Somebody please explain to me WHY we would want to trade Cato?

It's the new math:

Duncan+Francis+Shandon+Thomas+Hakeem= championship.

I'm not sure if they'd win immediately, but anytime you have the opportunity to acquire someone of Duncan's caliber, you do it, no questions asked.

PLEASE REMEMBER: This was a PURE hypothetical, and will almost certainly not happen.

Cato might be traded to free up cap room, and because he hasn't shown much desire lately.

 

RF34-
Maybe I don't see the same thing many others do. I don't see Cato as a good (much less a great player) now. Here is my personal breakdown of him:

Positives:
-He's tall and athletic
-He can be disruptive on the defensive end
-He's locked into a long term contract
-He brings a certain tenacity most nights

Negatives:
-Not much on of an offensive game
-Picks up alot of fouls in a short period of time
-He's signed to a L-Term contract (Remeber Maloney)
-He's moody & inconsistent, some night he shows up other nights he doesn't

All in all I would much rather trade Cato & keep Mobley than visa-versa. I think there are tons of guys in the league who can play the post on the defensive end, and get out of the way on the offensive end.

I will point out I was impressed with his double figure block game in the preseason vs. Cleveland, but he hasn't had many great games during the regular sason.

 

RF34:

You atleast have to give yourself the shot. It may not happen, but atleast put yourself into position to be a player in the sweepstakes. Even if we get nothing in return, we will be freed of an animal of a contract. Many guys can jump and block shots, are they all worth $6million?

 

According to today's Detroit News, Piston's VP Rick Sund says that he's talked to Carrol Dawson and that Cato is not available.
http://detnews.com/2000/pistons/0002/16/02160215.htm

[This message has been edited by aelliott (edited February 16, 2000).]

 

RF34:

Too bad you mentioned the Duncan hypothetical at the end of your post. I think that will distract from several excellent points you make.

I absolutely agree with you that Mobley is more effective when Cato and/or Rogers are in the game than Thoman/Dream. Cato and Rogers are superior at find the passing seam and getting to the rim; cuase they are junkyard dogs on offense. Thomas and Hakeem have superior post moves, for sure, but they don't work as well with driving guards.

2nd...Yesssshhh This is a guard-oriented offense with two shot-blockers. Awesome. That is something Phoenix never had. We can go small and create havoc with mismatches on our end, but not give up much on reverse mismatches since we have shot-blockers protect our rim.

Here's the mismatches when Francis, Anderson, and Mobley are in together:

1. Mobley has a blazing first-step
2. Anderson has size

Who does the small forward cover? Few if any have the speed to cover Mobley. And Anderson can post-up many SGs. There are the teams that can guard Anderson with a SF and Mobley with a SG...but they are few.

I agree...nothing is broke. Rudy is exploiting his talent very well. Any moves must be sure things.

Trading for SFs too me is a complete waste of time. We have an awesome 3-guard set that is jelling. Plus, we can rotate them at 33-35 min a piece to always be fresh for the fastbreak. Breaking that up for a SF can threaten the whole chemistry. Especially when that small forward is 20 yrs old without an outside shot. The SF position is the one position that doesn't really require filling with a prototype player. You can't have everything; and when you have a 3-guard set, you don't need everything to follow prototypes. That's what mismatches is all about.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited February 16, 2000).]

 

I can't imaging wanting to give this guy up. Being in the guard oriented offense that they have now, his weakside defense, shot blocking, and overall quickness work very well with this lineup. He does not command the ball, yet he seems to always be there for the dump from our penitrating guards. I love to see the other teams men commit and forget about Cato/Rogers/Thomas. It is something that just crawls under an opposing coaches skin. Those easy, trash points are what make him, and players like him so important to a team like ours. Is he a Duncan, no! Would a player like Duncan make a difference in our team yes. But you would also see a differnce in the way offense would be run as well. With a player like Duncan, you could see basically what the Lakers run. But we would have the players to do that, because they were used to get Duncan. If Rogers was healthy right now, I would love to see us duke it out with the Lakers or Blazers. I think they have really been playing well together now that they have figured out what they should be doing for the team. And that they could hang with any team in the league.

 

2 words. NO HEART!!!!

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Fuggetabout it

 

Cato has no offense...and probably never will, besides the dunk shot. He is dominating when he wants to be, but when he's not into the game, Bullard would be a better option. This guy is the future center of the Rockets unless they want to dish out some major $$$. He just needs improve on being consistent and coming to play every game.

I like the Kandi man as well. He's a bigger stronger and has a better offense than Cato. Maybe we can swap with the Clips, Cato and a 2nd round pick.

 

Did I hear the words "Bullard is the better option?"

Scary!