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Marcin Gortat left to wonder about place on Wizards after Game 7 loss

NBA, Washington Wizards

Wizards center Marcin Gortat says he's prepared for anything this offseason, even if it's a trade away from Washington with two years left on his contract.

"I had 103 games this year and I haven't missed even one game. I didn't miss one practice or shootaround. On top of that I'm the oldest guy on the team," Gortat said Tuesday, a day after the Wizards were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in Game 7.

"I know how the business works. I'm the oldest guy on the team. They signed Ian [Mahinmi] also. He's younger than me and he got a longer contract. I just know how the business works so I'm prepared for everything just in case. We're going to talk. I'm going to talk to Ernie [Grunfeld, Wizards GM]. I'm going to talk to management and we're going to figure it out."

Gortat signed a five-year, $60 million deal with Washington in 2014.

"But -- I think it's too early for me to say something. I'm just going to sit down in the summer and talk to my agent, talk to my people and I'm going to analyze if this is the right fit," he said. "Winning is the most important, at the end of the day. But right now, I had an average, maybe good season. The team had a great season -- we went to the second round. I think everybody would like to take that result around the NBA."

The veteran scored just six points in the Game 7 loss on Monday. One day later, he lamented the role of the center in today's NBA.

"People don't throw balls into the post-up anymore because percentage-wise it's better to shoot a few more 3s. ... It's not a secret," he said. "At the same time somebody has to take sacrifices for this team. You can't have five guys scoring, every game, 20 points. That's impossible. Nobody can do that. That's why somebody has to be responsible for collecting rebounds and setting screens. Somebody else got to score. That's how it is on this team. I feel like this year it was me doing a lot of sacrificing.

"I got one of the most [under]appreciated positions in the NBA. Nobody respects centers anymore. Nobody looks at them as a valuable piece. I've been doing a lot of things for the team to win."

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