Life after Gortat…

It’s being reported that the Orlando Magic will match the Dallas Mavericks’ offer sheet on center Marcin Gortat.  While I was warming up to the Gortat signing, I don’t think the Magic’s move devstates the Mavericks’ off-season program.

The biggest acquistion was Shawn Marion. The Mavs dumped dead weight and got a major contributor in return. We won’t know the full effects of this season’s draft for a couple of seasons, but Rodrigue Beaubois is getting rave reviews early in summer league play. Even the signing of Quinton Ross has the potential to pay major dividends in the upcoming season, still many Mavs fans have been running for the panic button since the news first broke out of Orlando this afternoon.

I can understand the concern, especially after losing Brandon Bass. However, I’m an optimistic type of guy and I prefer to look at as a “glass half-full” situation. During the playoffs, outside of Dirk, the player on this team who impressed me the most was Ryan Hollins. Yes, he is young, raw and prone to some silly mistakes. On the other hand, he is YOUNG, energetic, athletic and long–a rare commodity on this team. With Bass and Gortat no longer options at the 5, barring any further moves before the start of the season, the Mavs will be forced to give Hollins more minutes, which is the best thing for him at this point in his career.

Will there be more moves? Probably. Shortly after the Marion trade, when it appeared that Gortat was on his way here, I wrote that I felt Donnie and Mark had more moves up their sleeves. After today, I’m even more convinced. Will the Mavs be forced to use the Erick Dampier trade chip a year earlier than desired? Perhaps, but I find it unlikely. If the Mavs deal Damp now, they will have to get another 5 in return. I just don’t see that player on the market.

Let’s talk about Orlando for a minute. I don’t claim to be an expert on Central Florida sports, but who the hell do they think they are? Yes, they have every right to play sneaky, but is a small market team like Orlando really ready to play the free-agency game with the big markets (i.e. LA, NYC, Dallas, etc.) Make no mistake about it, the Magic are rolling the dice, acquiring Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, bringing Gortat back and the whispers of interest Allen Iverson. What happens when the Magic can’t pay their luxury tax bill or, even worse, what happens on pay day and the Magic can’t make payroll? Are they going to come running to the Association to bail them out?

The Magic got a sniff of something beautiful in June and now they’ve become greedy. When you become greedy, you make bad decisions.  Mark my words, the Magic’s overly ambitious off season will come back to bite them in the ass before the end of the 2009-2010 season.

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