ESPN:http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein_marc/1586512.html Dallas Mavericks It figured that someone in the NBA elite would be shut out in free agency. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak admitted recently that he feared it would be the Lakers. Instead, it's Dallas, who had Mourning as their clear-cut No. 1 target and the (long shot) pursuit of a Brad Miller sign-and-trade as No. 2. With several more free agents they liked getting good money elsewhere (Pippen, Horry, even Elden Campbell), the Mavericks are now faced with concocting a trade to get the center they desperately seek. Theo Ratliff? Erick Dampier? Marcus Camby? Chasing a bad contract or a center with warts are the Mavericks' only options now, as they endeavor to find the size that will allow Raef LaFrentz to play power forward instead of center. Dallas wants the option of sliding LaFrentz to the four, which gives Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley a chance to be big at small forward and shooting guard, respectively. There will be no LaFrentz-for-Kurt Thomas trade, because the Mavericks aren't about to get smaller. Not with $120 million already invested in three big men who don't offer much rebounding, interior defense or inside scoring: LaFrentz, Shawn Bradley and Evan Eschmeyer. If Dallas is in such a need for a center, why don't we try to trade Cato for LaFrentz? Dallas gets the interior defense they desire and the Rockets get a power forward who can play inside and can shoot the Three. JVG has stated that the Rockets need good outside shooters that can make other teams pay for doubling Yao. Real GM: Houston trades: C Kelvin Cato (4.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.3 apg in 17.1 minutes) Houston receives: C Raef LaFrentz (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.8 apg in 23.4 minutes) Change in team outlook: +4.8 ppg, -1.1 rpg, and +0.5 apg. Dallas trades: C Raef LaFrentz (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.8 apg in 23.4 minutes) Dallas receives: C Kelvin Cato (4.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.3 apg in 73 games) Change in team outlook: -4.8 ppg, +1.1 rpg, and -0.5 apg. TRADE ACCEPTED
Cato is a better defensive player, but lacks the offensive skills of LaFrentz. LaFrentz brings more versitality to the Rockets because of his offensive skills and the fact that he can play the 4 or the 5. Cato can only play the 5.
Didn't that article say the idea was to acquire a center so they could slide Raef to the PF? Why on earth would Dallas trade Raef for a center if the reason they want a center is so that Raef can play PF?
LaFrentz is the most over paid useless player in the NBA. Good greif he is the biggest bust on the Mavs since Shawn Bradley. LaFrentz cant rebound, score worth a damn (which is why the Mavs are looking for a post player), he is lazy, he has no heart and he can't stay out of foul trouble. I live in Dallas and all the Mavs fans hate LaFrentz and veiw him as a total waste of skin. LeFrentz is everything that Cato was accused of a couple of years ago. Plus he has a terrible contract.
They should get Marcuz Fizer if they need a Center. Before he was injured last year, he was impressive to watch to me. He was a big man that liked to work in the paint, and had the size to be good at it. Actually I have no clue what his salary is, or the situation the Bulls face with him, but he'd be a nice addition to the PF position since he's a good inside big man atleast offensively.
we would be big loosers in that trade. if it went ahead i think i'd be able to hear cuban laughing from here in autralia! raef is not a good player. he gets a negligable amount of boards & points. he completely sucks for a game/series if he doesn't get his first couple of shots off. and as correctly said by others, cato is simply a better player. given how much hate has been directed at cato, that gives you some indication of how bad raef is...
I don't know why Dallas is all crazy about getting a defensive center. The way they play LaFrentz is perfect for that team. He gets up and down the court and can hit the open shot. Besides, if it weren't for a freak injury to Nowitski, Dallas would have beat San Antonio and went on to win the title. Nowitski is the best scorer in the leauge. He can score from more places on the court in more ways then anyone else in the leauge. That coupled with one of the best 1 and 2 gaurds in the leauge Dallas is set.
you can't play the "if not for the injury game" in the playoffs. you have to expect at least one team to loose by default each year. i think the kings would've won it all if not for the webber injury; the spurs would've won it in 2000 if howard hadn't tried to decapitate DA....
Lafrentz is softer than Charmin, a big man who abhors contact like my mother abhors dust. He can occasionally knock down the outside shot, but I thought his game seriously regressed in the playoffs. He was so pathetic, both on offense and defense Nellie was forced to play more small-ball than he would've liked. What the Mavs need and will never get would be Ben Wallace. He would be perfect for them, the one guy on the team would not require the ball to play effectively. Would Cato work in Big D? I don't know. I think he is a decent center, but is he what the Mavs need? I just don't see it. He has Elden Campbell Lack of Consistency in the Middle Syndrome. One night Cato will look like the second coming of Dream (minus the dazzling offensive repotoire, of course). The next he plays like he's six feet tall. Go figure.
UMMMM...NO! "LaHoweveryouspellhisname" is not that good and he is too small and too soft and not the PF the Rockets need. If you ask me, I like our team how it is.
oh i figured this was a thread to make fun of the mavs. kind of the nah nah nah nah nah nah approach. ya dont have a center? that really suck guys, well we dont have a small forward but ya dont see us all ESPN: Rockets Needs A Small Forward.......softies.
LaF is a foul machine. Otherwise he is a good player who just doesn't seem to be able to get it together. He will, IMO, and Cubes will be glad he kept him.
