Rockets Knew of Mobley's Heart Problem Since Age 23

ken · May 27, 2009

Jordan an Cuttino my favorite of ALLTIME....The two never backed down...

tcadriel · May 27, 2009

glynch said:

Mobley's heart condition re-examined

Alan Hahn
2:28 PM EDT, May 26, 2009

When it comes to matters of the heart, the truth is often seen in different perspectives. Cuttino Mobley was willing to play, regardless of his condition. Four NBA teams, it has been revealed, were willing to let him play, regardless of his condition.

And the Knicks decided not to let him play, because of his condition, but they accepted a trade with the Clippers that included him in it last November because when it comes to matters of the salary cap, you do whatever it takes to get the quickest relief. And jettisoning Zach Randolph's bloated contract was more important than anything else.

On Sunday, ESPN's Outside the Lines revisited the Mobley story, which played out over a three-month span this season, and eventually got Mobley to admit, on camera, that he was aware of the severity of his heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and disputed the previous notion that the MRI tests ordered by the Knicks showed his condition had worsened.

But the trade still did, in fact, save his life. Sort of. The truth is, Mobley says, the fact that the condition was made public is what put an end to his career.

"Now it's a big uproar," Mobley told ESPN's Mark Schwarz. "If this is national, and they find out Cuttino Mobley is passed away and the NBA knew about it? I can understand, business-wise, you don't want that on your conscience. That's not something you want and I so understand that."

Mobley says he learned about the condition when he was a 23-year-old rookie with the Houston Rockets and that he signed waivers with all four teams that he played with – the Rockets, Magic, Kings and Clippers – to absolve the teams of any responsibility as a result of Mobley's decision to play despite his condition. But former Rockets GM Carroll Dawson told ESPN, on camera, that he never knew Mobley was playing with a life-threatening condition.

"Nobody ever thought of Cuttino dying," Dawson told ESPN.

The Knicks did and, therefore, decided against letting him play. Knicks president Donnie Walsh, who was not made available for the Outside the Lines piece, waived the physical and went ahead with the trade mainly to dump Randolph's salary, which still has two years and over $33 million left. Walsh could have rescinded the trade and renegotiated with Clippers GM/coach Mike Dunleavy to include another player, but there was a risk that the sides would not be able to find an alternative, which would have blown up the deal.

No, it was more important to cash in on the $17.3 million in savings on the books in 2010-11. That deal, along with sending Jamal Crawford to Golden State for Al Harrington on the same day, saved the Knicks $27 million in payroll in 2010-11. It officially gave the Knicks the ability to be major players in the heralded 2010 free agency sweepstakes.

And Walsh saw value in Mobley, despite the fact that it left a gaping hole at the shooting guard position as a result of the Crawford trade. There was an outside shot that the Knicks could have convinced the NBA that they should be awarded a Disabled Player Exception, which would mean they could acquire a player for half of Mobley's salary (about $4.4 million). The league denied it.

But the Knicks, as Newsday reported in January, were able to get 80 percent of Mobley's contract paid by insurance, which makes it still a commodity. Though he has retired, the Knicks have yet to officially waive him, which means they can include him in a future trade. A team can acquire Mobley's contract, which has one year left, with the knowledge that insurance will cover most of the cost.

Outside the Lines tried to admonish the Knicks for essentially using Mobley as a pawn in the 2010 Plan, but, quite frankly, when it comes to matters of rebuilding a long, lost franchise, you have to be creative.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-sphahn0527,0,6672308.column
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Does this mean the Knicks could deal him and If Mobley wanted, could again sign a waiver and possibly take the court again? I mean look at Evander Holyfield he's done it multiple times. Had to get a doctors clearance but if the guy still wants to play and the Rockets are willing to let him go, say in limited minutes? I love to see him in a Rockets uniform again.

Sounds like from what I read that he's still wants to play.

BTW as much as I love Stevie, there is a big case for saying he was a better and a much more rounded player than Steve.

Williamson · May 27, 2009

Strawman said:

Why would he put his life in danger knowingly for so long.
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Are you serious? I've got a friend in Iraq right now repairing generators for 200 grand a year. He's having to dodge all sorts of bullets, but he can't pass up the money.

How many drug dealers and gangsters risk their lives on a daily basis for what is crumbs under the table for an NBA player?

Cat Mobley made his whole family wealthy risking his life. I don't know how anybody can not understand why he did it. I'm just glad he survived.

Rocket86 · May 27, 2009

If Mobley wanted to play, I am sure he would. At the end of the day, it is the player that would decide what he wants and what is good for him.

Tb-Cain · May 27, 2009

thacabbage said:

PS: for the newer folks in the group, the infamous mobley/dickerson debates and corollary mobley/anderson debates made today's lowry/brooks debate seem like the decision of starting hakeem or richard petruska.
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oh, well, petruska all the way. that way, hakeem can go to work against the other team's bench players. duh.

plee · May 27, 2009

See Alonzo Mourning

glynch · May 27, 2009

rockbox said:

Mobley was my favorite Rockets player outside Dream. The dude was all heart (no pun intended). I remember the year when he average over 20 a game on two bum ankles.
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Agreed. Cuttino was great. I remember when as a rookie he took the final shot that missed in the playoffs as a rookie. And we had Barkley, Hakeem and I thing Drexler or possibly Pippen. Cuttino always was mentally strong.

tinman · May 27, 2009

glynch said:

Agreed. Cuttino was great. I remember when as a rookie he took the final shot that missed in the playoffs as a rookie. And we had Barkley, Hakeem and I thing Drexler or possibly Pippen. Cuttino always was mentally strong.
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We had Pippen and Pippen criticized Cuttino for that shot. Our highest paid player not taking the shot himself.

TXRoxBBall · May 27, 2009

Regardless of what you want to say about Cat and Steve, they both played with heart everytime they stepped out there, even though Cat's wasn't working right.

SmeggySmeg · May 27, 2009

thacabbage said:

those of you that took mobley in the mobley/dickerson debates: take a bow.
those of you that took mobley in the mobley/anderson debates: take a bow.
those of you that took mobley in the mobley/francis debates: take a bow.
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just call me robin hood will all the bows i'm doing

great stuff Cabbage

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