Chad Ford did a little article on ESPN Insider: http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=1754863 He anticipated the protected/unprotected players the Rockets would have. Insider prohibits copy/paste, so I cant do a direct copy/paste Protected: Steve Francis, Adrian Griffin, Jim Jackson, Yao Ming, Cuttino Mobley, Bostjan Nachbar, Eric Piatkoski, Mike Wilks Unprotected: Kelvin Cato, Maurice Taylor, Clarence Weatherspoon Now obviously Chad Ford's articles hold little water, but I'd figure it'd give you guys something to discuss. Who likes Ford's speculation that we'll leave all 3 of our PF on our depth chart unprotected.
You know what would be cool? After the Bobcats get all the unprotected players they want, allow all the other NBA teams to pick up an unprotected player of their choosing, first come first serve...That team would pick up the player's contract, just like the Bobcats. The NBA could even make it a regular occurence, like once every four years or something. It would probably never happen because of the player's association, but it's an interesting idea...
Well, Mo-T and Cato are there primarily because of their contracts... NOT because of what position they play. I think its just a coincidence that are most overpaid players are power forwards, and that its also the position that we are most lacking at. I don't expect Charlotte to take on either of these guy's contracts. We're stuck with the Cato/Mo-T combo for another few years... might as well learn how to incorporate the best of them, and eliminate their endless flaws...
there is a chance for league all other 29 teams to dump one bad contract this year: Send one bad contract to Bobcats plus 3M cash, then bobcats waive the pick. it works.
I totally disagree about Cato. He's a valuable trading commodity in the East, where they need centers, and we're better off keeping him. I would definitely replace him with Wilks. The other two contracts, we could lose, and spend the money better elsewhere.
Funny thing is...even tho both Cato and Mo's contracts arent that easy to deal with....they both have value to a new franchise. The Bobcats are gonna be in the Leastern Conf. Cato would actually be a top 5 center in the Least...a defensive prescence.... and Mo has got the fairly consistent offense that a new team might desire. His defense and rebounding have picked up this year....dont know if it would continue for someone other than JVG....but the Cats wouldnt know that. I guess the likelyhood that they pick up either Mo or cato depends on who elese is out there for them to pick at the 4 and 5. The contracts are actually not that bad when compared to other starting centers and power forwards...even tho they dont start at those positions for us.
Even though their contracts are horrid, I look at this way: if we were to lose either one of those players, we would be significantly weaker at the 4. Especially come playoff time, when you need as many large, warm bodies to guard Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, etc etc.
Cato and Taylor are valuable guys, esp in the East. Weatherspoon has been playing well of late. Protected: Steve Francis, Jim Jackson, Yao Ming, Cuttino Mobley, Bostjan Nachbar, Kelvin Cato, Maurice Taylor, Clarence Weatherspoon/A Griffin Unprotected: Mike Wilks, Pike, then toss-up between Griff and Spoon and maybe Nachba (depending on performance the rest of the year)
I agree that Charlotte will probably not take Cato or MoT, the last thing they want to do is fill up cap space too quickly. But I don't see the Cato/MoT combo being here next season. Hopefully, JVG and crew realize that forward play has been are achilles heel all season. As sherlock said: Cato is a commodity in the East, and he might even be one in the West. All 29 teams in the league can use another C, backup or starting. Even though his contract is pretty big, you'd be suprised what teams are willing to give up for his services.
very littel chance Bobcats would pick Mo or Cato, especially considering their salary cap limit next year(2/3?). So I think if we don't want to lost any of our players such as nachbar, pike and wilks, we'd better to put Mo/Cato out there unpretected , that definitely don't means we don't need them all any more.
I agree with Ford's list. If you're worried about losing Cato or Taylor, you can rest in the knowledge that their large contracts are a de facto protection all their own. I would add, though, that the Rockets should (and will) offer the Bobcats some money and maybe a pick to take Weatherspoon in the draft. Of course, if they do take Cato or Mo instead, I think it will be a net gain for the Rockets. We do lose some talent, but we can probably make better use of the money.
Yeah, Chris Ford's list makes sense if you consider that other teams are in the same situation. I don't think MoT and Cato will be the best bargain for price out there and they don't have the reputations needed to rebuild a team.
Is it me or is Chad Ford's list wrong. I mean you can't protect unrestricted FAs and he has unrestricted FAs protected ALL OVER the place on his list such as Okur from Detroit. In my opinion Ford is too concerned with teams leaving huge salaries off their list. I personally believe that the Rockets will protect Taylor and Cato as while they do have large salaries, they do have some value as well. Spoon will be unprotected I am sure. My protected list Francis Mobley Jim Jackson Cato Yao Taylor Pike Nachbar Unprotected Griffin, Weatherspoon
Cato and Mo are playing this year. They are big men. Boki, Pike, and Wilks don't even see the court during the game. I think Charlotte would pick them up just to trade to another team for picks/money/other players.
I think both big Kev and MoT are too valuable to give away with out something in return regardless of their salery. Spoon, Pike and Griff IMO.
cato will be protected. spoon will not. it will be interesting to see whether or not boki is protected.
I think Charlotte would probably take a shot at Mo, especially if he wins 6th man of the year. Solid starter in the East, would probably be one of the best PF's over there too. Is it possible for Charlotte to pick an unprotected player, and then trade him to us for one of our players?
