Apparently Magic will hang onto Marcin

[gofret]

shows orlando will spend money to try and win it all. backup centers are not throwaway players. he will let dwight rest more in the season and provide good insurance.

finally someone got it.

[vctmac]

Look at the contract Diop signed with Dallas and you now have Gortat...

There's an important difference: Diop is a bit crap, Gortat is solid.

For his skills, at this price, it's a great deal. The guy is a starting-caliber center. They get to bring him off the bench. If Howard gets in foul trouble, they're okay.

I'm not sure about the accuracy of the "report", but if it's true then Orlando is going all-in for this season. I say it's worth it... and if through some bizarre set of circumstances they're not a contender this year or next, his won't be a hard contract to move. There are hardly any good centers in the NBA and a well-above average one at an average contract is always a good asset to have.

i wouldn't go so far as saying that gortat is a starting-caliber center. Maybe in a few years, but for now i still see him as a varajoe type player who sparks the team with energy and rebounding

[webeye]

i wouldn't go so far as saying that gortat is a starting-caliber center. Maybe in a few years, but for now i still see him as a varajoe type player who sparks the team with energy and rebounding

Mathematically-speaking, at least the 30 players most qualified to start at center on a team would have to qualify as "starting-caliber centers." And I doubt there's 30 that are better than Gortat.

And I think it's safe to say Gortat would start for Detroit, probably Indiana, obviously Dallas, Houston (now), Phoenix, New York, and a few other teams who are currently just developing youth at the spot (Memphis, Sacramento, Minnesota, Chicago). Sounds like a starter to me.

Hell, if we had Gortat, we'd have a thread a day demanding we trade one of Bosh or Bargnani so Gortat could start at the five for us, or just pleading for Bargs to come off the bench.

[Morris_Shatford]

shows orlando will spend money to try and win it all. backup centers are not throwaway players. he will let dwight rest more in the season and provide good insurance.

If Gortat was playing lets even say 20-25 MPG last season,
And was able to play some spot minutes at the 4, then sure toss about six million per season at him for the next five seasons,

But we are talking about a dude who played 12MPG last year,

[djsunyc]

shows orlando will spend money to try and win it all. backup centers are not throwaway players. he will let dwight rest more in the season and provide good insurance.

If Gortat was playing lets even say 20-25 MPG last season,
And was able to play some spot minutes at the 4, then sure toss about six million per season at him for the next five seasons,

But we are talking about a dude who played 12MPG last year,

doesn't matter. if they let him leave, they lose a quality backup for 12mpg. that forces dwight to play more minutes b/c games will be closer. teams that close to a title need to pay $$$ to keep their guys.

[Vittorio De Zen]

But we are talking about a dude who played 12MPG last year,

You're right, he played 12 mpg last season. That doesn't mean he's undeserving of the contract.

Jermaine O'Neal didn't play more than that until his 5th season, but he was putting up solid per-minute numbers before that, so various people around the league had an idea that he was going to be very good.

It's not Gortat's fault that Dwight Howard plays in front of him. It's not his fault that SVG refused to try playing them together. He was very good when he was on the floor.

[Jownac]

I like Gortat, but that's crazy money for a guy that will play about 10-15MPG. I can understand Orlando not wanting to lose a quality player for nothing though.

[YogiStewart]

shows orlando will spend money to try and win it all. backup centers are not throwaway players. he will let dwight rest more in the season and provide good insurance.

and spend and spend and spend....

[KFlight]

Their depth at the wing position is horrific isn't it?