Why the Wizards may have overcommitted to Marcin Gortat
The Wizards are coming off of a solid 44-win season, their first postseason trip in six years, and their first playoff series victory in nine years, so you can forgive them for wanting to keep the band together.
In that regard, kudos to Washington for locking up Marcin Gortat, who was one of the better second-tier free agents on the market this summer.
But a dangerous trap for front offices is buying too much into an unexpected playoff run, and Ernie Grunfeld and the Wizards appear to have done that if Gortat’s new five-year, $60-million contract - and Randy Wittman keeping his job - are any indication.
Gortat is a fine player who was a big part of the Wizards’ somewhat surprising success this season, averaging 13.2 points, a team-high 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a team-high 1.5 blocks, while leading the Wizards in Basketball Reference Win Shares and ESPN’s Wins Above Replacement (He actually finished 16th in WAR). He’s a great roll-man in pick-and-rolls for John Wall and Bradley Beal, is a dependable finisher on the offensive end, and an underrated defender.
Looking at all of those factors, handing him a contract that will reportedly pay him an average of $12 million is probably fair based on his current abilities, but extending that contract over five years seems quite generous on the Wizards’ part.
Was any other team really going to come close to offering the Polish Hammer $60 million over five years at age 30? And if they were, perhaps Washington should have been strong enough to say ‘thanks for your services, Marcin,” and let that other team pay him.
If the Wizards didn’t overpay at $12 million per year, then it certainly appears they over-committed by agreeing to a new contract that will pay Gortat through his age-35 season. Based on prior commitments, the Wizards will now have roughly $45 million tied up in Wall, Nene, Gortat and Martell Webster in the 2015-16 season. And that’s not including options on Bradley Beal and Otto Porter that would take their commitments above $55 million, not to mention a potential new contract to be worked out with free agent Trevor Ariza.
Wanting to keep the most successful Wizards team in over three decades together is one thing, but overspending to do so and therefore putting a ceiling on what could be an up-and-coming team is another.
On a final note, the ripple of Gortat re-signing in Washington might be felt in Miami, as the big man was reportedly one of the Heat's preferred targets this off-season. Will the four-time defending East champs now go harder after other reported targets like Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, or might they turn their attention to another big?