Guys I haven't heard anyone discuss this in awhile, so I wanted to bring it up? 1. Is everyone still happy with the long-term contract we gave Cato in the preseason? 2. Francis seems to really like Mobley, which is well documented on this board, but what does he feel about Cato? Any type of friendship there? 3. Does everyone expect Cato to be a cornerstone of the future? I will admit I was amazed by Cato in the preseason (especially the Cavs game) and early in the season. I also know injuries have slowed him lately. I frankly am not sure if Cato will be a good NBA center (or PF) or not. He is a good shot blocker and brings a ton of energy, but I am unsure due to his ability to pick up 3 fouls in 3 minutes and his limited offensive game (yeah i know he is young). How does everyone else feel about this young talent? I like our future of Francis-Mobley-Anderson, I'm just not sold on Cato being a part of the future.
Really interesting question! Frankly speaking, such long term contracts have been killing the Rockets. Remember how many players we have waived with long-term contracts. Cato's contract is a long-term one, and I was not happy about it at first sight. Now I think it's OK, if he can do 2 and 3. That's a BIG question, and only Francis and Cato know it. In my opinion, keeping Francis happy is now an essential thing the Rockets, as a team, and as an organization, must do. Just like the Bulls kept MJ happy years back. Same reasoning. A cornerstone? Do you mean something like David Robinson, Hakeem, Patrick Ewing, ......? If so, Cato needs to improve his mid-range jumper. Cato is definitely an inside player at this point of his career. And I mean inside ONLY. If you ask him to take a 10-foot jumper, he will probably disappoint you 8 out of 10 times. Almost all his field goals so far are lay-ups or dunks, which are completely fine for right now since we still have Hakeem who is still capable of shooting the 15-foot jumper. But if Dream retires, Cato will become our 1st choice on the inside. Facing bigger/more powerful opponent centers, Cato will find it difficult to stay inside and thus step out from the paint, and his inability to shoot from outside the paint would hurt our offense. Another area is his lack of consistency. I know this will eventually come with experience. I just hope it would occur sooner. Defense ... his strong point. But can he not try to block every shot? This is one reason he gets into foul trouble so easily. And his injury ...... [/list=a] I like Cato, especially his athleticism and defense. He has talent. I even feel he occasionally has more fire than the Hakeem back in 94 or 95. But skill-wise, he has a long long way to go to reach Dream's level, even the current Dream's. Just hope Dream would be Cato's teacher. How about Dreamshake Jr.? P.S. If I could, I wish Dream now has the athleticism that Cato has right now. Take Dream back to the mid-90's. [This message has been edited by Rocketability (edited February 03, 2000).]
