Marcin Gortat, a longtime NBA veteran who last played with the Los Angeles Clippers, reminisced about his 12 years in the league, recounting the Phoenix Suns as the worst franchise he has ever playd for.
Gortat saw the best years of his NBA career in Phoenix, after leaving the shadow of Dwight Howard with the Orlando Magic and investing in a future as a starting center. He averaged a career-high 15.4 points and 10 rebounds in 2011-12 — his first full season in Phoenix after he was traded in 2010 after 25 games with the Magic.
While Gortat played well with the Suns, he took a hammer to the organization as a whole:
“From a basketball standpoint it was great but when it comes to everything else the Suns are the worst organization I’ve ever played for,” said Gortat in an interview, via Yiannis Bouranis of TalkBasket.net. “To this day, I think it hasn’t changed because some people working there should never manage this team.”
After two and a half seasons with the Suns, Gortat would go on to start for the Washington Wizards for five seasons before ending with a stint with LA.
The Suns have had a putrid reputation since Steve Nash left the team after the 2011-12 season, playing out his last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers in a very limited stint after being hampered by injuries.
Phoenix has become synonymous with the NBA lottery and the cellar of the Western Conference, as new star Devin Booker has now seen five different coaches through his first four seasons in the league. The Suns also fired general manager Ryan McDonough days before the start of the 2018-19 season, a clear sign of organizational instability and disarray, which most hinted has started at the top with owner Robert Sarver.
Apparently Gortat's experience with the franchise wasn't any different than what Booker, Deandre Ayton and others have witnessed in the last few years.
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