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The Magic surprised -- and disappointed -- Gortat and the Mavericks on Monday, matching an offer sheet to keep the Polish big man.

Gortat's agent, Guy Zucker, said the center "was definitely very disappointed today." He said Gortat was back in his native Poland, where he'd already been telling everyone he was headed to the Mavericks.

Gortat was hoping to play alongside Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki and, most of all, compete with Erick Dampier for the starting job. Dampier is going into the final year of his contract.

In Orlando, Gortat will likely see spotty playing time behind Howard.

"It was definitely about the opportunity to find out how good he can really be," Zucker said. "We had requested that Orlando not match the offer. We stated the fact that he sincerely wanted the chance to carve his own path, be his own man, so to speak, which is not going to be realistically possible in Orlando."

AGENTSTEVO wrote:He's trade bait. I think Otis trades him in December. I think its a good move because I think good centers are hard to come by. I still wish that Otis had signed Chris Wilcox instead. He'd probably have a smaller contract, he is more skilled, and we wouldn't have to wait until Dec to get him.

NickAndersonsBack25 wrote:

AGENTSTEVO wrote:He's trade bait. I think Otis trades him in December. I think its a good move because I think good centers are hard to come by. I still wish that Otis had signed Chris Wilcox instead. He'd probably have a smaller contract, he is more skilled, and we wouldn't have to wait until Dec to get him.

Well you're persistent. Are you chris wilcox?

Nemesis21 wrote:All talk by his agent. With a name like Guy, almost certain you're a loser.

VGOSWAMI wrote:I think Gortat is trade bait. I predict that if David Lee signs a one year deal with the knicks, that Orlando could do a swap with them. Their contracts should match up and the knicks really like Marcin. But who knows. Gortat has a great up side and could prove to be worth the money.

mhectorgato wrote:I feel bad for him for having his salary quadrupled during a major recession where the jobless rate is in the double digits and many can't afford the basics of life and/or health care.

MitchellUK wrote:He's got two options - play his ass off in practice and crack the rotation for a full-time spot of 20mpg+, or play his ass off in practice and earn his way into a trade to a team where he'll get more playing time.

One way or another, he's got to come to training cap with a fire in his belly.

magicfaninTN wrote:

MitchellUK wrote:He's got two options - play his ass off in practice and crack the rotation for a full-time spot of 20mpg+, or play his ass off in practice and earn his way into a trade to a team where he'll get more playing time.

One way or another, he's got to come to training cap with a fire in his belly.

#3. Show up unmotivated. Sit on his new contract and cruise for 3 years at just enough effort to stay in the league and then start to work hard again as he approaches a contract year. Wouldn't be the first NBA player to follow that route.

HOWEVER, I expect we'll see heart & hustle out of Gortat at game time.

LBPTarHeel27 wrote:What are the chances of him going to Europe? Just for the sake of conversation...