Let me say first there is absolutely <B>no truth</B> to any of this. None. If someone says I reported this I will laugh. This is also not a cryptic message of any kind. I can't make that any more clear - THERE IS NO TRUTH TO THIS. I just want to start a totally garbage rumor in the hopes that the two teams actually say, "Hey, maybe we should actually talk". So in that hope, please tell everyone you know that the Rockets are in talks to ship Kenny Thomas and Cuttino Mobley to Indiana for Jamaal Tinsley and Ron Artest. Yao's performance against Dallas, and continuous improvement, is badly exposing these two talented players as bad fits for the Rockets. This has nothing to do with Mobley's bad shooting night. I'm all out of knee-jerk reaction posts to bad games, but Cuttino Mobley is, hands down, the worst passing two-guard in the NBA among starters and he needs the ball to be a factor. The Rockets already have a ball-dominating guard in Steve Francis, and rightfully so. Francis needs his Eric Snow. If Mobley was on another team, he could become the star two-guard getting 25 shots a night that he thinks he is. I love Kenny Thomas and while it's still early, I think it's become apparent that Eddie Griffin and Maurice Taylor are better fits at the four around Yao Ming. Kenny is in great shape but has lost too much weight to play the four at peak effectiveness, and the Rockets have Rice, Morris and Nachbar at the three. "You're a Mobley hata", blah, blah, blah ... I don't care how you dismiss this, but it's time to realize that the name of the game is not putting 5 20-point scorers out on the floor. There's defense, rebounding, passing, teamwork, fundamentals and efficiency. I believe Artest's defense and Tinsley's playmaking abilities could be much better fits for the Rockets and <B>every</B> Rocket better take notice that a certain 7-foot-5 beast just made 31 shots in 35 attempts and there's not a single Rocket on the squad that could make that many shots in less than 50-60 attempts. Think about that ... that's an extra 29 trips up the court. Yao Ming and Steve Francis are the future of the Rockets - get used to it. If you can't compliment that, then it's probably best your game goes elsewhere and the Rockets get personnel in there that does understand it. So say you overheard a guy on a cell phone in a mall, or you were dangling from the rafters at a grocery store, but please spread the word.
That trade makes so much sense... Clutch for GM! Though, in truth, Artest wouldn't be my first choice. Can't think of a better guy off-hand, unfortunately. It doesn't bother me that Mobley went 0-8. He'll find his shot. But he wasn't playing in the offense. Occasionally, he just seemed to decide he wanted to play one-on-one... and took some bad shots, and didn't even look for teammates. It's funny.. last year, it looked like Mobley might be "getting it..." and Steve looked like a vigilante. Today though, untl the 4th, Steve was playing like a real-live PG, but Mobley was a crazed loose cannon.
But more seriously...Clutch, don't you think the fact that Mobley only took 8 shots seems to indicate that he is trying to complement Francis and Yao Ming instead of trying to be "the man"?
I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea, as much as I like Cuttino, but please try not to put words in his mouth. He's said himself that he didn't think he was a superstar, and he's never been quoted on anything to resemble the statement you just made. I actually agree with some of your reasons for the trade, and I would not be totally against it. But, reasoning is good enough. Try not to put words in his mouth for something you know he's never said, or even implied, from what I've read. If you seriously want to try something like this, you might not want to make Mobley out to be a selfish jackass to the rest of the league. You might think he acts that way on the floor, which is fine, but you're still in no position to tell everyone else what Mobley is thinking.
I like Cat, but I'm tired of the piss poor shot selection night after night. A guard who can feed the post and play D is not such a bad idea. I'm not saying I'm sold on the idea of getting rid of Cat, but I'd entertain the thought if the package in return was right.
Indiana is the best team in the east. Plus they arguably already have the best front court in the eastern conference with brad miller, jermaine o'neal, al harrington, and j. bender. I don't see why they would want to tinker with their roster, much less with an undersized front court man like Kenny Thomas.
I heard that rumor, Clutch. (uh... about 5 minutes ago) But the one I heard had us throw in Mooch for a hot dog and a bloomin' onion.
Interesting trade to bad there is no truth to it but If there was some truth to it I would say go for it but not exactly for the same reasons I think Francis is a 2 guard and while he can run the point he should be our scorer ala Iverson... and Tinsley would be a good true point guard and Artest would take Hawks minutes... with a little more minutes.... My biggest problem that became obvious tonight with Ming's performance is the inside is still going to be a part of the Rockets offense and because of that we need a pure shooter at the 3 like Rice and not Kenny and I am not even crazy about Rice's and really hope either Boki or Tmo stepup sooner than later
Whoa sorry bout that earlier post but I think that would be a great trade! I think Mobley's a good player but aahhh I guess he can get on my nerves sometimes. I agree with haven, it seems like Mobley is stuck on last year mode. I don't goet to see alot of Rocket games but from what I saw tonight the Rockets have really changed that offense, (mostly a big change in Franchise)and when it was just Mobley out there it was last year all over again. Heck, I'm contemplating doing the trade just for Artest, true that seems lop-sided but we need Defense sooo bad. I think our defense is improved but just think of how much more it would be with Artest. Only thing is, I thought Isiah loved Tinsley, at least last year anyways. Who's gonna play point guard for them? I dunno I'm just wondering why Thomas would give up on a point guard so fast. Is Mobley that intriguing to him?
Artest has been getting so much love lately from coaches and the media. i say this based on their comments. i dont think Indiana would trade him right now. they are playing well. but ill tell everyone anyway, that they will...
So with the proposed trade, that would mean Tinsley would play the point and the Franchise would slide over to the shooting gaurd position. Sounds good to me ! Paging Mav3434..your thoughts ?
That trade makes sense...for the Rockets. But even if the scheme worked and the teams discussed the trade, I doubt seriously the Pacers would go for it. The talent exchange might be semi-even, but that team is on a roll right now, and I doubt they would be willing to change anything.
If I was Indiana, I wouldn't trade Artest for Mobley AND Thomas. Artest is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, without an anemic offensive game.
Clutch didn't put words in Cat's mouth...he distinctly said "thinks." Since it seems pretty obvious that no one on this website can read minds, I think it is not a brilliant leap of faith to assume that Clutch was stating his opinion here. And everyone on this website is in a position to state their opinion.
The Cat: Clutch doesn't need to put words in Cuttino's mouth. His play does the talking. Last year was about ISOs and I had no problem with that. And I understand it's a hard habit to break. But how many times does Cat just get it in his head he's gonna finish a play and not react to the defense? Steve's gotten hella better at it. I'm thinking maybe five times he's gone for it against three defenders, leaving an open man, this season. Cat does it all the time. I've loved him since we drafted him. I think his work ethic and his ballsiness allows him to play even above his talent (which is great), but I agree with Clutch. He's looking like a bad fit for the team. It pains me even more to say I'm coming around to feeling the same way about Kenny. I freaking love Kenny. Players like him and Othella and Chucky Brown and Mario Elie and, yes, Mobley, who work so hard, who want to win so much that they just will themselves to play above their abilities are the heart and soul of Houston Rockets basketball. But Kenny can't get going late in the fourth. He needs the ball to contribute. And we can't afford to give it to him. But for all the **** talking about Cato's contract and Rice's contract and Taylor's contract, the worst contract we've got out right now is Moochie's. I would rather have Tierre Brown. Moochie, having had some success with ISOs and game winners, thinks he's there as an offensive threat. But he's not one. And down the stretch, Steve needs to be making plays. We don't need a B-list Steve Francis passing to two guards who are both playing out of position. Small ball is a failure. And it turns out we have a very decent small forward rotation without Cat playing at the three. I hope Clutch's fake rumor comes true. I don't even need Artest. We've got Hawkins. I'd just like to take some of these guys' minutes off the clock. If I thought Maddox was ready, I'd say we were set just by sitting some guys. But I think we're short a backup PG to spell Steve for 5-10 minutes a game. Never thought I'd say this, but we're VERY strong at all frontcourt positions. Yao-Cato-Collier is maybe the best three deep center tandem in the league right now (Sacramento probably edging them out for now); Taylor and Griffin are our PF's; Rice, Nachbar, Morris and Hawkins are all we need at the 3. Last year our guards were the only thing that worked. Problem is they still think that's the case. It's not. I'm happy with Steve this year, but Cat needs a serious attitude adjustment. Or he needs to go somewhere where he can do his thing without bringing down the team. Moochie should be starting for a bad team who needs an offensive PG. And KT. I don't know where he should go. I love him and I want him to be happy, but I don't think it's gonna happen for him here.
Clutch said thinks in regard to Mobley's mindset RR, not his own. That's the only problem I have with it. I think Cat's done a better job this season, even though people don't give him credit for it. He's done much better at passing out of double teams and finding cutters, resulting in several 4 assist games in the last week or so. Also, when he has a bad night (like tonight), he's only shooting 8 shots instead of continually trying to shoot to try and pad his stats. I don't think Cat is a problem for this team; I just think we need someone to handle the ball. Francis is much better off the ball, and while the overall turnovers are down, it doesn't accurately reflect, imo, the poor decisions continually made by our guards. I like Cat, and if there's a way we can bring in a very efficient PG who can handle the ball, distribute, and play 25-30 mpg without trading him, I'd love it. I don't think Cat's the problem with this team, but I do think we desperately need a good ballhandler and decision-maker at the guard spots, and I don't see how we can get one without trading Mobley. I just don't think a KT/Cato package would do it.
