We need another Big

[ButterMPancakes]

A different mentality and role changes completely how a player prepares in practice and which areas the player works on the most... it also changes how often the player gets the ball and with that how consistent that player can be. Gortat's role in Orlando is to play defense, rebound, and set picks/roll to the basket. In Europe (with a bigger role), he was posted up a lot more and shooting jumpers.


He's definitely unproven as an NBA starter but has come up big playing starter minutes. No big sample but his size, blocking ability, agility, and rebounding all justify his contract in today's NBA given he is playing starter minutes.

 

[Loyal T]

One factor when considering Marcin Gortat is that he is very unhappy with his role in Orlando. He wants to start and get his minutes but is stuck living under the shadow of dwight howard. Front offices don't tend to keep players who are complaining about their role, and may be more willing to move them if a reasonable offer were to come along.

 

[ButterMPancakes]

Nah, Gortat's extremely valuable to Orlando and he's not unhappy to the point where it's hurting the team. He's also very bipolar. One day a report will say he's extremely unhappy and then another he'll talk about how great it is to be in Orlando and how great it is to play next to the best big man in the league. He just wants more minutes, and is trying hard to get a better offensive game suited for PF so he can get minutes next to Dwight, but the problem with that is that his defense is what's needed the most and what he needs to be working on the most, as he is not needed for scoring (except on pick and rolls and fast breaks).

Pretty sure he wouldn't be traded just for anything.

 

[speedyd718]

kevin love anyone? don't know what it'd take to pry him away, but minny cleary still has no direction.

from ESPN rumors

Trouble for Love

When the Minnesota Timberwolves shipped Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz this offseason, the belief was that the move was made to make power forward Kevin Love -- who didn't fit well alongside the similarly-skilled Jefferson -- a focal point of the team in 2010-11.

Well, that didn't last long. Love was benched for the final eight and a half minutes of the T-Wolves' one-point loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Love finished with only 24 minutes, while reserve Anthony Tolliver played 28. Coach Kurt Rambis said the move had to do with Tolliver's stellar defensive play, and not anything that Love -- widely considered to be his team's best player -- was doing wrong.

However, Tom Ziller of FanHouse.com notes that the Love-less defense gave up 18 points on 16 possessions down the stretch with the power forward out of the game. Ziller adds that with the move making little practical sense, it appears as though Rambis is trying to somehow distance himself from Love. "I'm sitting here wondering how long it will be until K-Love is run out of town the way Al Jefferson was," Ziller writes.

Love didn't talk to reporters after the game, but it's safe to say that the forward is unhappy with being banished to the bench during the game's most critical portion. If this situation doesn't get fixed quickly, it wouldn't be shocking to see Love start to clamor for a trade.

 

[Kouki]

Don't think we need another PF...if we get another big then I want to to be a defensive guy like Gortat, DARKO, Haywood, etc.

 

[Oreos]

While we do have a lot of power forwards but. Antwan is on his way out. Leon Powe can't really be relied on long term. Samardo is new but not likely to become much.

The 22 year old Love is a great rebounder, can get up and down the court and has an outside shot. Plus, as was shown during FIBA games, he can be very effective against centers. If he's available for a good price you go for it. Given how dumb Minnesota's front office is, I wouldn't be surprised if we get him for some TPE and a Heat draft pick.

 

[Kouki]

While we do have a lot of power forwards but. Antwan is on his way out. Leon Powe can't really be relied on long term. Samardo is new but not likely to become much.

The 22 year old Love is a great rebounder, can get up and down the court and has an outside shot. Plus, as was shown during FIBA games, he can be very effective against centers. If he's available for a good price you go for it. Given how dumb Minnesota's front office is, I wouldn't be surprised if we get him for some TPE and a Heat draft pick.

Dude he's effective against FIBA centers because FIBA centers are small forwards in the NBA. I mean I guess it wouldn't be a BAD thing but I'd rather have a guy like Darko if we are going to hang onto this person for a while.

 

[speedyd718]

While we do have a lot of power forwards but. Antwan is on his way out. Leon Powe can't really be relied on long term. Samardo is new but not likely to become much.

The 22 year old Love is a great rebounder, can get up and down the court and has an outside shot. Plus, as was shown during FIBA games, he can be very effective against centers. If he's available for a good price you go for it. Given how dumb Minnesota's front office is, I wouldn't be surprised if we get him for some TPE and a Heat draft pick.

these are my thoughts exactly. love would be an awesome pick up. whether there's a log jam at pf or not. he's a talent you don't pass up if available. and the fact the minny's front office is made up of retards makes it even more enticing.

Dude he's effective against FIBA centers because FIBA centers are small forwards in the NBA. I mean I guess it wouldn't be a BAD thing but I'd rather have a guy like Darko if we are going to hang onto this person for a while.

darko!?! you've gotta be joking right.

 

[NarlCavs]

If Love becomes available and the price isn't too bad than I'd have interest. Knows how to play the game and is a very good rebounder. Certainly not a great athlete but does possess good skills. He has enough size where you can play him some minutes at C in today's NBA where there are very few high quality true big C's playing.

 

[ButterMPancakes]

Dude he's effective against FIBA centers because FIBA centers are small forwards in the NBA. I mean I guess it wouldn't be a BAD thing but I'd rather have a guy like Darko if we are going to hang onto this person for a while.

I don't think even Darko himself would rather have Darko than Kevin Love.

 

[Kouki]

these are my thoughts exactly. love would be an awesome pick up. whether there's a log jam at pf or not. he's a talent you don't pass up if available. and the fact the minny's front office is made up of retards makes it even more enticing.



darko!?! you've gotta be joking right.

cue eye roll

just because he never lived up to being the second pick in the draft, and just because it's the "cool" thing to hate on him, doesn't mean he's a bad player. he's an exceptional post defender, something that we could really use. dwight is going to embarrass us.

minnesota fans are really not fond of playing love at C, either.

 

[ButterMPancakes]

Darko is far from an exceptional post defender


He's an INCREDIBLY inefficient player, both from the field and from the line (especially for a center), fouls way too much, mediocre rebounder, with no motor.

 

[Kouki]

Efficiency isn't a big deal when you are scoring 5 ppg...

If we aren't going to land an impact player at the C (which I doubt we do this year), then a guy like Darko would be good as a situational player.

 

[ButterMPancakes]

Efficiency isn't a big deal when you are scoring 5 ppg...

If anything it's a huge deal because you're getting a mediocre rebounder, below average defender with length (although he doesn't use it well because when he tries to be a shot blocker he ends up just sending people to the line), and almost non existent offensively, and when he does get shots up, he hurts the team[even more] because of how inefficient he is.


I mean, this isn't even about what the Cavs should get or whether or not they sure pursue Darko, it's really because you would rather have Darko than Love. If Love isn't available but Darko is, maybe for the right price Darko would be okay (assuming he finally gets it in the next two years), but if you had the chance to either grab Darko or Love (in some kind of fucked up David Kahn dream where Rubio tells him he'll play for them if Love is gone), you grab Love, doesn't matter if have 10 other PFs.

 

[Kouki]

I guess, I'm just saying I would rather "invest" in a center than another forward.

But from what I have heard, Darko is far from a poor defender...