GO FOR 2

So, the Houston Rockets are clearly very worried about the grave news surrounding Yao Ming’s foot. We knew that, what we didn’t know was just HOW worried the Rockets were.

According to the AP and Yahoo! Sports, Rockets GM Daryl Morey was at the home of Orlando Magic center Marcin Gortat just after midnight on Wednesday, literally the moment that teams could begin negotiating with free agents. Morey also set up an email account where Rockets fans could write in and tell Gortat how much they wanted him to come to Houston, and Morey than shared those with Gortat. What you’re probably (hopefully, unless you’re a Magic fan) thinking is: Who the hell is Marcin Gortat? Gortat is a 25 year old, Polish born backup to Dwight Howard. Gortat was originally drafted in 2005 in the 2nd round by the Phoenix Suns, and hasn’t seen a great deal of game time in the NBA.

Gortat has never averaged more than 12 minutes, 5 rebounds, or 2 points a game over a whole season. He wasn’t a first round pick, so he was probably drafted mostly on up-side rather than actual production when playing in Europe. So why are the Rockets going after this guy like he’s the second coming of Bill Russell? I think a little bit of it is panic. You just found out your all-star center is gone for the coming season, and possibly forever, you’re bound to be a little jumpy. There’s also the fact that this guy shouldn’t command a high-dollar or long-term contract, so he shouldn’t be very high-risk. The downside to this is that Gortat isn’t likely to be high-reward, either. He’s listed at 7′0″  240lbs. (so God knows how big he really is), and nobody really knows how he can handle 30+ minutes a game while having to get up and down the court, or if he can be a major defensive or offensive presence in the post.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com/Bukowsky18 (Creative Commons Licensed)

Apparently Gortat is also fielding offers from other teams, including the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets’ gig is likely a lot more attractive to Gortat, though. Gortat has a very, very good chance to start in Houston, in Dallas he’ll simply be back on the bench behind Erick Dampier. Of course, Dampier is 34 so his backup will probably see decent minutes, he’s also an expiring contract (next year) so he might well be traded in the off-season. Based on the wild amounts of effort put forward by the Rockets to sign Gortat, and the fact the its a done-deal that Yao won’t be back, my money says Houston signs the big man.

That said, the real issues for Houston next year have last names like McGrady, Artest, and Brooks. Whether these guys are there, are playing, and are playing well will have the most impact on the Rockets 2009-2010 season. But a replacement big guy can’t hurt, huh?