Where the Magic should go next, if they choose not to match a contract offer for Gortat
According to a report published today …
Commited? Gortat to tour Mavs facility
Marcin Gortat, Orlando’s Back-up Center extraordinaire, could well be heading toward the Lone Star state, if the Magic decline the opportunity to match the contract he is offered by the Dallas Mavericks.
Would this really be a bad thing, however, from Orlando’s perspective?
Especially, in light of their recent trade for Vincent Lamar Carter … and the courtship of the Turkish Michael Jordan which is taking place right now across the breadth of the NBA?
Hmmm …
Yours truly thinks, perhaps, not.
Marcin Gortat is about to sign a major new contract [say, in excess of $5.0 M/yr] to become a key player for a new team that expects him to perform at a certain level of production each and every night in the NBA, against the best players in the world … coming off a season during which he performed like this: 2008-2009 Season Statistics.
Now, this corner happens to like Mr. Gortat’s individual game a great deal but a move like that would make zero sense, from Orlando’s POV if, instead, the reigning Eastern Conference Champs could secure the services of another highly cost effective replacement Back-up Center … at a substantially lower rung on the pay scale … who just happens to be available, right now, also as a Restricted Free Agent, for a team that will have significant difficulty in paying him more money than he received last season, as the #3 Center on their depth chart.
Which player might this be?
If the Magic decline to match the contract offered to Mr. Gortat by the Mavericks and, instead, offer a new contract of their own to a highly serviceable Back-up Center by the name of Johan Petro … what might it do for Orlando’s ability to:
1. Resign Hedo Turkoglu;
and, then,
2. Present their fans with the following roster:
STARTERS
Jameer Nelson
Vince Carter
Hedo Turkoglu
Rashard Lewis
Dwight Howard
KEY SUBS
Anthony Johnson
JJ Redick
Mickael Pietrus
Ryan Anderson
Johan Petro
in an effort to win next year’s NBA Championship.
While one man’s steak is most definitely another man’s hamburger …
It says in this corner that Johan Petro [at @ $3.0 M/yr] … from a dollar for dollar perspective … would actually be a better Back-up Center [to Dwight Howard] in Orlando this coming season than would Marcin Gortat [at something more than $5.0 M/yr].
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Tags: Anthony Johnson, Dallas Mavericks, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Johan Petro, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Ryan Anderson, Vince Carter
July 4th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
What about Rasheed Wallace. You could probably get him on the cheap, and he would be a nice backup Center that gives you a different look on offense. A different kind of player then Gortat/Petro, but he has been there and done that, and probably wants to win another championship before retiring. Just a thought.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Raps Fan,
As evidenced by the news released yesterday, Sheed is headed to join the Celtics next season.
IMO, a player like Petro would be a great fit in Orlando. He’s a very good athlete, cost-effective, and a solid teammate.
July 6th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Not that I don’t care about Gortat, his replacement, or the Magic generally… but let’s hear your opinion on the prospective Hedo signing!!
July 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Scott G,
Fom Orlando’s perspective
1. Adding Vince Carter is a plus.
2. If they could’ve added Carter and kept Turkoglu, Orlando would have been a serious contender for a return trip to the NBA Finals.
3. The quality of their team next season will now depend on what Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik decide to do with the rest of their roster. There are players on the open market who can help their team, e.g. Johan Petro, but they will need to do a fantastic job to avoid any landmines.
4. When a player like Turkoglu leaves a place like Orlando it creates a lot of follow-up questions about his character & priorities. Time will tell as far as these are concerned.
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From Toronto’s perspective
1. It will depend on what Bryan Colangelo decides to do with the remainder of the roster.
i.e. If he signs the right players, I can give you a line-up that the Raptors can contend with for a Top 4 spot in the EC. On the other hand, if he signs the wrong players, or if Jay Triano & Co. use the players on their roster in the wrong way … I can certainly see how this deal might result in no substantial headway being made by their team for the next several seasons.
2. Until the 2nd shoe actually drops … IMO, it isn’t really worthwhile commenting upon.
3. Once that 2nd shoe drops … however … you can count on me providing my opinion, re: the moves the Raptors have made this off season.
As it stands right now, it’s not the worst move they could have made this summer and a LONG way off from being the best option available for their team’s improvement, short and long term.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Fair enough; I tend to agree that it’s hard to evaluate at this point, since there are a TON of question marks that remain given the amount of salary we just took on.
That said, while I’m not yet convinced that this move makes us a top-4 team in the east, I can’t really see how the two moves thus far (plus the draft) could make us any worse than last year.
Long-term, I’m not sure that I like it at all.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Scott G.,
I agree … it’s hard to see how drafting a player with nice upside [like DeRozan] in the No. 9 slot and adding Turkoglu could possibly result in even less than 33 wins this coming season. That said … 33 wins is a pretty abysmal season.
1. I dislike the DeRozan pick … but, only in comparison with the other options that were availbe to the Raptors at the time. On its own merit, it’s an okay move. Relatively speaking, however, it’s an average to below-average move, IMO.
2. re: Turk
I will need to see what other moves are going to be made before commenting on hedo’s addition to this team.
IMO, those who are panning it already are wrong to that, as are those who are singing its praises.
Long term?
At this point, I’m not sure I like either.
PS. Compared to the other options which the team had PRIOR to the draft, and I’ve outlined elsewhere, I can/will say that it wasn’t the route I, personally, would have chosen to go with this team this summer.