Story At Denver Post And people say that Denver lost out.. they get the first pick next year because there bound to be pretty ordinary for the rest of the season and they get there pick of free agents.. But the real question i wanted answered is posey worth resigning next season for $5 mil.. without the knowledge of how hes going to go at houston.. and only with his previous history.. I dont think houston needs another overpaid bench player..
Well will any FAs want to play in Denver? Remember Chicago a couple years ago. They cleared all of this cap rookm to get passed over again and again. They finally settled on Ron Mercer and an albatross contract. The only reason why Brad Miller still isn't a Bull is because of Mercer's contract. As far as Posey's worth, if he can play defense as advertised, hit the open jumper, play within the quasi-motion offense and not disrupt the team chemistry then yes, he's worth $5 million.
Just because he was going to demand 5M from Denver, doesn't mean he'll demand the same from us. I'd gladly sign him to a contract starting at 4M a year, for as long as 5 years.
Does it really matter? We're over the cap regardless. Doesn't really matter if it's 3 mil or 6 mil. The only way we'd be in danger of the luxury tax is four years down the line with Yao, and by then Rice's contract will be gone, and we could trade Cato for a draft pick if we had to. In other words, there's no chance of us actually having cap room, and no chance of approaching the luxury tax anytime soon. A couple of million shouldn't be the determining factor in resigning Posey. Granted, it's always nice to have players cheap, and they're easier to trade-- but I doubt the Rockets would actually let him walk if he wanted 5 mil.
Well, we'll see what he's like and how he fits in, but I think he'd be worth it. However if he really likes playing with the rox, and he thinks the rox have a legitimate chance at the title, he'll probly sign for less. Who knows? Maybe he'll be a steal like Mobley.
The Cat, I see where you're coming from. But as a business man, for Les, there si a point where we can't go over the limit. I guess that limit changes as we win more, as we bring in more fans, or similar things like that. Posey is not worth 5M right now to us. He improves us, but he's replaceable. For 5M, there are other players that shoot 30% and defend well. Overall, 1M is actually 1M multiplied by the length of the contract, probably 5. So 5M is actually a difference in the deal. Is he worth 25M over 5 years or 20M? I've said it before. We havea direction. the team is Ming and Francis. With every other player, we have to squeeze out the dollars. Sign them to as little as possible. That's how you win. Make use of the money. Francis and Ming are MAX players, everyone else is a supporting player. Which is why Mobley's contract is perfect, and MoT's contract MUST go by next season.
The way Cato is playing, I'm not so sure a 5M Posey is better than a 7M Cato. People have to begin to realize that Cato is a hot commoditty now. A team like Orlando would become infinitely better with a player like cato in the middle. Other teams that would love to have Cato: Boston Wizards Toronto Milwaukee Memphis Utah Phoenix This season, given 30 minutes or so, Cato has averaged 10 rebounds a game regularly. The other night, he pulled down 9 in 10 minutes. His shotblocking is up, his defense is up, and his shot looks better than it's ever been. With a team like New Jersey, Cato would look so so great. He's athletic, and plays defense, can run with the rest of the guys, and score on thsoe alley oops. It's really too bad we don't appreciate having one of the best backup C's in the league.
Man, Cato is playing out of his mind right now. If he had a little more playing time, he could average over 10 boards a game, easy. But with the Yao Ming's solid play, he would only get around 15-20 minutes per game, at most. Cato is a valuable asset to us, and we would definitely need him if and when Yao Ming hits the "rookie wall".
I do have to give credit to Cato.. hes playing alot better.. and making himself look alot more tradeable every game..
A legitimate starter is worth $5 million. We have backups that make the same or more - Cato, Taylor, M. Norris. If James Posey proves capable, he fills a big void. Glen Rice is on the downswing, T. Morris is inconsistent, and Boki too inexperienced. The key is not to go overboard and sign him to an outrageous long term deal. We have enough terrible contracts as it is.
I just wanted to echo that statement about Cato! Sane is right on in his assesment of Big Kev. We have two years to find out what Posey is worth sense we have him signed for the remainder of this year and hold a team option for next year. Trading for Posey also does not obligate us to pay him down the road like I think we did when we signed MoT and Shandon to low ball free agent deals a few years ago.
I know that this is not a praise Cato thread, but I have to chime in here as well. I agree with Sane and Crash. Cato is playing great right now. If Yao was not in the lineup, Cato would be averaging close to 10 points and over 10 rebounds a game. He almost has the rebounds per game now. Last year, everyone was saying "if Cato would just get 10 and 10". Well if he got 15-20 minutes a game, he would be. Go big Kelv.
10 and 10? Yes, but at 7 mil a year, that's not good enough. Has Cato played better? Yes. But there has to be SOME accountability. Mobley is worth 7 mil. Or maybe a little more. Cato is worth 4. Posey will surprise a lot of people on the fast break. Like Hawk or Terrance Morris did.
The sad thing is that it took getting Yao Ming to put some fire in Kelvin Cato. I mean we all knew he could do this all along, and the sad thing is he knew he could do it all along. But with the early threat that Yao would take his PT (and now its happened), Cato worked hard over the offseason, and has come in with a new fire, which he should've done a long time ago. Now that I've beaten the dead horse. I'd like to say it is nice to see Cato be productive for once, albeit not $7 million a season prductive, but productive nonetheless. I don't see Kelvin getting traded this season, but it may happen in the offseason, seeing as how C's are a rare breed now. The Rockets are getting back to the point where having depth is becoming a strength, so I wouldn't be suprised to see another trade to alleviate the SF glut, or someone getting shin splints all of a sudden and going on the IR.
Originally posted by Sane "People have to begin to realize that Cato is a hot commoditty now. A team like Orlando would become infinitely better with a player like cato in the middle. Other teams that would love to have Cato: Boston Wizards Toronto Milwaukee Memphis Utah Phoenix " LOL, You guys are kissing ass to much. I love the rockets and let me tell ya, nobody in the NBA would pay 7mil for Cato except the Rockets, who were duped. And Rockets cannot get rid of him because of the stupid contract. Nobody in the NBA will trade for him. Cato with all his bronze can't shoots, can't pass, have no basketball sense, and looks like a lumbering stiff valuable only as a second stringer. As for Posey, he's not worth the 5 million, that's why nuggets traded him. With the Rockets history of over paying one hit wonders like MoT, Cato, and Rice, he will probably get 6mil with the Rockets.
I f Cato had been productive, we would have Lamar Odom right now. We all owe his a great deal of gratitude
Trust me. Les has no limit on his spending when it comes to winning. Given the fact that naming rights in the new arena could be $200 million over the next 30 years and their revenue from ticket sales in the new building will DRAMATICALLY increase both because the place will sellout more often AND because they will control all the revenues, Les isn't going to have to worry about no stinkin' luxury tax. That doesn't even consider all the additional money they are certain to receive from local TV/Radio deals, corporate sponsorships and merchandising now that Yao is here. Landing Yao and a new building within a year of each other is like winning the powerball lottery for Les and the Rockets except they'll make more than the powerball ever gave out.
