Quick Hitters
Wiz send Marcin Gortat to Clips for Austin Rivers
WASHINGTON — Seemed fairly clear that Marcin Gortat and the Washington Wizards were ready to part ways. Now they will.
The Wizards have agreed to trade Gortat, their starting center, to the Los Angeles Clippers for guard Austin Rivers, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The 1-for-1 swap was described to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday night because neither team had announced the move. Both players are entering the final season of their contracts and are set to earn similar salaries, making a straight-up exchange work under NBA rules.
The 34-year-old Gortat is a durable, screen-setting big man who has played 12 years in the league, the past five with Washington. He averaged 8.4 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, his lowest numbers since 2009-10, when he was with the Orlando Magic, but could fill a need in Los Angeles if DeAndre Jordan departs.
After the Wizards finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost in the first round of the playoffs to No. 1 seed Toronto, Gortat was adamant that he had no interest in changing his style of play at this late stage of his career.
Asked about the possibility of working on his outside shot, Gortat replied: “This summer, I’m going to work on my tan. I’m going to work on my 6-pack. Get my biceps definition a bit better. You can’t improve 3-point shooting. You can’t improve your shot, specifically for me. I truly believe I’m a solid, good shooter up to 15, 17 feet. But I’m not going to shoot 3s. No, I’m not going to do that. I want to go into the paint. Body people. Be physical. Get scratches. Bleed.”
Gortat also discussed the widely held perception that he and All-Star point guard John Wall did not get along.
“We are good. Are we best friends? And, like, the greatest friends? Brothers? Probably not. But I’m not best friends with probably half of the team over there,” Gortat said in April after Washington was eliminated. “So I have a few good friends, but the rest of them are just my colleagues and teammates. That’s how it is. That’s how it is around the league.”
The Wizards had a bit of a roster problem at center, with Gortat plus a similar, stay-in-thepaint, well-paid backup center Ian Mahinmi.
They also were in need of backup help at guard, which Rivers can provide.
The official start of football practice is 19 days away for some local teams and at least 26 for others, but several are out at Yuma Catholic this week getting some final mid-summer work in — in the form of 7-on-7 competition.
Yuma Catholic, Kofa, Yuma High and four Imperial Valley teams — Imperial, Central, Southwest and Vincent Memorial — were at the YC fields Tuesday evening for the first of two days of a round-robin passing league “tournament.”
It’s not a true tournament, because scores are not kept, but it provides teams a chance to work on some things in the passing game before the real work begins next month. Most local teams have been participating in 7-on-7 throughout the month, with this serving as the last opportunity of the summer.
“You just want your guys to compete, you want to learn about your team, see who’s going to stay in the fight, who’s going to shy away from competition,” YC coach Rhett Stallworth said. “You get a little bit of some timing on routes maybe, but it’s definitely not real ball yet.”
Yuma High coach Curt Weber echoed Stallworth’s thoughts.
“Seven-on-seven is a distorted football game, and what we’re trying to get out of it is just get the kids to compete,” he said. “And you know, you can get a little better throwing the ball — it’s an unrealistic situation, but it’s work; it’s work on throwing it and catching it.”
This is YC’s third passing league action of the month. The Shamrocks played in a true 7-on-7 tournament in San Diego in early June, as well as a two-day competition in El Centro last week.
On Tuesday, YC played against Vincent Memorial, Kofa and Central. Kofa also faced Imperial, Central and Vincent