Getting traded to Phoenix was a bit of a culture shock for Marcin Gortat. His entire career has been spent playing 10-15 minutes per game behind Dwight Howard, the league’s best center, on one of the league’s best teams. Gortat turned those 10-15 minutes into a lucrative deal from Dallas that Orlando matched.
During his time with the Magic, Gortat vented some of his frustrations that he was not getting enough minutes. He understood he was playing behind Dwight Howard, but he yearned for a bigger role and a chance to show what he could do. Not that he was not thrilled with the contract Otis Smith and the Magic eventually matched.
So the trade to Phoenix in December was a breath of fresh life for Gortat. In Phoenix he would have the opportunity to compete for a starting job or at least split the duties with incumbent center Robin Lopez. He was no longer confined to backing up the best center in the league.
This was the opportunity Gortat waited for.
Phoenix was a new place for him for sure. He was quick early on in his tenure in Phoenix to question why the team did not practice defense more and chided his team’s defensive effort. But he seemingly was most confused about how his teammate Lopez could squander the opportunity to start in the NBA.
Gortat is not one to mince words and he was unafraid to let Lopez know his thoughts as he held a Q&A at his basketball camp in Poland.
“This guy (Lopez) had such a big chance, such a big opportunity, to play in the best league,” Gortat said (with translation from Bright Side of the Suns). “When I was in Orlando, playing behind Dwight (Howard), I was praying to get a chance to play and he (Lopez) has had this chance for two years and he didn’t take.
“So I thought, when you don’t want it, there will be 50 persons behind you, waiting to take this chance, and then I came by and I took (it). Sorry, that’s business, that’s life.”
The animosity seems to originate from Gortat’s first day with the Suns when he asked Lopez whether the team starts practice in the film room or on the court. Lopez told him he did not know. Gortat went to the gym, the team was in the video room. Gortat got chewed out by the coach even though he said Lopez told him they were starting on the court. From there, Gortat knew where his relationship with Lopez stood. And it was not good.
Lopez responded by e-mail to Seth Pollack of Desert Dish and said they usually do not know where practice is going to start too far in advance so he might actually not have known. Either way Gortat seemed very motivated to take Lopez’s spot in the starting lineup.
Gortat averaged 13.0 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game in starting 12 of the 55 games he played in Phoenix. However he averaged nearly 30 minutes per game, wrestling away minutes from Lopez, if not the starting job. Gortat is surely excited to get into camp and try to win the starting job and improve on his breakout season. Gortat has reportedly signed with Spartak St. Petersburg for the lockout.
Lopez took a slight step back in averaging 6.4 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game last year. He averaged only 14.8 minutes per game as he slowly took a seat behind Gortat, squandering the 56 starts in 67 games he received (as Gortat would see it at least). Lopez is still seen as an energetic young player, but thoughts of him being a starting center might quickly be subsiding.
For Gortat, the fire to beat Lopez certainly seems to be there. The question now in this “spat” is how will Lopez respond?
Photo via DayLife.com.
