Yeah the early Cato high hopes and big contract wasn't his fault at all I say...Rockets just basically walked in one day and handed him the money and of COURSE he's gonna take it. I think everyone realizes the now the Rockets history of thinking too much of players and are seeing Cato for what he was on the court and not how he was supposed to match the contract (a few here at least). At a minimum contract now he looks like a bargain instead of the worst scrub in the league I liked his shot blocking, length in the interior D, and the knack for getting the alley oops. And he seemed to know his own limitations of not getting involved in the O when everyone else looking at him saw more...AND he was for sure accepting of a backup role behind Yao or being complementary alongside him...That said i think he fit more on those Rockets teams with the backcourt offensive weapons heaving up shots and feeding him alley oops than this team...but man we sure could use a banger on the frontcourt thats not as limited.
Check any of my past posts - i guarantee at least half of em call for the return of Cato. Cato's inflated contract was always the albatross around his stay in Houston. Cato with a reasonable contract is EXACTLY what the Rockets need - a big man who can be a role player...rebound, defend, get the ocassional dumpoff dunk under the basket.
he was gritty ill give you that. i guess he would be an ideal pick up since this preseason was rather limited. iono i didn't like his attitude much though...
but the question is, would you have given him $42mil? I often criticize rudy for this, but I can imagine what he was thinking. lock this guy up before anyone else.
And how long is Mutumbo going to keep playing? The fact is that Cato is a halfway decent backup F/C, I'd lock him up for 3 years if it were up to me. Maybe 2-3 mil/year, considering the lack of bigmen in the league I'm sure he's tradeable if we get a better backup, but in case we don't I wouldn't mind keeping Cato around for a couple million.
I think he's the most realistic option out there right now, and he did play well beside Yao in there last year. He should come cheap also, considering he's hardly played at all teh last few years. Bring him backand solve some of the Rockets extreme depth problems.
I had asked what it would take to bring him here but nobody answered me... Yao/Mutumbo Cato/Howard/Hayes/Novak Battier/Snyder/Bowen McGrady/Head/Sura Alston/Spanoulis/Lucas III If they all stayed healthy, there would be no reason we couldnt contend and actually be taken serious as a contneder....imo BRING BACK CATO!!!!
what song was it that had - "kelvin cato, we want our money back!"... or something along those lines?
I don't think it would take much to bring him back. Probably just the vet min. Doesn't seem like there's that much interest around the league for him. And I agree that there's a place for him on the team as a 3rd string center and occasional twin tower formation with Yao - but certainly not as a full-time starter. He doesn't provide the offensive spacing for Yao and that hurts the team more than his defense helps. But he has proven to be effective under JVG and IMO that's enough to bring him back. We could use one more big body with Mutombo on his last legs.
I would sign him for low, you can always use a big body. He did a good job along side Yao in the past.
I like Cato, even at a price higher than vet minimum. Remember that when he left to Orlando, people are talking about Yao's rebound down and there were no help in defense in the paint. I like the way he complemented Yao on the defensive end while he was here. Don't really understand why his production was way down after he left Rox but if he can keep his play at the level a few years ago, then why not. BTW, how old is Cato now?
Cato played zero for Detroit. They didn't even try him when they were getting dusted on Shaq's good days. They have made zero effort to bring him back. A min deal, probably only 1 year even, is all I would offer. I'd rather save the 2 mil left in the MLE just in case some shooter pops free. I think a general rule should be that if you are an older player and not in your previous team's rotation you should never get more than the minimum. (this is different from young players with upside, the dice SA is rolling) Remember Charlie Ward?
yeah, Ward...Strickland...Brunson...to an extent older players are only going to be a shell of their former selves, but IMO, old big men tend to be more useful than old guards...guards rely on speed and bigmen rely on power/height, speed can fade, but height stays the same...and 32 isn't really that old...i think it's more of Cato just never seeming to be in great shape...i'd say take a low risk/high reward chance on him...he's been in the system, played well w/ Yao, and he's a 7-footer capable of backing up the 4/5 spots, rebounding, blocking shots, and taking up space. this team still lacks size....and it'll give the H-town rappers something to rap about again.
JVG is very likely a much better motivator than Flip Saunders in Motown, and you have to wonder who was playing ahead of Cato in Detroit? Maybe they were just really deep at the 4/5 but in any event I agree with whoever posted that a big body that's 7 feet tall is worth 2-3 on today's market and I'd sign him based on his shot blocking skills, age (a young 32) and JVG's ability to get more out of him than Saunders and Orlando's coach. When Cato played with Yao under JVG I believe I remember the Rockets leading the league with the fewest points allowed in the paint when Cato was PF by default that year (??) Sign him and let JVG light a fire under him and Houston fans re-embracing him just might stimulate him as well
