(Another) Polish player in NBA !!! Marcin Gortat

[Richey666]

Big payday coming for Gortat

Sources told ESPN.com that the Mavericks are bringing Gortat to town to tour the area and the team's facilities after extending him an offer believed to be worth Dallas' full mid-level exception -- which could translate to a five-year deal starting at roughly $5.6 million -- in hopes of dissuading the Orlando Magic from matching the offer.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4303432

It means $5,6 million per year, right?

[greg]

It means $5,6 million per year, right?

Of course.

[Qba]

No.

It's 5,6 in first year.

In next years he will get more.

[auris1]

He got injured today. Do not know how serious ,but it didn’t look good though

[rikhardur]

All hail the Polish Hammer


Number 1 play of games played last night

[ip84]

Watch 1:15 !

[rikhardur]

Gortat in the dunk contest next year?

[Simonas123]

Not that this has anything to do with Gortat or Polish basketball, but Lietuvos Rytas' Aussie center Aron Baynes will be in the Lithuanian League dunk contest. I doubt he can do something of Gortat's caliber shown in the last vid...

[mvblair]

Gortat had a great final game. He scored 16 points, making 5-6 (two pointers) and 6-6 (free throws). He also had 6 rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time.

He finishes the regular season with 3.6 points, 4.2 rebounds in about 13 minutes of playing time per game. He shot 53% from the field.

In the play-offs, the emphasis turns toward defense and big men, and Gortat is a pretty good defender. If Cleveland and Orlando play, I expect to see him a lot.

[mvblair]

Marcin Gortat has a Flickr photo page. It's really fun to look through. He's got some great pictures of his teammates and they seem to be having. I guess he's a big sports car fan.

[CKR13]

Orlando Magic Media Day

Marcin Gortat was sporting a Trim-Flat Mo-Hawk

Pose:

[rikhardur]

Marcin Gortat wants bigger role, but Orlando Magic not interested - Oct 7, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
At the EuroBasket qualifying tournament in August, few big men were more dominant than Poland's Marcin Gortat (213-C-84).

He led the tournament in field-goal percentage. He played almost every minute. He had 29 points against Belgium. 23 against Bulgaria.

When playing for Poland, Gortat is the man. His teammates look to him almost every trip down the court, feeding him the ball near the hoop and out near the perimeter. Jumpers, post-ups, cuts off the pick and roll; Gortat shows off a versatile offensive repertoire when playing for his home country.

Then Gortat returns to Orlando, where his role is simple: rebound, defend and run the floor. Stuck backing up the league's best center, few plays are called for Gortat. On offense, he's little more than a pick-setter and boards-crasher.

When Gortat does try to showcase his offensive game with the Magic, he gets talked to by the coaching staff.

And that adjustment has not been easy for the 26-year-old big man.

'There are days when I'm about to explode and just say a couple of things or go to the coach and tell him what I want to do,' Gortat said. 'I feel like I'm one of the guys who has to sacrifice a lot to adjust to this team. I can tell you that it's not easy.'

The Orlando Magic, meanwhile, are not overly concerned about Gortat's desire to play more offense. During the team's 3 1/2- hour meeting last Monday, his teammates told him they wanted him to focus on his role of defending, rebounding and running the floor.

They weren't interested in any offensive flash from Dwight Howard's backup.

'A lot of players feel that they can do more than what everybody's asking them to do,' Howard said. 'But you've gotta know your role. Teams that win championships, everybody knows their role.'

After the first week of training camp, coach Stan Van Gundy was concerned about Gortat's focus on his role.

He finished last among Orlando's big men in rebounding and failed to register a block in the team's four scrimmages last week. And Gortat shot just 36 percent from the field among the worst on the team. In Tuesday night's preseason opener, however, Gorat scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in a little more than 20 minutes.

'I think that he's a guy who has a lot of trouble accepting his role,' Van Gundy said. 'He really wants to be more of an offensive player. I'm not discouraging that. But he needs to focus on defending and rebounding and running the floor. He needs to get back to that.

'Those are the things he does well, and he has not done a good job of that.'

The Dallas Mavericks made Gortat an offer worth about $34 million over 5 years last summer. In Dallas, Gortat would be the starter alongside forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion. He'd be the leading big man on a Western Conference contender.

Somewhat surprisingly, Orlando matched the offer. At the time many thought Gortat was simply long-term trade bait, but it's looking more and more as if the Magic intend to keep him around as Howard insurance.

Gortat isn't unhappy in Orlando he likes his teammates, the city and the legitimate possibility of a championship but the thought of playing a bigger role somewhere else rarely leaves his mind.

'I'm entering my prime years,' Gortat said. 'I want to keep winning, but I also want to play. So I hope I'm going to have both those things.'

Gortat is generally a good soldier. It's not as if he walks around the Magic facilities with a chip on his shoulder. He's always laughing and joking with his teammates; he's a pleasant guy to be around.

Van Gundy likes him, saying 'I have great faith in him. He's a smart guy, he plays hard, he knows what he's doing and he fits well with us.'

Gortat, though, won't see his role grow larger in Orlando anytime soon. His role, now and in the future, is clear: rebound, defend and run the floor.

'I'm interested in trying to do what's best for our team,' Van Gundy said. 'Some guys will have to accept some things role-wise; every guy out here has to accept some things role wise.'

Courtesy of www.orlandosentinel.com

http://www.eurobasket.com/Poland/basketball.asp?NewsID=205352

[CKR13]

Gortat: "NBA European Expansion won't work."

Orlando Magic center Marcin Gortat was recently interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel on his thoughts about NBA Commissioner, David Stern's vision of a 5 Team Division in Europe carrying the NBA Brand. Gortat was quoted:

"It just wouldn't work. Right now, the NBA has a couple of guys in the NBA from Europe and we (the league) are elite right now. We have 350 to 400 of the best players in the world, and if we're going to expand into the entire world, I think the NBA's going to lose value as the best league in the world. This is just my opinion, but we'll see."

[CKR13]

Orlando Magic 104 Detroit Pistons 91

Marcin Gortat starting as center as Dwight Howard was out with a stomach virus. Gortat had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks for the Magic.

[mvblair]

Gortat Most Coveted - December 12, 2010, by Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel

...Despite PF Brandon Bass' sterling play, the Magic player who still attracts more trade attention is C Marcin Gortat.

Teams call General Manager Otis Smith and ask about Gortat followed by Bass and PF Ryan Anderson.

"Teams need bigs," Smith said.

The dilemma the Magic are weighing: Is Gortat more valuable to them in the postseason or more valuable to dangle in a trade? If the Magic could pick up another scorer or perimeter defender and an inexpensive big man in a deal, why not?

I say sell....

It's not a secret that teams want Gortat. He's a big man with strength and athleticism. He's got a fantastic body for a center.

Otis Smith, the Magic GM, really wanted to keep Gortat over the summer in 2009, so he matched Dallas' 34 million dollar contract. Because Orlando already has Dwight Howard, Smith is basically paying Gortat to prevent other teams from having him.

Truth is, Gortat is valuable for the play-offs, when teams go bigger, slower, and more physical.