Free Agent Targets: Marcin Gortat?

Think he fits in OKC?

who aren’t following the playoffs, if you want to see this guy play, Orlando is still in the playoffs, so you haven’t missed your chance yet.

Gortat will be a “Restricted” free agent, so teams making offers will have to at least make them lucrative enough that the Magic will feel like it’s too expensive to keep him around.

Also, Dwight is suspended for tonights game, so Gortat will be getting the start and you can see him play tonight if you aren’t familiar with him. I think he fits the mold that the Thunder are looking for and could grow into the type of center that the Thunder are looking for with more playing time next season.

…on Gortat today on the NBA page of the print Newspaper. I’m posting from my phone so I can’t link the story on USAToday.com if it’s up over there. I’m sure it is.

From what I’ve seen of Gortat, especially down the last half of the season, “The Polish Hammer” looks strong and has good rebounding skills. I could see him as a solid bench player for the Thunder. I would worry about giving away too much for him though, since he is an RFA. I’m also not sure that the Magic wouldn’t be interested in a few of those expiring contracts that you hold in your pocket like so many coins.

I would say make a play for him. He’s solid, and fairly young. Nothing is a better career booster than solid playoff experience either. I could see next season being the first where Gortat plays consistent solid ball for the entire year.

We will miss him.

Awesome Blog BTW

Who cares if you comment on your own post?

Not me.

Like I said Awesome Blog!!!

in thinking about it…I can really see this working if all the financials fall into place. This year’s draft is short on big men (pun intended), and the Thunder are looking for solid big men to contribute to the stellar backcourt they’ve assembled. Gortat fits the bill for that role.

Who do you think OKC would prefer to have in the draft if they had their choice of player?

Was just thinking while watching the cav replay how nice it would be to have Delonte West and Westbrook together for the next 4 years.

I know, I know, whatever it took to cut Wally free.

They have some of the most cap room in the league. They need to be smart with it, but also need to be bold and go out and get a big time player to throw out there with Durant. While I’m sure Marcin Gortat is a decent bench player, the Thunder have too many guys that could be potentially molded into good role players for certain roles. They need:

*A shooter: Durant can light it up but I’m hard pressed to find another great shooter on this team. Westbrook could get there, and I think he’ll eventually nail down his shot and become a combo guard that starts at the 2. Still, it’s not hard to find a 6th man type shooter for cheap on the free agent market (especially in this economy). Most playoff teams have this type of guy. See Eddie House for the Celts. The Thunder need a guy who can be easy points off the bench.

*A distributer: Call me crazy, but I don’t know if Westbrook will ever get there as a distributing PG. If you take Durant, have Westbrook improve his shot, keep Jeff Green, and sign a free agent or two that can rack up the points, you’ll need someone who can just cut to the hoop and set up all of these guys. There seems to be plenty of promising young PGs in the draft class.

*A guy who can hold his own in the middle: Krstic is one of those guys better suited to be a PF because he’s not that strong and he extends his game out too much. The Thunder need a big body that can hold his own down low. Blake Griffin clearly comes to mind, even though he’s more of a high flyer, playing-above-the-rim type. Griffin can still grab boards. He needs to work on his post defense. Still, there appears to be some nice big bodies available in the offseason.

The thing is, the Thunder have all of this cap room because they have a bunch of cheap contracts, and a bunch of bench/depth type guys. That sets them up perfectly, especially in an offseason where a bunch of teams will likely try to unload some contracts. The thunder can trade a few depth guys like Atkins, Rose, Livingston, Weaver, etc. and get a big name in return. That’ll put more people in the seats, improve the team, and give the Thunder another better scoring option to boot.

If I were the Thunder, I’d sign a guy like Ben Gordon, trade for a guy like Marcus Camby or Kendrick Perkins, and draft a PG since the class is so strong. Let the PG you drafted come off the bench to be a slasher/distributer, and start something like Camby/Krstic/Durant/Gordon/Westbrook.

I think Marcin Gortat would be an excellent signing for the Thunder — heck, he’d be an excellent signing for anyone.

I believe he’d be the second best player on the team behind Durant and that his addition could make the Thunder a .500 team … and they could be better than that if some of the youngsters grow, or the lottery pick becomes a stud, or they make a nice acquisition via a trade or free agency.

I have no doubts about Marcin Gortat’s ability to keep his production at a high level in more minutes. I think if he you give him 35 minutes a night he’ll contribute 9-12 points, 10-12 rebounds and play very good defense. In other words, he’s a player who’ll have a major impact on the game without ever needing the ball in his hands, and that quality will be the perfect complement for the youngster’s continued development.

Gortat is similar to a Tyson Chandler type player … except he gives you 90% of the performance level for about a third of the cost.

If Gortat did come to Oklahoma, there is no way he’d play behind Krstic — even if Krstic regained his best form — or Nick Collison. What Gortat can do in terms of defense + rebounding is far more valuable than what either of these two players bring to the table.

I like the idea of Gortat and Green together. I think they complement each other nicely. Then having Collison off the bench, so the team can either go real big, or smaller, very nice. Those three would make a good big man rotation.

One final thought — Gortat is incredibly athletic. He’d look good in an uptempo offense and good alongside those quick young Thunder players.