money situation, and how many spots they have to fill, I doubt they will match a 5 yr, $25 million contact on Gortat.

It also depends on how long the Rockets and other teams can get Gortat to hold out. If he does not sign an offer sheet for 2 months or so, and the Magic sign some other players to fill out their roster, they may not have the full MLE to match.

 

I still can't believe the brain freezes to play Reddick over Courtney Lee.

 

The Magic would not necessarily pay 50 million over 5 years; 5 mill in salary and 5 mill in tax every year if they signed him to a 5 million/year deal. It would only be for this year that they would have to pay the extra 5 million. If they lose other contracts and go under the cap next year, then they will only need to pay his salary of 5 million.

 

no at least for the next 2 years

and remember the contracts of lewis howard, carter and nelson all go up the following season

so they may be further into the lux tax for the 10/11 season

 

The key phrase here is "at this point." Until an offer sheet has actually been signed, they are matching everything. That is the stance they should take. When it turns out to be $6M, they will likely change their tune. The Rockets just need to get it offered timely so they still have backup options.

 

Yes... thank you Otis Smith and Rashard Lewis.

Lewis is a talented guy, but, man, $120 million?

 

I'm not surprised, this is pretty much what I expected. Gortat is to Orlando this year what Landry was to us last year. We all knew Morey would match whatever anybody offered for Landry and I expected Smith would do the same for Gortat.

Now that Orlando has confirmed that, Gortat can just look for the best deal. If money is his goal, he'll take the highest dollar amount. If he really wants out of Orlando and wants to become an unrestricted free agent he'll take the deal with the fewest years. If Morey wants to do him a favor, offer him a one year deal. If he takes it, Orlando will match and he'll be an UFA in 2010.

Regardless, Gortat isn't going to be here next season. Even if Orlando does have a limit on how much they're willing to match, they'll still be able to match whatever we're offering. And if Gortat accepts that Orlando will match, he'll likely just accept the highest offer which won't be the one coming from the Rockets. So even if the Magic are bluffing, he's still won't be in Houston.

 

Morey did the same thing with Landry. It's standard operating procedure among GM's to say this. Relax.

 

If anyone truly thinks that Gortat has no bearing on this decision because he is a RFA than they are greatly mistaken. If he truly is looking for playing time (which I am inclined to think he is) it isn't out of the realm of possibility that Gortat will strongly urge the Magic he does not want to play for them as a backup and request they give him a chance to be a starter.

Do really think that Orlando would still go ahead and sign a guy to a contract knowing he will be unhappy for several years with his role and you have basically forced him to be with on your team? It isn't like they would be making some small, short term investment that if it doesn't work out they can just blow off. The signing would most likely put the team in a tight place for years with their current long term contracts. The GM would literally have to be an idiot...but of course this is all assuming Gortat wants to play bad enough that he would make his preference know....

Anyways, the RFA part of the CBA isn't designed to force players to play for teams they don't want to. It is more or less there for teams to protect the players they took a chance on in the draft from leaving in a completely wide open bidding situation....it is very rarely (if ever) been used to force a player to stay with a team that he doesn't want to be with.