Rumor: Suns could deal Marcin Gortat if it means landing Cody Zeller
Jun 11, 2013, 6:17 PM | Updated: 6:37 pm
The NBA Draft is still weeks away, which means there is plenty of time left for the rumors to fly.
One such involves the Phoenix Suns, and the possibility that they are interested in Indiana center Cody Zeller.
Zeller worked out for the Suns last week and impressed the team with how well he shot the ball.
“Most guys they grow up, and they’re shooting outside anyways. Even a guy like him, I anticipated the 15 to 18-foot range, and that he’d be pretty decent — which he was,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “But, as he moved farther out, his shot didn’t change. It was the same stroke. It didn’t look like he was forcing to get it up there. There’s a lot of big guys that don’t shoot that shot a lot, so it looks like a real strain. He didn’t, he shot it normally.”
But as anyone knows, having interest in a player is a completely separate thing from being willing to trade someone to get him, though according to Fox Sports NBA writer Sam Amico, that’s exactly what the Suns might do.
When asked about a rumor that has Phoenix sending center Marcin Gortat to the Portland Trail Blazers for the 10th pick in the draft, Amico responded, “If Zeller drops to 10, hear it could happen. Suns seem to love him.”
Gortat, who was acquired by the Suns in December of 2010, was averaging 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season before going down with a Lisfranc sprain in early March. The team’s starting center, he had emerged as a consistent player and solid value for the team.
However, Gortat is in the prime of his career at age 29, and it’s likely that by the time the Suns are a contending team again, he will not be as effective. Plus, he’ll be a free agent following the 2013-14 season, and it’s possible the team will not want to pay what it will cost to keep him in town.
So, the Suns may decide it makes sense to part with him now to add a young piece, and in Zeller would be getting a guy who averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for Indiana as a sophomore last season.
