Hottodie, What Cato is being paid, is not Cato's fault. His work ethic, after this last season, is the last of our concerns. I assure you, Rice will not be half the player he used to be. T-Mo will improve a lot, but not like you want him to. you may not like the fact that Rice will start (if he's here) and T-Mo will pick up the rest of the minutes (because of Francis) but it's true. There's no arguing with it, and you know it's true. Cap space is not everything. In fact, it's almost nothing. What's important is that Cato is a betetr C than Declerq, and we don't need Garritty. So why make this trade? garritty will be signed for almost 5M, so is it really worth 2M? This trade? To end up with this: Declerq/maybe Griff MoT/Griff/KT/Garritty Garritty/Rice/Tmo/Torres Mobley/Torres Francis/mooch That's an INCREDIBLY imbalanced roster. It's not even close to a "sound business decision". Cato is passable, Declerq is not. We will not go out with that rotation at the C spot. Cato WILL play hard, while you can't guarantee anyone else will do that. Best thing to do? Trade #5, #15, Rice, KT and their obligation to the Bulls for #2 and a filler (Trenton Hassell?) If Ming drops, pick him up. If he doesn't, trade Jason Williams for Odom (and #12 or filler?). That's the best scenario for us.
As sad as it sounds, we are paying the market for a 6'11'' 260 lb. guy with potential. Look at what Marc Jackson got for 20-something games on a terrible team. Evan Eschmeyer got 20+ mill to come into a situation to be no more than a backup, and most likely 3rd string, which is where he ended up. Vitaly Potapenko. Travis Knight. Calvin Booth. Jahidi White. Sometimes these guys will play to their potential. Nazr Mohammed blossomed in Atlanta. Lorenzen Wright was blowing up in Memphis before he got hurt. It's a gamble. Most thought Detroit overpaid for Ben Wallace. Remember the criticism NJ got for signing Maculloch to that huge deal-10-6-1.5, and that is now considered a pretty good move. Wait till we see what Jerome James gets. We don't need Pat Garrity. Offensive snipers are the type of pieces you get when the team has reached that point. If we really wanted one (and rumor has it Rashard Lewis wants to come back anyway), Lee Nailon will be available, and he's a Texas product, and Charlotte isn't really a threat to sign him. Shinn has a terrible history resigning his own players, his agent got into an argument with Shinn last offseason, and they have Mashburn, Lynch, and last year's #1 pick Kirk Haston all playing SF.
if there is one thing Cato does well it is block shots...with he and griffin the middle is secure and makes your opponent revert to the outside. our interior defense is way better than our exterior. we need defense...all kinds. getting rid of cato is not the answer. give him time...in the final year of his contract you'll be pleased with him...cause he'll be motivated enough to try and get a new contract. big men are hard to come by. you guys are unconciously trying to compare cato to olajuwon...you can't do that. I fCato just motivates himself enough he'll make a big difference next season.
There is nobody on the Magic that I would want to trade for with the exception of McGrady who is unobtainable. I seriously feel that without McGrady Orlando would be the worst team in the league. This team needs time to gell.
Can't you trade players for cash? Like Vmax? Can we sell Cato to someone and take NO players in return, or did that change? Sometimes nothing is better than something. p
Of course, I would move Cato in a heartbeat! Then use the MCE on a role-playing C who actually tries! But according to oeilpere, Cato looks to be the Rocks' guy, barring any interesting draft developments.
I have to say, I'm extremely happy with Cato. His contract is market value, and he gives his best. Over the season, he improved big time. I thought he was averaging 10 boards after the break, but apparently not. But I definitely think he CAN get 10+ boards in 30 minutes of PT if Francis lays off it a bit. I'm extremely happy with a Cato/Griffin duo. If they can develop a bit of chemistry, that will be an excellent inside duo for years to come. Shotblocking and defense. Griffin can go out, and in soon. Cato loves to dunk and has that trusty 15-ft jumper which will go with his hopefully improved baby hook. You guys think Griffin will go to the Big Man camp this offseason? Is it still possible Cato will go? If they both went, I think we have ourselves a VERY passable frontcourt. Lots of rebounds, lots of blocks, lots of effort. Exactly what we need to compliment the backcourt. Now if we only had another playmaker so that shots would be easier for everyone.. Cato Griffin Odom Cat Francis That will get us 50 wins.
Are you guys nuts he is a good fit here, especially because he doesn't dominate the ball. His shot blocking is exceptional, but our guards do not make other guards go to the inside so other guards make their wide open jump shots. And if they do miss all of the rebounds are long, don't forget what kind of athlete this guy is his physique is exceptional. And once again I think that we should draft Woods and Marcus as our back up or convey that pick to the Griz.
For a team like ours, guard oriented, big men are essential. Big men that block shots, rebound, and play D are even better. That's what we have in Griff and Cato. Griff can score tons of ways, and will add to that when he puts on some weight. I'm glad the Rockets are happy with Cato, he's perfect for this team.
I concur with all those who are supporting Cato.... Is he a dominant low post threat, monster defender and board eater? No...but outside of Shaq, who is? In a very soft big man market, Cato is a reasonable center,and fits this team pretty well... It is conceded that we do not have a "true" point guard...no position is more adversely affected by this weakness than center, and Francis' greatest offensive deficiency thus far is his poor passing to the post...He still lacks a feel for when a big man has a seal, or the right body lean, and often when he does pass into the block, he leads his man, or puts it in too soft, and Cato etc. have to either give up position, or try and snatch the ball rather than recieve it...This has some effect on Cato's play...Not the only reason for his low point output, but a factor... Also, we go inside at least twice a month, whether we have to or not, so it's not like we'd know if we had a big time center anyways... Cato is fine...he's no mad dog in there, I'll grant you, but he's servicable...I'd take Ming and try and improve if given the option, no question, but aside from that I'm not sure that paying a lot for a slightly better servicable center ( Olawakndi, for ex.)is worth the cost....
I look around the board, and nothin will solve our problems like Odom will. Nothing. Just his passing, rebounding, heart. Not so much the scoring. That's just graavvy.
Serviceable is fine...but you don't pay serviceable what the Rockets are paying Cato. If you can unload that contract and free yourself up to get a quality player who is more than serviceable, you do it.
Sane, I agree with you. A lot. I know Odom's had his question marks, but he would blend, personally and skillwise, perfectly with this team. We need his court vision, his passing. I wouldn't be surprised to learn the Rockets have targeted him for this off-season. Maybe the two teams have already talked? ("We'll see how the draft order goes, then go from there." "OK, I'll give you a call then.")
