Jackson is the man anyhow you look at it. First of all, statistically he is better than all the other centers mentioned. Interestingly he is also, on a per 48 minute basis, better that Taylor, an apparent fixture on our team next year. Also, the team is very talented in the other positions and do not need to get a top five center now. Cato himself got alot of buckets just because of the talent around him. It will be the same for Jackson plus he is much better offensively. I would not screw up thing by giving him a two year deal. We are beginning to sound like cheap fellas, like the Jazz. What happened? Have we changed after our mistake with Cato? Have faith CD! Confidently sign Jackson then you can get all the rest that you need. He is a 270lbs 6-10 guy who when combined with Taylor are a fairly solid and heavy combo for some matchups. Put Griffin in the mix for added defense, shot blocking and rebounding, you will have a competitive frontcourt. Signing Jackson is not a "on the rebound" move, it is a "are you serious? first Griffin, now Jackson! just what we needed after Akeem!" move.
I agree with you Rock. Since when has 6'10 270 is undersized? I guess Zo is unsersized at 6'9 or maybe 6'10 also. Its how big the player plays that counts. He played 35-36 min, he can take Hakeems shots 10-12 a game. The reason why Rudy played those gimmick lineup is because Hakeem was hurt and they didn't have a viable option. Only teams desperate would play taylor and thomas on the same frontline. Lets get Jackson and go with it.
You are all leaving out one option I think may be better than any listed: Chris Mihm. He's definitely a legit center by size, and he has a lot of skills we can use. He can bang inside, rebound, and has good range on his jumper. The Cavs are loaded with big men, with Diop, Ilgauskas, Doleac all under contract at center. There was talk of starting Mihm at power forward, but after the trade for Tyrone Hill, there really isn't a spot for him there either. The Cavs need athletism from the perimeter, esp. from the SG spot, and I'd bet Shandon would interest them. A S&T of Shandon for Mihm and cap filler really isn't too far fetched, imho.
After the Hill deal Cleveland has Diop,Hill , Ilgaukus, and Mihm. Chicago has Bagaric,Chandler,Curry, Voskhul and Miller. Out of that group someone has to be expendable. Ilgauskus of should be avoided but anyone else out of that group could be of some help. Most people think Voskhul is a stiff, but he is big and a homeboy.
Cat, I may be wrong when I use the 48 min stats to evaluate and compare players. Jackson, using that tool. is the better that most of these guys including Chris and he is a free agent and reportedly wants to play for the Rockets. We have to do a better job of projecting growth when we evaluate talent. Look at Antonio Davis. Based on the way we look at l\talent we would not have expected or projected Davis to be doing or commanding the kind of respect that he is doing now. Also Jackson has the undervalued intangible of being his own man and getting his career to where it is. I believe he is hungry and would work his butt of and the sky is the limit when you have talent and those qualities. Golden State reportedly offered 4.5m because that is all they can so we have to be carefull to assume that is what he is worth or that is what they think of him. This is a solid pro that you can commit to, like the junkyard dog - Mario.
Finally someone agrees. Mihm is solid, but what do we have to get him? White leaves you as a dounut at center and mccoy is too small (225lbs). Jackson is a good fit for this team. Actually, jackson is more productive than Mo Taylor. Why would anyone want a stiff like eshemeyer? If anyone has watched him play as much as i have via league pass, people will love the skill and effort the guy gives every night. What has Taylor proven in his 5 yrs as a pro? He's proven he can come in overweight and that he stays in foul trouble because of lack of quickness. He's also proven that rebounds that don't fall in his lap are like a disease. I once thought about waiting for Duncan, but the more I think about it, we waited for Webber and everybody else and we don't have him. Lets go for it and try to win.
Jahidi White has four years left on his deal, starting at 4.4 million this year. He would be a roughly equal financial gamble as M Jackson. I say three years for Jackson, starting at 4.59 million (just over what GS can pay him) first year. The selling point to Jackson is no one else can pay him more, and he will have bird rights after the contract is done. He will have to work for his next contract. Such a contract would pale in size to Cato's. What I am not sure of, is which center could better fit a Rockets running game? Who gets up and down the court better? Frankley, at White's size, I do not see how he can run, but I admit that I do not know who is the better full court player.
Why not 3 yrs at 5.5 per for Jackson? People talk about running game, but you have to defend the rebound to run. Just think about the running game if Francis and Cat didn't have to come back and help grab rebounds. Think about Griffin and Jackson gobbling up 18rebs between the 2. Rebounding and defense sparks your transistion game quicker than anything. Another thing, Jahidi White's offensive game is worst than Cato.If we look at the big picture, if Shaq doesn't have to defend your post player or he sits out there and don't draw fouls and shoot jumpers,you're done. Shaq is going to punish your teams center already, but if he doesn't have to worry about no fouls or putting his hands up on long jumpers, you've already lost the battle and the war.
i'd either sign marc jackson to a 3 year deal worth 6 mil. or sign sabonis to a one year contract for the minimum.
Why would the Rockets want to give 5.5 Million per year for Jackson when they wouldn't give that amount to Hakeem? They only offered Hakeem 13 Mil for 3 years. How in the world could the Rockets justify giving Jackson more than they offered Olajuwon? If Jackson costs that much, stay with Cato.
Carlos Rogers. He is cheap, plays well with the team, and has never really complained about minutes. He is a team player. Of course he probably wouldn't start, but he could play valuable minutes off the bench. Cato, Carlos, and eventually Collier is a decent trio at center. Remember, Rudy likes to go small at times, so why bring in a guy for $4-5 million that is only going to play 20-25 minutes a game? Sabonis is another relatively cheap option, but he may be a bit risky.
I have to agree with the Cat, Chris Mihm makesmoresense than anyone right now. We need a Cavs fan on this board to tell us if they want Shandon Anderson, cause I can't think of anyone else who's expendable. Before anyone says anything, I don't think Cato is so expendable anymore, seeing as how our only other 7 footer won't be making training camp. This S&T sounds preety damn reasonable, Shandon for Mihm and change. I hope that's what Rudy and CD are thinking.
We stuck with Fato, let's not compound the problem by not getting a credible backup like Marc, who was waiting to sign with Houston. Marc will become a very valuable backup, when Fato doesn't show up. I like a big lineup with Steve, Cat, Eddie, MoTaylor, and Marc Jackson. Play MoTaylor at the 3 spot, which will keep Eddie closer to the basket to rebound and block shots. This will give us a mismatch on offense with MoTaylor posting up smaller 3's. MoTaylor will have a mismatch guarding 3's on defense, however, that's were Eddie and Marc (possilbly Fato) could help. This lineup will take us far, if we resign Shandon, he could replace Cat, Moochie replace Steve, TMorris replace MoTaylor, and Fato replace Marc. Cato is afraid to start and we all know it, let him come off the bench, he has played better off the bench.
I am leery of Jackson, if for nothing more than he played on one of the worst teams in NBA history. I fear his stats are inflated. Sorry Swopa, they have some good talent on the Warriors, but that second half of the season was just brutal. I am not nearly as worried about his durability though, because once he leaves the Warriors, I expect him to remain injury-free, because the Warriors are cursed. If $5 million is the asking price for jackson, I say we pass. I'd rather start Cato ad get a couple hard-working big men to come in and give us 6 fouls a game.
That's a good question. I concede my ignorance, not having watched White, and I know it's not much, but I was in D.C. recently and a Wizards fan had the same criticisms of White as we do of Cato: no heart, doesn't try, and not basketball smart. If CD were interested in him, I'd trust his judgement, but I'm very leery of White. If he were anything of a serviceable backup, I don't see why he'd be on the block. Put me down for Mihm or Sabonis (stop-gap). Every so often while I ponder our situation at center, Loren Woods pops into my head. Personally, presuming there really isn't something horribly wrong about him, I think he has a lot of traits of what I consider the ideal Rockets center. I hope two years from now, we won't be talking about Woods like we do about Rashard.
The only way we will know if Cato(yuk) or Collier will be able to do the job if we try them. Let wait until someone get hurt or we realize that they cannot play. We can get the top CBA or IBL or USBL top center just in case the C"s brothers cannot handle the pressures. Dang I hope they can, I think they can ,I think they can, I think they can Just a little postive thinking to give off good karma
They've both been tried. Cato is a definite and dismal failure. Collier is still injured. He showed some flashes, but his early injuries are not a good sign. He will NOT start for us. Jackson would be the best interim solution at C that I can think of. Personally, if I were CD I wouldn't even look beyond him. If we can't get him then I'd sign Pig Miller for a year and check out next year's FA market, or wait until Duncan becomes a FA in '03 (anything I'd do now would take that into account anyway). I wouldn't even consider White, McCoy, etc. Pig is as good as or better than those guys, he's willing, and he's cheap. Nuff said.
