Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLVIII"Preseason"Ed.)

[ChosenSavior]

I'd love to have Gortat back. Don't get me wrong I'm a pretty big Vuc fan, but Gortat's defense and P&R game are some things that Vuc will probably never develop. I don't see why having both would be a bad thing.. Having a great "third big" (sixth man big) is a nice way to punish small teams come playoff time. It all depends on how fast Rob and Ownership are trying to turn this thing around into a playoff team though.

My exact thoughts.

[Def Swami]

I'd love to welcome Gortat back. But, I don't know if it's financially wise. He's at around 11 ppg and 9 rpg. Sure, he's a much better center than Vucevic is now, but I'm not sure that'll be the case down the road, nor do I believe he'll be able to live up to the contract he may receive. It all depends on how much we have to spend.

Vucevic/Gortat frontcourt would be pretty decent, but we'd need excellent scoring and playmaking from the perimeter to ever get back in the title hunt.

[tiderulz]

I love Marcin, but is he worth the financial commitment it's going to take to reel him in?

I'm torn on this one.

Would be an easier decision if we didn't have a center averaging nearly a double double at 22 years old and a fraction of the cost... still, productive bigs are limited and very valuable in this league...

do people forget that Marcin is a decent defender but has very little offense. He is at 11 ppg 10 rpg with no Nash. I would much rather work on developing Vucevic right now. He already seems more fluid on offense. He just needs to learn to get stronger and toughen up for rebounds and banging down low.

[tiderulz]

I'd love to have Gortat back. Don't get me wrong I'm a pretty big Vuc fan, but Gortat's defense and P&R game are some things that Vuc will probably never develop. I don't see why having both would be a bad thing.. Having a great "third big" (sixth man big) is a nice way to punish small teams come playoff time. It all depends on how fast Rob and Ownership are trying to turn this thing around into a playoff team though.

PnR is nice, but you have to have a good PG for that. And i dont know why you dont think that Vuc can develop that. People need to remember, Gortat had some stone hands in his developing years too.

[Ballah]

I'm not sure what the point of having Gortat would be. We need a superstar first, then we build a team around them. Building a decent team with no superstar just makes you a threadmill team.

[OrlandO]

Gortat has this and next year left on his deal, so if we're waiting till free agency he will be 30.5 by then. Yikes. If we're looking at a trade, the Suns will want JJ or Vucevic involved. I can't imagine we'd trade away the latter. And if JJ is willing to go to a team like the Suns, then I'd rather just re-sign him. They can have McRoberts, Harrington and/or Ayon though. I do like the idea of having Gortat here as a quality practice partner and teacher for Niko's development. Plus, he'd be an easy trade asset for at least the next couple years.

[KillMonger]

Gortat isn't all the much better than Vuc right now of course except defensively but even that has taken a bit of a dip. Like others have said lets keep developing Vuc unless somehow we're in "win-now" mode then i guess let's get him. Vuc can definitely be great in the pick and roll simply because he can "pop" out of the pick and roll. When you can hit that Mid-range shot that makes the defense have to respect it so it makes your "roll" more effective. He has to work on his hands though seems to be a bit of a butterfingers at times but imo the pick and roll is only half on the Center the PG has to be good enough to make the right pass consistently

[Cigamodnalro]

I wouldn't trade the farm for Gortat, but he is a premier defensive center and a capable offensive center making roughly 5,000,000 a year LESS than his market value. He blows Vucevic out of the water. I'd love to have him, but again, it depends entirely on what PHO was asking.

[Cigamodnalro]

Gortat has this and next year left on his deal, so if we're waiting till free agency he will be 30.5 by then. Yikes. If we're looking at a trade, the Suns will want JJ or Vucevic involved. I can't imagine we'd trade away the latter. And if JJ is willing to go to a team like the Suns, then I'd rather just re-sign him. They can have McRoberts, Harrington and/or Ayon though. I do like the idea of having Gortat here as a quality practice partner and teacher for Niko's development. Plus, he'd be an easy trade asset for at least the next couple years.

I'd trade a package of JJ and Vuc for Gortat without really hesitating. That said, I'd expect PHO would ask for one of Harkless or Nicholson or the DEN pick in the deal on top of that. Gortat isn't having a great year, but he's a very very good (like....T8) center on a very good contract. They'll get more than Redick's expiring for him, easily.

[tiderulz]

I wouldn't trade the farm for Gortat, but he is a premier defensive center and a capable offensive center making roughly 5,000,000 a year LESS than his market value. He blows Vucevic out of the water. I'd love to have him, but again, it depends entirely on what PHO was asking.

you and I see 2 different players. IMO, he does not blow Vuc out of the water. He is less fluid and comfortable on offense than Vuc. He just has a few more years experience in the NBA.

[OrlandO]

Gortat has this and next year left on his deal, so if we're waiting till free agency he will be 30.5 by then. Yikes. If we're looking at a trade, the Suns will want JJ or Vucevic involved. I can't imagine we'd trade away the latter. And if JJ is willing to go to a team like the Suns, then I'd rather just re-sign him. They can have McRoberts, Harrington and/or Ayon though. I do like the idea of having Gortat here as a quality practice partner and teacher for Niko's development. Plus, he'd be an easy trade asset for at least the next couple years.

I'd trade a package of JJ and Vuc for Gortat without really hesitating. That said, I'd expect PHO would ask for one of Harkless or Nicholson or the DEN pick in the deal on top of that. Gortat isn't having a great year, but he's a very very good (like....T8) center on a very good contract. They'll get more than Redick's expiring for him, easily.

I wouldn't trade 22 yr old Vucevic for 29 yr old Gortat... Clearly the Polish Gazelle is better and a more complete player right now, but it seems like a bad idea when we just started our rebuild. By the time we're ready to make noise Gortat could be 32 or 33 (with a big contract). We won't even have him in his prime when we'll need him most. What we really should compare is Gortat in his early to mid 30s to what Niko could be in his mid to late 20s. I'd rather bank on Niko's potential, as he is already producing impressive numbers for a young first-year starter.

[londoncollin]

When you're a rebuilding team, you don't trade a 22 year old, developing player for a 28 year old who's probably reached his peak. Don't get me wrong, I'd love Gortat on this team, but not at the cost it would take to get him.

He's not a player for the future, and that's what we're aiming for.

[AhaAha]

I would take Gortat over Vuc easily. Vucevic seems to have more skills around the basket but look who's shooting over 50%. He is a better pick and roll player and he can dunk the ball. Plus he is by far the better defensive player. I would offer Vuc, Moore and McRoberts for Gortat.

[Skin]

Some people need to get off Gortat's jock already. He's gone. Forget about him ever coming back.

[RYgoBOOM]

You people saying Gortat>Vuc are straight up drunk lol.

22 getting 11pts, 9rebs,1.6assts and 1 blk for a 28/29 year old guy getting 11pts, 10rebs, .6assts and 3 blks ........


Kid is 22 years old.....he will add to his frame. He is light years ahead of most centers when it comes to offensive moves and footwork.

It's easier for a 22 year old to put on muscle then it is to teach post moves and finesse to someone who has neither.


We don't take gortat after his prime for JJ AND a 22 year old who will be better.

Cmon lol

[Cigamodnalro]

I wouldn't trade the farm for Gortat, but he is a premier defensive center and a capable offensive center making roughly 5,000,000 a year LESS than his market value. He blows Vucevic out of the water. I'd love to have him, but again, it depends entirely on what PHO was asking.

you and I see 2 different players. IMO, he does not blow Vuc out of the water. He is less fluid and comfortable on offense than Vuc. He just has a few more years experience in the NBA.

He is less fluid offensively than Vucevic, I agree, but nevertheless is one of the league's premier defensive bigmen and one who carries far (far) more trade value than Nik on the market. Gortat EASILY fetches a T8-10 pick in the draft, and could alternatively be used, in part, to acquire another rising star like Kahwi Leonard. If we decided to keep him, Gortat/Afflalo gives us two very capable defenders and high-production bargain pieces on which to build.

Vucevic has the potential to be an above average starter in this league, but do you really see him as being a premier anything, ever? And if so, what? I think he fits well into the dynamic of this team, and I appreciate his finesse offense (especially after watching Dwight), but you don't turn down a Marcin Gortat for Vucevic + Expiring offer if it's on the table.

[Cigamodnalro]

You people saying Gortat>Vuc are straight up drunk lol.

22 getting 11pts, 9rebs,1.6assts and 1 blk for a 28/29 year old guy getting 11pts, 10rebs, .6assts and 3 blks ........

This isn't fantasy basketball though. Numbers matter, but only so much. Gortat is one of the league's best defensive centers, and has averaged roughly 14 ppg since leaving the Magic on top of that. He is capable offensively, and a premier defender at the 5.

Vucevic is an above average scorer, a slightly above average rebounder, a below average FG% guy, and a below average defender. That's not to say he can't improve (there's no doubt that he will). It's only to recognize that if you want to win in this league, guys like Vucevic are necessary but not sufficient. To the vast majority of teams in this league (all but a few), Afflalo is worth more than Terrence Ross. Gortat is worth more than Vucevic. Etc etc. All that I'm saying is that if the opportunity existed to obtain Gortat for Vucevic and an expiring, and then swap him for a critical asset (e.g. the Leonard trade suggested earlier), we'd be NUTS to turn it down.

[Bensational]

I wouldn't trade youth or assets of that nature for Gortat. if Phoenix are looking at losing him for nothing, then i'd offer them a package of Ayon + McRoberts, and offer to take back salary if they need it. wouldn't give up much more than that, though.

Gortat is great, but i wouldn't understand his role here. he's a definite 'win now' piece. he'd probably net us an extra 5 wins and could be the difference in a few ping pong balls, if not a fight for the 8th seed.

and then, after all that, he might just bail if we don't pay him enough money. hence, no need to give up a lot for him.

[RickB-Orlando]

Gortat has this and next year left on his deal, so if we're waiting till free agency he will be 30.5 by then. Yikes. If we're looking at a trade, the Suns will want JJ or Vucevic involved. I can't imagine we'd trade away the latter. And if JJ is willing to go to a team like the Suns, then I'd rather just re-sign him. They can have McRoberts, Harrington and/or Ayon though. I do like the idea of having Gortat here as a quality practice partner and teacher for Niko's development. Plus, he'd be an easy trade asset for at least the next couple years.

I'd trade a package of JJ and Vuc for Gortat without really hesitating. That said, I'd expect PHO would ask for one of Harkless or Nicholson or the DEN pick in the deal on top of that. Gortat isn't having a great year, but he's a very very good (like....T8) center on a very good contract. They'll get more than Redick's expiring for him, easily.

Then you would be overpaying, and not by a little. Vucevic has the potential to be at least as good as Gortat, and he's roughly seven years younger.

I'll be very surprised if we trade Vucevic any time in the near future, and certainly not for what is, in fairness, an aging if marginal upgrade.

[Versubio]

You people saying Gortat>Vuc are straight up drunk lol.

22 getting 11pts, 9rebs,1.6assts and 1 blk for a 28/29 year old guy getting 11pts, 10rebs, .6assts and 3 blks ........


Kid is 22 years old.....he will add to his frame. He is light years ahead of most centers when it comes to offensive moves and footwork.

It's easier for a 22 year old to put on muscle then it is to teach post moves and finesse to someone who has neither.


We don't take gortat after his prime for JJ AND a 22 year old who will be better.

Cmon lol

That's exactly how I feel.