I Almost Feel Bad for Giricek…
Without a doubt, this is Gordan Giricek’s last year as a Jazz man. My friend and I were recently discussing the fate of the veteran Croatian. The guy appears to have no chance of making it through this season successfully. He’s in a catch-22 situation. If he has a good year and starts most games, people will gripe that Sloan should be playing the young guys. If he sits on the bench, he’ll probably be signing with the local team back home in Europe next year.
I’ve come to realize that I almost feel bad for the guy. When you look at it, he’s actually a decent player for his salary. If he were a TV show, he’d be King of the Hill. Both have been around for a while and even been good at times. But will you really remember either of them when they are gone?
I have to admit, I like the guy and feel he got a bum wrap last year for the way he played. Check out his 06-07 stats compared to those of someone the Jazz nearly signed this offseason, Morris Peterson:
| Stat | Giricek | Peterson |
| Age | 30 | 30 |
| 3 PT. % | 42.6 | 35.9 |
| FG % | 46.2 | 42.9 |
| Steals | .5 | .6 |
Apparently the going rate for a guy with those stats is a 4 year $23 million dollar contract. That’s what Mo Pete got from the Hornets. Personally, I’d take Giri’s current contract (1 year, $4m) over Peterson’s. So why do i almost feel bad for the man?
It’s because everyone I talk to seems to think he is worse than he really is. Especially those people who wanted to sign Peterson.
It’s because he is actually one of the better shooters the team has. He led the team in 3 pt shooting and was 2nd in Free throw percentage last year. Not to mention, he was 1st in FG% amongst Jazz guards.
It’s because he’s watched the Jazz draft 3 players at his position over the last 3 years. That would be CJ Miles, Ronnie Brewer, and Morris Almond. That HAS to mess with your ego no matter who you are.
I’m not trying to say you should pity the man. Let’s accept him for what he is - a decent shooting guard. Decent doesn’t cut it for very long in the NBA though.
I guess that’s how it goes. It’s a “What have you done for me lately?” league. Out with the old, in with the new. Hank Hill has to leave us someday, and so does Gordan Giricek. Putting his Utah career in perspective, it’s been a solid 3 1/2 seasons. I’m sure we’ll get one more this year. Nobody will realize it though. And I’ll almost feel bad for the guy. Almost, because hey, he is still making $4 million dollars. So here’s my early goodbye to Gordan Giricek. I promise to remember you as fondly as I do that show after The Simpsons. What was it’s name again?
5 Comments to “I Almost Feel Bad for Giricek…”
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I think youre right. Do you remember when in game 3 i think it was when he hit the 3-point right before the buzzer? Giri’s been a good and a bad player. He hits most of his threes, but its scary when hes dribbling the ball. Not a bad player for his wage.
Nicely summed up. I think he will definitely be gone. Maybe he will find another NBA team to play for, but he is getting a little up there. He should try to come up with a catchy way to say his name. “Gira” is not going to cut it. People like saying “Mo Pete.” Sounds like he is an exciting player. I also agree that he has recieved mostly negative attention for his play, especially his defense. I thought he was one of our better defenders last year. During the Rockets series he was in T-Macs grill the whole time he was out there. He did a better job that D-Fish, in my opinion.
That all being said, he is average. I am so glad the Jazz did not sign Mo Pete. Nice work on the stat comparison as well. I think everyone with an interest in the Jazz want to see one of the draft picks you mentioned pan out. And that is not going to happen with Gira taking their playing time. Hopefully one of those picks actually pan out so you don’t have to write same thing about them in the upcoming years.
It looks like Sloan may finally be forced to start Brewer. He’s played well in the pre-season. But we know Jerry has no patience. So if Ronnie starts to slip (especially on D), expect coach to go with the vet. Brewer’s play will decide how long Giri is in Utah. He’s obviously not going to be resigned after this year. But two words describe his value, expiring contract. Those are worth Mike Brown’s weight in gold in the NBA these days.
So should Ronnie become the player the Jazz need him to be, expect Giri to be packaged in another trade or to be swapped straight up for another big man.
Not another big man, a big man.
I agree Basketball John - Giri’s biggest value is that of his expiring contract. Word on the street is that he has been shopped around the league all summer. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sent to some other team mid-season for a future draft pick or veteran player. We’ll see how the season unfolds.
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