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Washington Wizards Strengthen Playoff Ambitions With Marcin Gortat Acquisition

Washington Wizards Strengthen Playoff Ambitions With Marcin Gortat Acquisition

Oct 27, 2013

Most of the intrigue in an NBA season has to wait until April when the well-known and well established top teams finally get to battle it out in a head-to-head seven game series. However, there is also the regular season contest over the final couple of playoff places in each conference. The Washington Wizards made a significant move in that regard this weekend making a trade with the Phoenix Suns to acquire a veteran center presence in Marcin Gortat.

The Wizards acquired Gortat in exchange for veteran big man Emeka Okafor and a protected 2014 NBA draft pick. Washington is a team with very clear ambitions to break a postseason drought that dates back to 2008. A preseason indefinite injury for Okafor, who is a reliable, physical and veteran presence on the front court, threatened to upset the balance of a team heavily dependent upon dynamic guard duo John Wall and Bradley Beal.

The continued development of Wall and Beal remains vital to the success of this team and potential for the Wizards to grab a playoff place. The young tandem are set to start the 2013-14 season healthy, and they looked like they would be an extremely strong pairing in limited appearances together last season.

However, Washington’s concern has long been the overall balance of the line-up and the injury to Okafor only enhanced that issue. The addition of Gortat provides Beal and Wall with a genuine scoring option on the inside and it also gives the team a legitimate center allowing Nene Hilario to switch to his preferred power forward position.

Gortat is hardly a household name, but the 29-year old is unquestionably a very solid NBA player. He averaged 11-15 points over the past three seasons and has some decent offensive moves on the front court. He is reliable and his 6’11” size allows him to bring down rebounds comfortably. He averaged 8.5-10 rebounds per game during his three seasons in Phoenix.

His numbers might go down on a better Wizards team, but he should be a strong complimentary piece on a stronger team. It isn’t clear that this move pushes Washington over the edge and Gortat came at a significant price considering the first round pick and an effective professional in Okafor went the other way. However, it could be the move that changes the dynamic for this line-up significantly.

Things are extremely tight at the bottom end of the Eastern conference with the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks all aiming to compete for those final couple of places.

Phoenix sends away a player that is unlikely to ever be a part of their long-term plans while adding another first round pick. Okafor’s injury will make his contributions smaller than Gortat’s and enhance the chance of the Suns finishing with a higher draft pick themselves.

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