***BARKRING NOOZ**** Gortat matched. NOW WITH LINK!!!!

[J-Ville Smoke]

No insecurities here. He said we took Bass, which isn't true. I simply responded that Bass left you. He came back and called me a bandwaggoner and a Yankee fan based on my avatar. which not only is stupid but lazy. Why are you defending this guy again? Thats right, because you're butthurt that Gortat might not sign with you.

[Smoke[MaxX]]

Lol. I'm butthurt? You claim that Bass left us as if that means something. Tell me how that is an attack on Dallas that he left us. That's right, you can't because it's not.

And for your information, I'm not defending the guy. I'm attacking your ludicrous claim. But yeah sure, I'm butthurt that a random ORL poster made a random claim that Gortat might not sign with us. If he doesn't, it sucks but ORL won't get as much as they think they'll get for him. Dallas was the first to offer the full MLE and few other teams wanted Gortat for that much. If you think another team is likely to A) pay him that much B) trade an asset for him and C) be involved in some overly-complicated 3-team trade then you're kidding yourself.

[J-Ville Smoke]

Lol. I'm butthurt? You claim that Bass left us as if that means something. Tell me how that is an attack on Dallas that he left us. That's right, you can't because it's not.

And for your information, I'm not defending the guy. I'm attacking your ludicrous claim. But yeah sure, I'm butthurt that a random ORL poster made a random claim that Gortat might not sign with us. If he doesn't, it sucks but ORL won't get as much as they think they'll get for him. Dallas was the first to offer the full MLE and few other teams wanted Gortat for that much. If you think another team is likely to A) pay him that much B) trade an asset for him and C) be involved in some overly-complicated 3-team trade then you're kidding yourself.

Sensitive much? Bass left you. It has nothing to do with the quality of your franchise. He chose to go elsewhere. How is that a slight against Dallas by me stating that fact?

LOL @ you thinking stating fact is a "ludicrous claim".

[Wolverine]

Sign & trade + filler for Boozer?

[Smoke[MaxX]]

Personally I could care less about Bass. I figured he'd leave anyway. You're arguing semantics. If you're going to say that he left us, then you have to admit that you took him. If ORL didn't take him, then some other team would've taken him. If no other team would've taken him, Dal would've kept him. We offered him a contract. You act like he left us and it's some big deal when it's not. You offered him a better contract than us and "took him from us" because we offered him a deal too. To say otherwise is just ignorant.

Oh and you forgot to answer my other post right above it. You know, the post with substance that actually relates to the topic at hand?

[mysticbb]

A sign&trade is not possible. If Orlando match the offer, they have to keep Gortat at least until the 15th of december. He can't be traded earlier. He also has to agree to every trade and he will have a BYC status which makes it difficult to trade him.

The question will be: Why would Orlando want to pay 5.9m for a backup center (not including tax)? Actually Dallas paid Diop last season a similar amount of money, seems like not that crazy in the end.

[J-Ville Smoke]

Personally I could care less about Bass. I figured he'd leave anyway. You're arguing semantics. If you're going to say that he left us, then you have to admit that you took him. If ORL didn't take him, then some other team would've taken him. If no other team would've taken him, Dal would've kept him. We offered him a contract. You act like he left us and it's some big deal when it's not. You offered him a better contract than us and "took him from us" because we offered him a deal too. To say otherwise is just ignorant.

Oh and you forgot to answer my other post right above it. You know, the post with substance that actually relates to the topic at hand?

I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here. We didn't take anyone. We signed a free agent. I don't know the substance post you're talking about, but I don't care if we trade Gortat for anyone. Accumulating talent is never a bad thing, and I'm not paying the bill so what's your point?

You jumped in an argument between two posters with your worthless two cents and have still yet to make a valid point. It doesn't really even matter that I won this squabble posts ago because winning an internet argument is like winning the special olympics, which is another reason I don't see why you're so gung ho on commenting. Bass left you and joined us. Simple as that.

[Rasheeed!!!]

i love insecure CLE and BOS fans acting like Hedo and Lee are superior to VC

Only knock on VC is that he doesn't bring it every night. He's still a good fade away shooter and slasher with decent defense.

I have a feeling you'll see a diff VC with a ring in sight and no need to carry the team offensively

VC won't have to bring it every night....with Nelson, Howard & Lewis all capable of scoring 20 on any given night he won't have to be THE MAN.

[Smoke[MaxX]]

I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here. We didn't take anyone. We signed a free agent. I don't know the substance post you're talking about, but I don't care if we trade Gortat for anyone. Accumulating talent is never a bad thing, and I'm not paying the bill so what's your point?

You jumped in an argument between two posters with your worthless two cents and have still yet to make a valid point. It doesn't really even matter that I won this squabble posts ago because winning an internet argument is like winning the special olympics, which is another reason I don't see why you're so gung ho on commenting. Bass left you and joined us. Simple as that.

There is something similar to the special olympics in this post, but it has nothing to do with winning an argument. He didn't leave us as much as you took him. If you're going to claim that you signed him as a Free Agent (and didn't take him from us, which is ludicrous as he was our unrestricted free agent) then we can equally claim that he didn't leave us as we declined to offer him a worthwhile contract. Considering we still held his rights (to the best of my knowledge) he was still "ours" and so you took him from us. However, if you're going to claim that you didn't "take him from us" because he's a free agent, then he didn't leave us. The team declined to give him the contract that he wanted. Essentially, we dropped him.

Oh yeah and accumulating talent is never a bad thing? For one thing, every dollar spent over what is necessary leaves the team struggling to find the money for other FAs, trades, signings, etc. For Dallas fans, it doesn't matter because our owner has shown year in and year out that he's willing to pay whatever it takes to field a good team. For ORL's team, well- just prior to this rumored resigning, even ORL fans called their owner cheap (yeah I frequent the ORL board too). Oh and the substance post is the one right above the one you responded to. I don't know how you could miss it with the wall of text that I made you scroll through before I posted like three sentences (you know, that post you replied to).

[mysticbb]

Bass left you and joined us. Simple as that.

Bass left, because Dallas will have no need for him next season. They have covered the minutes with Nowitzki and Marion. If they need an additional player, they can sign Singleton to a cheaper deal. Singleton will not be worse than Bass. Actually Singleton is even a little bit more efficient and can play better on the defensive end. Bass looked good in Dallas, because there were times in which he played only together with one other legit scorer, that increased the scoring opportunities for him. I doubt he will get the same amount of opportunities in Orlando or would get in Dallas next season. So, he joined Orlando, because he will get more playing time there and probaly also more money than Dallas would have offered.

[TheStroShow]

i dunno how u guys like this massive price tag for a guy who only played 12 min per game last year...

and i still think u guys ended up losing a lot this off season...

Turk, Alston and Lee vs. Carter, Bass and Anderson..

im pretty sure the former is a lot better than the later... 3 of ur 5 starters that took u to the finals just get let go like that? hrmm.. .good luck next year

[FGump]

So is this whole thread just a story that someone on another web site claims he saw a TV reporter who thinks the Magic will keep Gortat? How is that definitive on any level?

[bicatmit]

Gortat is more than just a back-up player to the Magic-- he's Orlando's insurance policy. The Magic's entire system thus far has been anchored by Dwight Howard. God forbid he should get injured, suspended, or otherwise need to play fewer minutes, Gortat is able to easily step in and the team hardly misses a beat. The Polish Hammer lacks Superman's freakish athleticism but his defense is stellar and his rebounding and blocking rates are among the highest in the league. When Dwight missed the first 2 games of his career earlier this season in the midst of a west coast road trip, Gortat stepped up and helped his team to convincingly defeat the Warriors and the Jazz. And when Dwight was suspended for Game 6 against Philadelphia in the 1st round of this year's playoffs, Gortat and the Magic blew out the Sixers on the road to close out the series.

So yeah, maybe Gortat is being overpaid relative to what a back-up center should make in this league, but he's the understudy to the best center in the league right now (and I can safely say that since Yao is out for the season), so it's important to not have a tremendous drop-off in talent from starting C to back-up C.

Besides all that, it's just a smart move to bring Gortat back. Say Otis Smith doesn't match Dallas' offer....first of all the Magic look stupid for letting Marcin walk for nothing. Then the team is still desperately lacking a back-up C, the remaining free agents are pretty weak, and trading for another big would be difficult since the Magic don't have many assets besides their core players. Now that they have the TPE it makes things a lot easier but besides that, the only players who could realistically be moved are JJ Redick, Anthony Johnson, and Mikael Pietrus. Try to parlay those guys into a back-up C without leaving major holes at other positions.

Matching Dallas' offer is the *easy* solution for the Magic. Maybe they overpay a little but sometimes you just have to do that for security and peace of mind. We've all spent a little extra $ on a product just because it's a name brand with a better reputation than a no-name competitor with inferior packaging. Sure, both products might be equal in quality but sometimes you just go for the one you've had some experience with. It never feels good to look back on something and say "you know, maybe I shouldn't have been so cheap and spent that extra money to get exactly what I wanted." It's the same scenario here with Gortat vs. an unknown back-up C.

It's clear that the Magic are not content with merely making it to the Finals. Management wants them to compete at a higher level so if that means dipping into the luxury tax, so be it. The elite teams from last year are doing the same thing-- the Lakers, Cavs, Spurs, and Celtics all have made improvements through acquisitions, with Orlando's Eastern Conference foes bringing in big-name centers like Shaq and Rasheed Wallace to better match up with Dwight Howard. Now is not the time for Orlando to skimp on a 2nd-rate back-up center. The Magic will almost assuredly meet up at least one of either Cleveland or Boston again in the playoffs this year and Dwight will be facing up against Shaq/Z/Varejao and Perkins/Wallace so Orlando is gonna need some extra big man firepower to keep up with the Joneses.

Even if Gortat returns to the Magic for the start of the 09-10 season, he might only have to play the back-up role until December when he can be traded to another team where he'll have the opportunity to start. Or maybe at worst he'll play in Orlando for one more year before Otis finds him a new home during the next summer.

Whatever Otis Smith's intentions are, I think it's a good decision to bring back the Polish Hammer.

[Super_Mario_3]

1. I don't care about the league. I don't. I have already said that Vince makes Orlando a better matchup with other teams but Hedo gave Cleveland fits last year. He averaged 7 assists per game against the Cavs from the SF position and he made other plays that lead to open looks from 3. I don't think Carter can do that against Cleveland. Carter has had his struggles against the Cavs in the past. Plus the height was a huge advantage because of the way Cleveland hedges, which makes it harder for someone like Carter to get a pass off.

do you know that carter is the better passer and playmaker compared to hedo? did you know that hedo averaged 1.57apg in his first 4 seasons before signing with orlando? did you know that in his first 2 seasons in orlando (before rashard lewis came), he averaged 2.54apg. his assists spiked up with the addition of rashard and the development of dwight. if carter can average 4-5apg playing with worse players (yi jianlian, bobby simmons, etc. as your 3 point shooters / mikki moore and josh boone as big men), imagine what he can do if he's surrounded by good players.

admittedly, hedo is taller.but have you ever seen him use that to his advantage by posting up? vc is shorter, but he is quicker, jumps much, much higer (can hedo jump at all? lol), the better slasher, shooter and scorer.

2. My memory of recent history is what matters. Carter's stats in the distant past don't mean anything right now. He will be 33 and a half if the 2 teams meet in the playoffs next year. What VC did as a 26, 27, 28 year old, etc doesn't mean much right now.

you talk about VC like he's declined so much, but if you watch his game he's still a top SG in the league. you don't want to talk about what he did when he was 26-28 years old? ok what did he do against cleveland last season? his first game against the cavs was bad. what can you expect when a bad team meets a very good defensive team? the star player will prolly struggle because the defense can focus on him. but in his last 2 games against the cavs, he averaged 22.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 5.0apg. if a "declining" player can do that against a top defensive team, i'd be glad to have him on my team.

oh and on the issue of "declining", why do you stress it so much on vince but not on shaq? lol. you think you can now slow down dwight because you have shaq? maybe you're thinking of what shaq did when he was 26, 27, 28 years old. dwight had 21points in their 2nd game against the suns. in the 1st game, he had 19 points in 22 minutes. he had to leave the game because of an injury. dwight shot 63% from the field in the 2 games against shaq.

[Super_Mario_3]

i dunno how u guys like this massive price tag for a guy who only played 12 min per game last year...

and i still think u guys ended up losing a lot this off season...

Turk, Alston and Lee vs. Carter, JAMEER, Bass and Anderson..

im pretty sure the latter is a lot better than the former...

edited your post

[Johnny Firpo]

I'm with Magic fans on this. They definitely got (slightly) better, especially if Smith matching Gortat's offer ( ) and they're still a matchup nightmare for the Cavs. I fail to see how Shaq's gonna help that Cleveland team, especially on defense. Some of you guys said he will slow down Dwight. He won't slow down anybody. Shaq is the biggest liability in the whole league when it comes to pick and roll defense. He has absolutely no chance against the pick and roll. You think it was bad with Big Z? Wait until you see it with Shaq. With Bass (and his money mid range game), Nelson will have a field day on the pick and roll. Bass will be a helluva addition, you'll see. Now the other Cavs signing. Call me crazy, but i think Parker is a better signing than Shaq. He is a good, smart player, and even though he's not a lock down defender by any means (i think he never was), he can still do a little everything. He'll play some D, and knock down some 3's, and even facilitate. I'm not saying Cleveland can't beat Orlando (of course they can, they have Lebron), but i don't see how that task got easier with those Cavs and Magic signings. I love Hedo's game, and he's a great guy, but i think, maybe he got a little overrated after that great season.

[Captain_Obvious]

Otis punked the Mavs. Orlando just became my least favourite team.

[Dirkules]

So is this whole thread just a story that someone on another web site claims he saw a TV reporter who thinks the Magic will keep Gortat? How is that definitive on any level?

Not only that, the guy who started this whole rumor has only been a member of that message board for like 3 days.

[BBallFreak]

If they're keep Gortat, they did indeed make a good basketball move (though I'm not sure it's a good financial move) and did (regardless of Gortat) get better than they were last year.

Pg: Nelson / Johnson (Nelson is clearly better than Alston)
Sg: Carter / Reddick (no one can argue that Lee is better than Carter)
Sf: Lewis / Pietrus (a couple of players who helped them get to the Finals last year)
Pf: Bass / Anderson (neither as good as Hedo, but more conventional, physically stronger, and should help Dwight)
Cc: Howard / Gortat? (same as last year)

Remember, it's not always about scoring points. Sometimes it's about doing the heavy lifting. We'll see how well Bass and Anderson compliment Dwight. We know the other pieces do...

[jourdy]

Is it official yet?
I've been waiting for news about this since 6 hours ago.