Marcin Gortat is not only an NBA center, he’ also one of the most entertaining players in the Association. There was the time he referred to his media day mohawk as “sexual white chocolate,” or when he crashed the Celtics huddle in the middle of a game.
Over the last week, Gortat has played exceptionally well, and the Wizards have gone 3-0 in that span with three big games from the Polish Hammer leading the way. He put up 27 points and 16 boards in a win over the Kings and dropped 25 in a victory against the Nets. Those two big nights were sandwiched between a double-double against Memphis.
However, when Gortat was rewarded for his stellar play with Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, the resulting kudos badly backfired. He woke up to a bunch of messages on his phone and his first instinct was that the Wizards had traded him.
Omg!! When i woke up and I checked my phone I had about 20 messages!! I though I was traded 😩😩😩😅😅…. Gzzzzzz #dcrising
— Marcin Gortat🇵🇱 (@MGortat) December 28, 2015
Despite their recent win streak (it was broken with a 108-91 loss to the Clippers on Monday), the Wizards are falling below expectations this season. Stuck at 14-15, the Wizards are three games back from a playoff spot in a suddenly frisky Conference, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they were looking to make a deal.
There’s always the possibility Washington shops Gortat, and his recent play only augments his trade value. He’s probably safe unless the Wiz continue to sputter and they want to make a change at the February deadline, but the franchise seems to account for him in their long-term plans after locking him up with a five-year, $60 million deal last year.
Still, the outpouring of congratulations really had Gortat shook. Such is the life of an NBA player.
(WaPo)
