After the Washington Wizards were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA playoffs semifinals, Marcin Gortat hinted he and his agent may look around to see if there was a better situation for him. While Gortat is one of the better centers in the league, most teams are embracing small ball, especially late in games.
With the Wizards committing big money to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Ian Mahinmi, Gortat's future was uncertain as they also had to re-sign Otto Porter. Since both Wall and Porter signed contract extensions, the 10-year center is all in with Washington on the Wizards Tipoff podcast as transcribed by Chase Hughes of CSN Mid Atlantic:
“But listen, at the end of the day, if the team is winning then I’m fine with that. It’s all about winning and taking a step forward, going to the playoffs and hopefully reaching the conference finals and hopefully one day the NBA Finals. But it was just a tough situation for me certain weeks and certain months. In the playoffs, I had games where I was able to perform at the highest level and then the next game I was completely out of the game. So, it was tough. But like I said before, just because I said that in the exit interview stuff like that, doesn’t mean I don’t want to be on the team. I was just preparing myself that I might be traded. At the end of the day, I know I’m not the youngest one.”
Last season, the consensus was the Wizards have an extremely talented starting lineup but need to improve their bench. While the focus was on Porter in free agency, the front office traded for Tim Frazier while signing Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott.
With the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers recently completing a blockbuster deal, it will be interesting to see if the Wizards can take the next step to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. Although the East is considered to be weak for the 2017-18 NBA season, there will be plenty of competition in the top-three.
Follow Us
Subscribe