It's time to be real here. Kevin Garnett has a lot of miles on his legs. He's not fragile, but after a while, things start to break down. And we're getting to a point where a stiff breeze can hurt Kendrick Perkins' shoulder. We need a solid big man who can come in, bang, rebound and block shots, and occasionally score when he gets the ball 5 feet from the hoop.
We need Marcin Gortat.
He's just about 7 feet tall. He's a strong guy who is aggressive around the hoop. He's got better hands than you might expect and he's fairly athletic for a big guy. He can give you a good 20+ minutes off the bench so you can rest KG for an extra 5 minutes a game... and he can start if one of the other bigs goes down.
The problem is... I see someone somewhere overpaying this guy. It's hard to find a decent 7-footer out there. I think he's worth about $2 million... and I'd be willing to go up to $3 million to get him. I'm afraid someone is going to get desperate and give him more than that.
Does this mean we say goodbye to someone like Big Baby? Maybe it does. We can sign him with no cap ramifications, but the question is will the Celtics pony up the luxury tax to go out and get someone and keep Baby around? Even if they don't... I think I'd rather go after Gortat. I love Baby. I want to keep him here. But in the end, it's easier to find a guy like Big Baby than it is to find a decent 7 footer. And we could always resign Leon Powe, who will be much cheaper. He's come off knee injuries before and been fine.