The only advantage I can see for Cuttino choosing Toronto over Houston is him getting the starting SG spot. But here Cuttino gets starter's minutes anyway and the freedom to go one on one in crunch time. I hear people say that Cuttino is enticed by the money Toronto is offering, which is only 5 mil over 6 years. If he stays with Houston he will get 3.9 mil which isn't that much lower. Plus next summer when he has his Bird rights, we could give him a hefty raise, just like what we will do with Shandon. Plus Toronto has a high tax rate, therefore Houston's offer might actually be more after you take away money from taxes. Another thing is that Cuttino has no guarantees that Vince Carter will stay in Toronto. I have no idea what Vince will do, but I am not sure that he will stay with Toronto. Since Vince becomes a free agent in 2002, than Cuttino will play with Vince for only two more years, if Vince leaves. I hear that Cuttino is leaning toward Toronto because he likes the idea of playing with Vince Carter. If Carter leaves Cuttino will be stuck for another 4 years with a bad team, let alone in Canada! And by the time Cuttino becomes a free agent again he will be 31, which is not an attractive age for teams anymore. So, Cuttino if you want to make the right decision, don't go to Toronto!!! You would be better off coming back or going to a different team, but PLEASE COME BACK!!!
It would seem that gaining national exposure by being on NBC on a regular basis will carry a lot of weight in Mobley´s decision. Sometimes i think that Cuttino thinks way too high of himself. Sure, the kid is good, but he´s not a superstar, and i´m not sure he will ever be. But he sure as hell wants that status. He wants his own shoe, bet on that. And unfortunately, he won´t get it staying in Houston. And for someone who has an ego like that, being in the starting line-up and hearing your name called by the announcers while the team is being introduced makes all the difference in the world. I don´t think it´s money. It´s about being in the spotlight, at least as far as i´m concerned. And he can´t be ENTIRELY blamed for that, can´t he? We are not angels ourselves. Just look at Shandon in our roster, Francis, and poor Othella exiled in Vancouver. ------------------ "Never underestimate the heart of a champion"
Wow, Thanos.... you bashed him more than I bash him. But then I just bash him because too many people think too highly of him. Regarding wanting to be in the spotlight... why would you want to go play on a team with Vince Carter if you want to be the one in the spotlight? Sure you may get on tv more and get your mug in highlights, but the spotlight will always be on Vince and you'll just be standing in the shadow he casts. ------------------ Just shut up and post
If Cat leaves he'll be a RICH idiot. He has to do what he thinks is best for Catino. The Rocks will do what they think is best for the team. If he goes, he'll be missed, but you can't blame him for taking a better deal. ------------------
Maybe Cat views himself as another version of his hero, Pippen. Pippen toiled in the shadow of MJ for years and all it got him was a half dozen rings. Mobley carried Pippen's pic around in his wallet when he was growing up. If you asked me, I'd say it is strictly money. He isn't getting $5 million OVER six years. He is getting $5 million THIS year in Toronto. ------------------ "No one gets out ALIVE!" SaveOurRockets.com
Still better than showing on national tv one and a half games per season (though i may not be sure of this, i suspect that the rockets will get less coverage than usual next season, wouldn´t you agree?). And if you´re going to be a sidekick and you´re after the spotlight, i guess you can´t do any better than being side by side with vince "media darling half-man half-amazing" carter would you? Francis will not get that kind of love in the near future. Not until the Rockets are playoff bound again, which i assume most of us would agree we are two players away from. ------------------ "Never underestimate the heart of a champion"
Thanos, I have to agree with Jeff on this one. It's money. It's not just about spotlights. If he leaves, it's for the money. I hope the Rockets have a backup plan in case he does or we'll be stuck with no front line and a backcourt that all of a sudden isn't quite so deep any more. Oh, and Shandon... practice shooting, you may be doing more of it. ------------------ Just shut up and post
I have faith that Shandon will step up his game if Cuttino leaves. He has shown at the end of the season that he is capable of being a scorer. And he can play more mins than he had been doing. If the injury bug reports, though, we´re in BIG TROUBLE. I mean, there are some people who are crazy enough to think of Bryce Drew as a fill SG. That´s sheer insanity if you ask me. ------------------ "Never underestimate the heart of a champion"
Four Points 1. Whichever way Cats decision goes, does that indicate who he believes will have a better chance for the Playoffs (real exposure) and a shot at a title???? Inparticular that should kill his friendship with Steve cause he would be saying Vince has greater chance to lead his team to Wins (and Glory) than Steve. 2. The Knicks have a good rivalry with Toronto going and that will give them greater exposure. 3. Is the lure of being close to his hometown of Philadelphia just too strong?????? (did we every find out if his woman and the kitten are still in Phili) 4. The Raptors have much better uniforms (actually they are sweet) and maybe Mobes is sick of the PJs. Smee ------------------ Stuff BBS, the Rockets and you guys It's all Clippers these days, come join the bandwagon and visit http://www.ClippersCity.net
I can't see how Toronto would be a better choice for Mobes. He knows he'll get paid in a couple of years more than what he's being offered now. In the meantime, he's going to get $4 mil. a year. I sure as hell am not going to cry for him if he's getting that kind of money. Here, the Rox have some of the best chemistry you'll find on a team. It's been well documented how miserable the Raptors' locker room was. Rudy T rocks and Lenny Wilkens doesn't no matter what anybody says. Just look at winning percentages and championships. Lenny was an absolute failure in Atlanta. Why the heck would he do any better in Toronto? Mobley gets the ball in clutch situations down here with tons of freedom. The ball is only going to go into one person's hands in Toronto, and it won't be Cuttino's. The SG position may be kind of crowded here, but I think Mo Pete is going to grab more and more minutes over the years until the situation is not much different than here. Mobley once said, "God doesn't like greedy people." Well, I don't either, and if Mobley leaves, then he'll qualify. ------------------
Actually, the uni's are very similar smee ------------------ "Get up, stand up. Stand up for your right"-Bob Marley
Oak And which "former I don't want to play for them brat" is now the future of the rockets franchise How quickly we forget?? It is the nature of the NBA (and professional sports) due to society's capalistic values and importance of size of income that Players will change teams for various reasons, including economic, which also relates to the presence of a salary cap. Not sure what form of employment who have but imagine this situation, your current 2yr contact is about to expire and your current employer offers you another 2yr contract worth $40,000 a year (with an unwritten committment to a much larger contract in another 2yrs time in you continue to improve your performance, not guarenteed though). However a rival company offers you a 4 year contract starting at $50,000 a year and increasing ever year. Additionally the rival company is only One hour from your hometown and family, whereas your current location of employment is 5 hours away from your family and hometown. So Oak which job are you going to pick????? Boob Yeah they're similar in the sense they are both worn by basketball players. ------------------ Stuff BBS, the Rockets and you guys It's all Clippers these days, come join the bandwagon and visit http://www.ClippersCity.net
Cuttino should understand, that he would get less money in the long run if he signed with Toronto. Toronto is offering 6 years, 30 mil, which is 5 mil a season. But in Canada the tax is like 40%, which is really high, compared to about 30% here. A lot of the 30 mil would be given to the Canadian government. If Cuttino stayed here, he would get 4 mil, which isn't that far off of Toronto's 5 mil, and next summer with his bird rights, he could get some serious money. Cuttino is not very smart if he goes to Toronto because of the money, because if he stays in Houston, he will get a lot more money than he will in Toronto.
The top federal income tax bracket is 39.6%. 5 mill/year certainly fits in that bracket. ------------------
You beat me to it Grummet. Those of you saying Canada's taxes are bad are correct. But I'll tell ya right now New York's taxes are equally bad and you don't see people running away from there because of taxes. It's also cold as hell there... Many northern states experience cold worse than many Canadian cities, but people still play there. The one big negative against Canada is that it's not an entertainment/media market (like a New York). But then how many Knick players are as popular as a Kobe, a Grant Hill, or a Vince Carter? ------------------ Just shut up and post
NOW NOW be fair. Answer this. "WHY WOULD Cat WANT TO SIGN WITH HOUSTON"? With Cat on either team TORONTO IS BETTER. WEST is HARDER...FOR NOW NO STARTING POSITION. LESS MONEY. Toronto is the 4th largest city in NORTH AMERICA. ( NY, LA, Chicago...) WHO CARES ABOUT WEATHER WHEN YOU'RE ON THE ROAD. RANKED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES IN THE WORLD. LESS PRESSURE if he signs on. THE RAPTORS COULD TRADE OAKLEY AND CHRISTIE...TO A) Free up even more cap space B) get some more good young players and possibly a point guard. IT'S FUNNY I BET SOME RAPTORS SITE HAD A POST CALLED "TMAC IS AN IDIOT FOR LEAVING TORONTO" I agree with the other posts...It's just business...and a smart decision at that. FRANCIS SHOULD HANG UP THE PHONE ON CUTTINO and START CALLING SOME OTHER AGENTS!!! ------------------
Why can't everyone live and think like McGrady.... "It's not about the money, 67 million, 85 million, it doesn't matter. You can't spend it all anyway!" Oh well....life goes on. Go Dallas Stars! ------------------ HOOP-T ------------------
Smeg, it's tough turning down money now, but I think I would stay here. He's going to make 4 MILLION dollars a year anyway!!!!! Give me a damn break! On top of that, he is really going to thrive here with the way this offense is set up. He is passing up an opportunity to be a focus of the offense to become just another guy watching Vince shoot 40 times a night. Even if they did give Cat the ball, they don't have the personnel to space the floor to fit Mobes' game. Moreover, there's little doubt the Rockets would not seriously reward his loyalty once Cat has his bird rights. There's the potential for injury, but Phoenix still rewarded Manning after his serious injury. I would think the Rockets have the same honor. The real villain is the CBA! It's ridiculous that teams like the Rockets are punished for drafting well. That rule is just completely illogical!!! I guess it really is wishful thinking to believe that any player is going to be a lifetime 6th man. Most 6th men are either youngsters or past their prime, so I guess having Mobley on the bench in his prime is a luxury that a team just isn't supposed to have. Still, Toronto has Mo Pete, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Mobley back on the bench in a year or too. As far as Francis not going to Vancouver, I think that may have been kind of uncool. It is pretty lame to make drafted players play in another country though. I don't think it's a bad idea to require Canadian teams to ask players' permission before drafting them. ------------------
Yeah, well, McGrady is a mental midget anyway. He's the guy that said going to Orlando wouldn't be a problem even though they really didn't have a center. I'm sure the centers on Orlando were impressed by that comment. ------------------ Just shut up and post
