You must be stating this "case" to keep Cato in hopes that another team's brass reads this board, and somehow will see some potential value in Cato. Yeah, he blocked a couple of Shaq's shots in a game once.....WOOOPEE! Cato is a waste of salary. He IS the weakest link..... ------------------ My doctor says I am bipolar. I am going to get a second opinion. I have never had intimate desires for polar bears. [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited May 22, 2001).]
I'm not saying that Cato isn't a waste. He has exhibited no heart and his teammates have little or no respect for him. I just think that just getting rid of him and his salary is not enough. We need to get someone at that position who can produce in return. Getting rid of Cato and not getting a big man to fill the hole will be like amputating a broken hand. Is Cato a scrub? Yes Should we get rid of him? Yes, but not until we have something better. After all dumping a player for crumbs is how we got Cato in the first place. ------------------
Glyde: Your analogy doesn't work. Getting rid of cato is like amputating a diseased hand so the contagion doesn't spread to the rest of your body. Cato sucks at defense, is in constant foul trouble, and is a complete liability on offense - having him makes the Rockets worse. .. when he's not injured, of course, which is pretty rare in itself. I'd trade Cato for ANYBODY who will hustle. ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
but the longer we keep cato, the more expensive his contract gets. At the tail end of his contract I believe it is something like 7 million dollars. Way too much for a 3rd string center. And that's not even mentioning Cato's attitude. Addition by subtraction, i think. I would rather have Pig maning the middle and a few other scrubs than see Cato eating up that much cap space. ------------------ snap crackle pop
Actually, I think it's more like 9.4 million bucks. Now that's enough to make you really sick, y'know? ------------------
I still have a grain of faith that Cato will start to try to earn his paycheck. I think if healthy, he'll be an impressive defensive presence, and grab 10+ rebounds a game. ------------------ Founding Father of the Refs Suck Club
My two cents on Cato's 42 Million! Absolute Waste! If all we want is a body, I'd rather have Axel Dench or some other 7 footer who wants to play. What is rare in this league is a big man who can play. Cato sure is a big man, but he can't play and doesn't want to play. I'd rather throw some money at some other dude than him. ------------------
I must admit I still believe he could be OK. I was expecting him to have a good year last season, and he got injured. So my thinking is that this year will be his make or break year. But if he sucks this year his trade value will plumit, but if he has a good year his trade value will sky Rocket, not to mention be exactly what the Rockets need. I'm for trading him but only if we get something in return. ------------------
It's not getting rid of Cato that worries me it's what we'll we'll have to accept in return. Any GM worth his salt is going to make us pay dearly for getting out from under Cato's contract. As far as Pig goes you can't question his hustle and desire but there must be a reason he hasn't had a stable NBA job in two years. If we are going to resolve the center position lets do it with quality talent not journeymen ( or players nicknamed "Brenda"). ------------------
Glyde22, I agree with you that any GM who would take Cato would certainly try to dump similar players on us.We should look for players with short contracts in exchange for Cato,let's face it we are not likely to get a quality player in exchange for him,I also agree with you that we don't need centers like Haywood, and that journeymen won't solve our problem at center,but we do need to get rid of Cato's contract immediately.Cato's skill level is low especially on the offensive end coupled with his poor work ethic which can have a demoralizing effect on the team. ------------------
I say keep Cato. I've only seen him play once and that was when they were on national tv, nbc, against the lakers and kelvin made some key blocks and defensive stops on Shaq. He does have some potential thought on the defensive end. ------------------
Im in Cato's corner. In fact I think you will see him starting next year along side Dream. That is simply an opinion at this point. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Cato is a poor rebounder and his main strength which is his shot blocking has been very inconsistant this year.I know he has been injured this year,but when he came back,he didn't put much effort in contributing to the team.Ricky812 I lso saw that Laker game,and yes he played with a lot of energy,but his performances in the overwhelming majority of the games that he has played over the last two seasons has been extremely disappointing to say the least. ------------------
If you've only seen him once, then take our words for it!!!! NO MORE CATO! ------------------ My doctor says I am bipolar. I am going to get a second opinion. I have never had intimate desires for polar bears.
Poor attitude aside Cato is in essence a second year player in terms of playing time. If his skill level could moderately improve perhaps he will be more marketable. Let's assume that we are unable to move him. Can we force him to go to Pete Newell's Big Man Camp? ------------------
I believe the only way we trade Cato is if we are going to get another good center. In this draft you must understand that there aren't many centers that will contribute early. I like Haywood but he's like Cato in that they both don't always show up and Ken Johnson, yes he's a work horse but does that matter against Shaq he out weights Ken by at least 50 pds. Ken is listed at 240, thats a PF weight. I would like to take Haywood. I do feel we will make a trade but don't feel no one will bite for Cato. ------------------
I'd rather have a young kid that "doesn't always show up" that we are paying a couple mil. to than Cato, who rarely shows up and is making 7 mil. per year. He is a salary cap catastrophe, and he needs to get packing. ------------------ My doctor says I am bipolar. I am going to get a second opinion. I have never had intimate desires for polar bears.
