Possum, i agree w/ you that Cat still takes bad shots, but to me its not him who is responsible for most of the losses for the Rocks. The blame goes more on Francis, and to a lesser extent on Rudy, Yao, and Cat. But I am not saying, trade Francis, I'm just criticizing him, because I know he is still the Franchise. The same goes for Cat, you can criticize him, but I dont understand when after every game, people say trade Cat, or bench him, or that its all his fault. Especially that dude who just said 'trade him for a bag of peanuts', i mean wtf???? But i still dont quite agree w/ u saying he has peaked. Steve is just as dumb as Cat as far as basketball IQ goes, but that definitely does not mean he has peaked. As far as a player shows things every year that he wasnt capable of doing before, he cant have peaked.
So what if Cat has peaked, he is still better than two-thirds of the starting SGs in the league and has a good contract. Only ONLY reason he would be traded is to 1) get significant value in return, and/or 2) if Steve isn't going to work out as a PG so it is either Cat or Steve must go (honestly Cat is way too good to be a bench or low minute player in the NBA). Cat is a quality SG with good production and decent shooting efficiency this year and over his career--it is mainly Rocket fans who don't know this. As has been said it is the PGs job to set up the other players, not the SGs role. If Cat is traded it will reflect more about Francis's inefficiency at the point than any degree of inefficiency with Cat at the two guard.
The book is out on Cat. He's got Jim Jackson disease. Uncoachable. Move him now, before it gets worse.
You're not talking to me but I just thought you should know the Mobley is currently 27 and will be 28 at the start of the next season. One possible explanation for Mobley being at his peak is that the physical skills of most players diminish as they approach 30 but they compensate by being sharper mentally. IMO, Cuttino has not exhibited that he will make the transition to being a smart, crafty player very easily.
I don't know if Cat has peaked as a player, but he's having one hell of a time adjusting to the fact that he is no longer one of the top 2 options on this team; does he hear the footsteps of those who will come to tell him he's been traded? And the fact that he's been Rudy's pet has not helped either, because Rudy has been slow/reluctant to make the adjustment as well, partially impeded by Yao's rookie-wall syndrome.
Grant:- too old, too expensive and not good enough! Gasol:- young, cheap, great offence but poor defence. Brand:- Expensive, Young, great spirit for the game, great offensive and defensive player.
even if we could get brand, how will we pay for him? next year steves max contract starts. we have to re-sign posey. and even that makes us worry about the luxury tax. then we re-sign brand for another MAX contract? even if we can do that by dumping rice and cato in the deal, how will we then have money for yao? and if we dont get rid of cat in the deal too he will be the 4th option on our team. there is no way he will be happy with that. 2 things we dont need: 1. someone who will want the max 2. someone who will want to score more than 12-15PPG why arent we looking at kurt thomas?
Too old? The guy is just 30 years old. Give me a break. He's barely a vet, something this team surely lacks. Too expensive? WHO CARES? We are NOT going to be under the cap anytime soon. Why not try and get quality players? It's Les Alexander's money, not mine, not yours. Sure Grant might not be worth that much, but it isn't as if we were using our FREE capspace that could be used to sign Kidd or Duncan on him. Elton Brand is obviously a pipedream. I would kill to have this guy on the team, but it won't happen. With Cato, Rice, Mo, Moochie, Griffin etc., there is no player we could have that would fit our needs as well as Brian Grant does. Not good enough? Allow me to disagree. He is exactly what we need. An enforcer to play next to Yao, a guy who doesn't demand the ball to be effective, can play tough defense on the best pf's in the league, and can hit the open shot. Also, it doesn't hurt that even though he cares as much as say, Ron Artest does, the guy is a model citizen on and off the court. Bring him in! BTW, i wonder where The Cat is. He was one of the biggest Brian Grant supporters a couple of years ago, just like me.
I think Grant is the perfect fit for us, however it depends on how much Miami wants in return and his contract. Rice plus cap filler should get it done. No need to include Griffin imho. Ming Grant Nachbar or Posey Posey or Mobley Francis is a special team. I would rather have Brand, and Gasol is intriguing, but Grant is proven, hardworking, and a ferocious rebounder, things we need. If Griffin develops right, then you either use BG as a backup 4/5 or develop Eddie as a 3. That might be my only issue, is where does that leave EG.
My guess is that with Brian Grant, either Griffin or Mo would become expendable. I would rather get rid of Mo and keep Griffin, limiting his minutes and letting his body develop as it should. Griffin potential would be wasted at the 3, and he doesn't have the quickness or the handles to play there anyway. Griffin would become a backup 4 and by the time Brian Grant's contract expires, Griffin would be ready to become a starter, something he is years away from being. If we can pull this deal without giving up Cato in the process, it would be a steal for the rocks.
Grant is definitely not too old. We need a guy around that age. He is a very good rebounder and exactly the presence we need in the paint with Yao. He would bea perfect fit.
You've totally missed the point. Even if I agreed with your statement about most players peaking at 28-30 (I don't), you have ignored the fact that what has allowed a 28-30 year old to progress is the way they mentally approach the game. Shaq will be 31 next month. Go back and observe that most of his numbers have gone down every year for the last 4 years. Shaq's game is almost exclusively one of physical dominance. Sorry, but IMHO in order to improve his game, Cuttino will have to alter his mental approach otherwise his numbers are as high as they will ever be with the Rockets.
Numbers dont always tell the whole tale. You said it yourself. Shaq's numbers have gone down last 4 years and he is 31. So r u saying he peaked out at 27, even before he won 1 ring??? I highly doubt that. Right now, its a transition period for Cat. He is getting used to playing w/ Yao, as well as getting used to playing w/o as many isos and w/ zone D. He will have to adjust his game so it fits the Rockets, and alter his mental approach, like u said. I think he can do this. You maybe dont. But either way it does not prove that he has peaked.
The more I hear about Grant, the more I think he fits our need perfectly. So here's a three-way I propose in order to get Grant to HOuston and dumo Mo T in the process. Houston Sends SF Glen Rice & C Jason Collier to Miami Miami Sends PF Brian Grant to Houston Seattle Sends PG Kenny Anderson & SG Joe Forte to Houston Houston Sends PF Mo Taylor and PG Moochie Norris to Seattle. TRADE ACCEPTED Houston makes this trade because they get a veteran, banger PF to compliment Yao, and only gives up to guys who really haven't played in awhile. They also make the Seattle deal in order to get rid of the PF jam that would be caused by Grant, and to rid them of bad Mo T and Moochie's contracts. Kenny Anderson gives us a solid verteran PG off the bench whose contract ends at the end of the year. Joe Forte is a throwin. Miami makes the trade to acquire Rice, in order in get as much under the cap as possible, so that they can make a run at the big name free agents this offseason. Seattle makes the trade because Anderson's contracts up at the end of the year and they get to quality guys for their bench, Taylor could possibly even start. They throw Forte into the mix to make the deal work under the cap, he doesn't get PT with them anyway.
Your trade makes sense, but it has to be tweaked a bit, as Rice's contract expires only next season, and not this one, which means that I doubt Riley would send us Grant just for that. Seattle is indeed a very likely destination for Mo, as they have coveted him in the past.
What I was indicating by saying Grant is too old(31this season) is that in three years when all our young players have matured, he will be too old to be a major contributor. We need a Power Forward that cam mature with the rest of the Team.
We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one but I'll give it one more try. There's a reason there aren't a whole lot of 28-30 year old gold medal winning swimmers. Swimming is almost entirely physical. Whatever you are regarding as peak performance for an NBA 28-30 year old is more attributable to mental growth as oppossed to a physical improvement. And you are correct...I don't think Mobley's ego will allow him to make this step.
