Will this trade work out well for both Chicago and Houston and Why?

I sure hope we don't lose Mobely.

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the more I know, the more I know I don't know...

 

Being a virgin from Macedonia-- no one will hold that against you. But a Bulls fan? We can help you there; welcome to ClutchCity!!!!

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There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't.

 

Clippers get mugged. Odom's going nowhere. From Houston, Shandon's going nowhere.

Chicago is a bandit, Fizer, who they have no use for, Hawkins who they don't want, and Artest who will be a bench player next year, with a future #1, for a talented center, 2 fabulous wings, a future pick and Los?

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The more lefties on your team, the better.
Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong?
Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.

 

Im glad this topic is being addressed by a Bulls fan. Corey, a couple of weeks ago in that View from a Bulls Fan column in the Chicago papers, they had a variation of this deal. I would say the opinions were pretty much split then like they are now. Personally, I think this deal is good for both teams. The Bulls need a legit shot blocking big man in the middle that has the size to play center and Cato provides them that. Marcus Fizer is a natural PF and not a SF. Fizer would fill the Rockets needs at the 4 spot. Jermaine O'Neal is far too skinny to play the center position and is a natural PF. Thus, the Bulls would be better off going for Cato. Here's the variation that I think works for both teams:

Bulls Get: Kelvin Cato, Rockets 1st rd pick in 2001 (top 3 protected)
Rockets Get: Marcus Fizer, Hersey Hawkins

Salaries: Cato 5.3 mil BYC salary, Rockets future pick (0)
Marcus Fizer (0 in trades), Hersey Hawkins (4.2 mil)

Rockets can take back half of Cato's salary which is roughly 2.65 mil. The Bulls can fit Cato's entire salary into their cap. Hersey Hawkins is about 1.55 mil over that half mark, but the Rockets can use 1.55 mil worth of trade exception to eat that extra into. That way the deal works on the cap.

Why it makes sense for Bulls: Chicago gets the shot blocking big man that Tim Floyd coached at Iowa State. They fill their center void and start assembling a very good frontcourt. Salary wise is where it really helps them. Despite taking on Cato's contract, the Bulls actually come out BETTER. If Marcus Fizer is sitting unsigned on their roster, he counts 1.7 mil, but in a trade he counts 0. Thus, they wipe off Fizer's 1.7 mil and Hawkins 4.2 mil which actually puts them into a better cap position by 600K. Thus, they can still pursue all the FAs they did before except now have their center void filled. Also, the pick from the Rockets is likely in the 10-14 range which will help the Bulls add another piece to their re-building plan.

Why it works for Rockets: The Rockets need a tough, hard nosed PF and get that in this deal. Their frontcourt gets upgraded as does the Bulls. Marcus Fizer is an excellent fit into the Rockets system as he runs the floor well, can play the inside/outside game and will provide them the toughness and attitude they lack on the frontline. Francis-Fizer should be a good mix. The Rockets are not trying to sign big FAs this summer so they can afford to keep Hawkins on the payroll. In 2001, Hawkins contract runs out, just when the Rockets need it. This is like adding 4.2 mil to cap room they already had expected.

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Check out the Best Source for Draft Info

Draftsource.net

 

As long as Chicago doesn't sign anyone, we are kicking around numbers unnecessarily. The
dollars don't matter if one team is under the cap. But since we are counting, a number
1 draft pick actually does have a dollar
value since each position has a salary slot.
I don't think Rudy would make this deal. A
low post player is just going to clog up the
new offense.
j

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j-unsigned 1st round picks have no value in trade salary "matching" purposes.

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The more lefties on your team, the better.
Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong?
Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.

 

A lot of both defense and rebounding is strength, positioning and court sense, all of which I believe Fizer has. Charles Oakley for instance has excelled at both despite being much less athletic than Fizer. Karl Malone's numbers were a less than overwhelming 19 & 9 in college against pretty weak and far more undersized competition that Fizer dealt with. Swift, also a power forward (and obviously the 2nd pick in the draft), had less than one more rebound per game than Fixer (with a whopping 6 point difference in PPG). If we only went by college stats, including those in good conferences, Etan Thomas would have been selected before Swift, Przbilla or Moiso. Fizer's rebounding numbers were also comparable with Corliss's in college, though I don't know if this helps his cause or not.

I also harp back to team performance. Fizer was the leading rebounder on the team that was the best overall AND best in limiting opponents' rebounding in a big and tough conference. Somebody was doing a lot of blocking out for a team with only one starter over 6'4" to accomplish this. They also beat MSU on the boards, probably the best reboudning team in the nation, in the game that really decided the national championship. Fizer also handled Moiso and Gadzuric from UCLA, two tall and strong (especially the latter) first round round low-post players. I saw enough of him to beleive he can rebound just fine, though I do think the occasional tall gifted PF will give him trouble defensively (but who has an answer to these guys anyway?).

I simply see this guy as having a combination of attributes (great offenive skills, solid rebounding, solid positioning, great floor sense, intense compitor, winner) than Cato could dream of having. If Cato was more than a inconsistent "project" than I agree it would be a questionable, but I an not convined Cato will contribute that much more than what we can find via free agency. But I don't think we have a prayer of finding a PF in free ageny the caliber of Fizer. This trade would leave us with a gaping hole at center and in shot-blocking-- that would sometime have to be addressed, but unless we get another really gifted player or two in the next few years which Fizer could be, but Cato doubtfully is, we won't have enough talent to worry about "rounding out" our line up. It is a gamble I would take.

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"The Rockets were ahead of the Suns by 20 late in game 2 of the series, but when the going got tough, we just Pippened . We would not be done in the series though."