The LA Clippers have waived center Marcin Gortat according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. This was Gortat’s first year with the team.
The news just does not stop coming. Less than an hour prior to the trade deadline, the LA Clippers announced that they have waived center Marcin Gortat.
This news came as a surprise considering that Gortat would be a free agent at the end of this year anyway. He was always seen as a short term piece after being acquired in a trade for Austin Rivers with the Washington Wizards.
Gortat was not extremely impressive for the team this year, minus a few surprise performances. The Polish Hammer started 43 games for the Clips this season, putting up pedestrian numbers. He scored only 5.0 points per game, grabbed 5.6 rebounds and dished out 1.4 assists while only blocking 0.5 shots per game.
After being waived, Gortat tweeted out that it had been a fun ride. Although he wasn’t a member of Clipper Nation for long, he still gave it his all, so make sure to reach out and thank him for his time here!
https://twitter.com/MGortat/status/1093588730944864258
At nearly 35 years old, Gortat is facing the twilight of his career. There are already reports that he will look to join championship contending teams, such as the Warriors, once teams start to scavenge free agents. He likely will sign with someone for the remainder of the year, but his future after that in the league will definitely be up in the air.
Yahoo Sources: Marcin Gortat, who will be waived by Clippers, has interest in joining the Warriors but the defending champs plan to wait until the dust settles to get a clearer picture of what is available on the market.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 7, 2019
Waiving Gortat won’t be the last move the team makes. They already traded Tobias Harris, Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic yesterday and today have made several other moves including sending Avery Bradley to the Memphis Grizzlies.
More moves are incoming as the Clippers will need to address their roster count.
Stay tuned as we keep you updated through all the craziness that is trade deadline day.