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Berger: Andre Miller For Marcin Gortat?
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com thinks that the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic might consider exchanging point guard Andre Miller for reserve big man Marcin Gortat...
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Miller could be the elixir for Orlando. All he does is find open shots for his teammates, and Dwight Howard would be thrilled with Miller’s elite talent as a lob-passer. Howard, who will be part of a blockbuster free-agent class in 2012, has quickly grown frustrated with the Magic’s obvious limitations.
The piece that could get it done is Marcin Gortat, who’s a starting center on any team but one that has Howard. Though Gortat’s contract goes out three more years, it’s at a reasonable rate for a starting center -- topping out at $7.7 million in 2013-14, when Gortat has an early-termination option.
Blazers GM Rich Cho has liked Gortat since his days working as Sam Presti’s right-hand man in Oklahoma City, so such a deal would seem to make sense from all angles. Gortat would give Portland a reasonable insurance policy in case Oden never becomes worthy of his No. 1 overall selection in 2007, and Roy would have the ball in his hands more -- which is something he can’t have when playing alongside Miller. Whether Roy’s knees will hold up under those demands is a valid question, but one Portland may very well need answered one way or another.
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Berger also writes that "executives working the phones during these early days of trade inquiry say" that Portland is one of "the teams that appear most determined to make deals before the Feb. 24 deadline."
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com thinks that the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic might consider exchanging point guard Andre Miller for reserve big man Marcin Gortat...
------------------------
Miller could be the elixir for Orlando. All he does is find open shots for his teammates, and Dwight Howard would be thrilled with Miller’s elite talent as a lob-passer. Howard, who will be part of a blockbuster free-agent class in 2012, has quickly grown frustrated with the Magic’s obvious limitations.
The piece that could get it done is Marcin Gortat, who’s a starting center on any team but one that has Howard. Though Gortat’s contract goes out three more years, it’s at a reasonable rate for a starting center -- topping out at $7.7 million in 2013-14, when Gortat has an early-termination option.
Blazers GM Rich Cho has liked Gortat since his days working as Sam Presti’s right-hand man in Oklahoma City, so such a deal would seem to make sense from all angles. Gortat would give Portland a reasonable insurance policy in case Oden never becomes worthy of his No. 1 overall selection in 2007, and Roy would have the ball in his hands more -- which is something he can’t have when playing alongside Miller. Whether Roy’s knees will hold up under those demands is a valid question, but one Portland may very well need answered one way or another.
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Berger also writes that "executives working the phones during these early days of trade inquiry say" that Portland is one of "the teams that appear most determined to make deals before the Feb. 24 deadline."
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
