I disagree. Europe will more and more deliver the NBA pure shooters who can play the 3. What Europe isn't doing is delivering many 2s, yet, who can hang guarding the plethora of awesome NBA 2s. (imo, Ginobili is the first since Drazen.) Just because there are more star 2s than any other position, doesn't mean it is easy to fill. On the contrary, I believe that makes it hard to fill, since the bar of excellence is higher for that position. The 2 is a more valuable position than the 3, for the very fact that there are more 6'4 to 6'7 athletic stars who can shoot/dribble,,,which requires you to match that, otherwise you always have a mismatch...<b>often a crippling mismatch</b>. The prototype 3, while arguably rarer, is not as important to fill, because you can hide weaknesses there more than any other position...look how we got away with Bullard and Elie at the 3 for so long, and the Lakers have one 3 titles with a pedestrian Rick Fox. If you have a scoring 2, all the 3 needs to do is play defense like Posey, fill lanes, slash... or merely shoot spot up 3s. They don't need to generate offense or be a playmaker. Flip that, and when you have a 2 who can't score well, you have to have a 3 who's a rare find, like Peja or Marion. Of course, the Spurs are always an anomaly with Duncan and that great defense, but in generalities, I believe it is correct that the 2 is important to fill for the very reason that there are a lot of 2s. Trying to find even a top 15 shooting guard via the draft is a difficult thing, whereas a pure shooter or defensive hawk that you can place at the 3 is not that hard, those you can get in the second round. Sure, there are a lot of 2s in the draft, but there are more 2 busts than anything else, as well. btw: this has nothing to do with my stance on trading Mobley. My position continues to be that you have to match him with another player like Griffin (or previous Kenny) to get his value back, and I don't like 2 for 1 trades for this team,,,since we are not deep at all. That would have to be a great player you get back....and imo, it would have to be a PF, or Odom with one of their young PFs adding in. Further, we don't really need a 3rd star with this team. We need depth, chemistry, a playoff under our belt, and Francis/Yao to continue improving. imo, we are set in a way where we can continue drafting pure shooters until one sticks, use the MCE on bulk until Griff develops, and use Posey at the 2 with Mobley as our chemistry and scoring improves.
Yes, Yes, Yes! For this team to take it to the "next level" I think in addition to continued "self improvement" with Steve and Yao this team needs a 3rd "star / semi-star" player. Someone that can come in and produce numbers on nights if either Steve or Yao is having an off night. That's why teams like the Mavs and Kings win lots of games, they have enough scorers. Bringing in a Brand does so much for the team including providing a 3rd scorer, a tough interior rebounder (offensive rebounds as well) and a decent weakside shot blocker! Plus he is a team oriented player and not someone that has to have the ball a lot to score. Assuming you give up Griffin to get him you would have Yao, Taylor and Brand as your 3 man rotation down low. You could even have T-Mo slide over and play some PF minutes if you needed it. Then as Sane suggested if you add a few more role players such as a PG and a 3pt shooter to stretch the defenses away from Brand/Yao then this team is set! Whether you move Francis to the 2 and find a PG or keep Francis at the 1 and find a SF, This team desperately needs to find a solid 3rd guard to go in our rotation. This team would be a lot better off if we got something from a 3rd guard which can help reduce the minutes Francis and Mobley play. And this team needs someone that is a legitamate threat from 3pt range. If Rice is traded (as expected) with his expiring contract then this team has to be on the lookout to get a shooter in return (via the trade of FA). We can't allow teams to sag in and clutter up the lane for Yao. The Rockets are Franics and Yao. We must build the team to capitalize on their strengths. The sooner we begin this process the sooner we will reap the rewards. I like Cat. I just think that he is better suited as a 6th man, spark plug off the bench for this team. We need something from that backup guard spot. I am not sure Cat will take that demotion.
I am almost certain that Brand and Yao are a good match. For one thing, Brand was able to maintain his stats and co-exist with Kandi. Kandi and Brand prefer the same side of the basket and have the same "sweet spots". While Yao and Brand prefer opposite sides of the baskets, and Yao is a better passer than Kandi. Brand, Yao and Francis are NOT selfish players, so that would never be a problem. Heypee, Are you sure we don't need a 3rd star on this team? These days, if you have 2 stars, the they either have to be the #1 and #2 players in the league (Shaq and Kobe) or have to be playing in the East. We surely could use someone who feeds off the team and is able to carry us whenever we need it. Someone in the same tier as Brand, Marion, Nash or Finley, Bibby, or anyone in that category. I don't understand why you think we need to package Mobley with someone to get value in return, especially someone like Griffin. If anything, Mobley's brilliant contract should allow us to package him with one of our bad contracts and get good value in return. Mobley and Cato make around 11M, so wouldn't we be able to deal with the Bucks and get Kukoc and Desmond Mason for example? I don't know. All I know is that Mobley doesn't act like he's "with" this new Yao/Francis thing. That will definitely be a huge problem.
QUICK QUESTION: Do you think Cat will have more trade value NOW or next year? I definitely say NOW. As our offense shifts more to the post game, Cat will be getting 13 pts, 3 assist, 4 rebs. Which isnt terrible but VERY AVERAGE for a SG in the West. With that said, we need to move him ASAP in order to get good value.
The problem with Mobley is that he's not the type of scorer we need. Don't get me wrong, he's important. And the scoring he provides is useful. But we really need a shooter more than a penetrator. I'd rather get one and not lose Mobley (so long as Mobley can learn to reduce his role) to replace Posey in the starting line-up. But if that's the only way to get one, a Mobley trade might be necessary. When you've got a strong low post threat, shooters fit better than drivers. And when you've got Francis with whom Mobley is largely redundant... well, his value to us is reduced further. Don't get me wrong. Mobley can shoot. But it's not his specialty and it's not what he seems to like best.
I agree. We need a pure shooter who can come off a screen and take a quick shot or just kill you when you leave him wide open.
If you bring in Brand,I'm sure Taylor has to disappear also. A guy like Brand at the 4 then sign someone like Ty Hill, as a backup or even play Cato at the backup 4.
How likely is it that the Rox will get Brand? imo they don't stand too much of a chance. We should keep Mobley, use him as the sixth man. Posey can be let go with Hawkins and TMo at the 3. Whether or not Francis slides over to the 2 or not is beside the point. Francis needs to be paired with someone who spots up, takes care of the ball and is better than average on D. And hopefully the rox won't have to give Norris a major major role on the team. It'd be great to upgrade our 4 spot, but Griffin and Taylor could manage well. Yao/Cato Griffin/Taylor TMo/Hawkins Francis/Mobley ?/Francis/Norris Dunno how well those lineups would work, and that largely depends on who's with Francis in the backcourt. Wonder if Mobley would settle for sixth man... if he gets decent minutes he probly would. But that gives the second team some firepower to work with (Taylor and Mobley).
I agree. The Rockets aren't going to get rid of him. If he leaves, we won't have enough offense. We will really struggle. And on defense...we will struggle as well. And he was a good bargain too... Steve Francis is our main scorer..even though he is trying to be a "true" point guard now. Mo Taylor and Yao are our second options. They are sometimes first...or whatever Rudy says. And they can both score. But they need some outside shooters along with them. Then Mobley and Rice are our only scorers. I really do hope Bostjan Nachbar can develop somehow over the summer and become a big surprise... Also. Don't get rid of Posey.
My location would not be "H-town". And my AIM Handle would not be Joker. I would be pretty good if I got an original screen name like Joker. I am not 75 years old. I am an annoying little brat. They are not going to trade Cuttino Mobley. If they did...I would want someone like Mike Bibby, Steve Nash, Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas, Brent Barry...people like that. Not for some garbage.
Well you've to have someone to get Yao the ball 1st so that he can make his aggressive moves and it wouldn't happen all the time with 2 guards in the backcourt shooting the ball.
Pwahahaha! As if those teams are stupid enough to give up players of that caliber for Mobley. The only reasons why they won't trade Cat is the fact that Houston thinks that he's worth more than he is or nobody will take him at all. Piatkowski would be a good pickup for Rudy's offense.
I like the idea of signing Payton next season. He would upgrade both O and D instantly. Not to mention adding vet leadership and knowledge of the game. Payton would be an excellent mentor, not only for SF, but also for Tito as well. But bringing him in would make Mobley redundant, or at best a sixth man candidate. What would it take to get Nene from Denver? Would Mobley and back ups be enough? If we could sign Payton (or even BBarry) in the off season and trade for Hilario, the team would be vastly improved. Can it be done is the question.
No. Glove won't fit here. Brent is not coming here. (Nor is John.) Nene cannot be got for almost anything. But, if all could, yeah, Rox would be better. Like Duncan taking our MCE, for instance.
[qoute]No. Glove won't fit here. Brent is not coming here. (Nor is John.) Nene cannot be got for almost anything. But, if all could, yeah, Rox would be better. Like Duncan taking our MCE, for instance.[/qoute] Must hurt your head to be prescient.
