I just wanted to make sure that you understand that it is a serious offense for any team to have contact with agents regarding a signed player. I don't see a team talking to an agent prior to a trade; further, Mobley was not eligible for a "no-trade clause" so we can forget that. Telling me if I'm following your scenario correctly. You are mentioning that there are "trade rumors." But there are no trade rumors with Mobley's name in it that ever made it to print. There are no publicized trade rumors, right? You are assuming a trade rumor exists. I mean, how silly is that! If there were actual trade rumors floating around with Mobley's name in it and he keeps hearing about them, then yeah, maybe it bothers him. But there are NO TRADE RUMORS. The notion of secret trade rumors bothering a player's performance on the court borders on the ridiculous. Not having a contract bothers players. Publicized trade rumors sometimes bother players Losing bothers players Being benched bothers players Less PT bothers players Injuries bother players Public name-calling by coaches bothers players Being held accountable by a coach since you are a team co-captain, usually is what all players strive for. Out of that list only one thing as actually occurring, "losing" and another is likely occuring--"being held accountable" to improve. But y'a know, I think maybe it is an agent illegally talking to a team about a signed player. I think you got something there. A rumor of a secret trade rumor that is presumably making Mobley sulk. Yeah, that must be it. Unless of course, he isn't sulking at all. It couldn't possibly be that he's frustrated with losing, and he's frustrated with himself. That would be too unbelievable.
I don't think trading Cuttino Mobley away would resolve a problem of how we keep losing games, and puttin him to blame for the bad shots. I think Rudy should place him on the bench and let him run in the instant offense. I can tell Cuttino focuses better coming off the bench, hungry and more determined. Trading doesn't resolve to every problem, it was just a bad night. The team didn't play well enough to beat the Jazz, but hey, the Jazz sure knows how to finish during crunch time. As for Cuttinos emotion issue. I have a feeling he is not satisfied with passing Yao the ball like most of yall have said. I've noticed some interviews in the past of Cuttino being questioned about how Yao is the offense, he seemed a little bit angry and frustrated even though we beat the Kings on that game. Anywho... I hope we get our acts together.
HP, it could also be that the seamingly unprovoked comment by Francis, "I would love to play the 2...." could have Mobely feeling like he was sold out by his buddy. Thank about Mobley just for a minute, he was omitted from the All-Star festiviities, while Ming was the main attraction and his buddy, Francis, played a strong game. Batman and Robin were off fighting crime and Mobley was left out. Maybe he's become the old guy, the butler to their crime fighting duo... Could the last month coincide with the vote tally of the ASG being public infomation? Perhaps, it's hit him that as good as he is, and as much as he's improved, he's the odd man out. That is definitely not a conspiracy and another potential reason wy CAT may be facing issues.
i checked the boxscore of cuttino, it is normal for him to throw bricks, 1 per 5 games or 1 per 4 games 11/17/2002 G 44 4-13 1-4 6-8 1 8 9 2 2 1 2 2 15 11/12/2002 G 37 3-12 0-5 1-1 0 3 3 4 2 2 2 0 7 11/21/2002 G 36 0-8 0-2 3-4 1 5 6 3 3 1 2 0 3 11/10/2002 G 43 5-15 2-3 2-2 2 5 7 4 3 3 1 0 14 11/18/2002 G 43 3-15 2-8 6-6 2 3 5 4 4 2 3 0 14 12/21/2002 G 39 5-13 0-6 2-2 1 2 3 4 1 1 1 0 12 12/23/2002 G 52 4-11 0-5 2-2 0 2 2 0 3 0 2 0 10 11/27/2002 G 36 4-14 0-2 0-0 2 3 5 1 3 2 2 0 8 1/24/2003 G 37 5-17 0-3 4-4 1 2 3 4 2 0 3 0 14 1/27/2003 G 44 5-15 1-4 5-6 1 2 3 3 3 1 1 0 16 2/11/2003 G 45 2-13 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 4 1 3 1 1 5
TCH, That is an awful boxscore.....I think that proves Jeff's point, that something is up. Cat usually goes to the hole and gets fouled and that improves his FG%...he is clearly NOT a jumpshot oriented player, or at least not a good one. DD
In fact, i think mobely is important to Rox. Except ming and steve, who is better than him in Rox? But he played too much and jack too many tough jumpers and most of them missed.
No, the story as told by Jeff is that this has been going on for many games. If what you say is true, then we'd just now see it in this game only. So you are left saying that one game tells a huge tale....versus he had a frustrating game of missing open shots and layups. Mobley doesn't sulk like Kelvin Cato has previously. I don't see it in his game now either. You are saying that he is sulking on the court. He isnt' that type of player. Kenny did not sulk on the court, either, and he had every reason to do so. The idea that Mobley is sulking is very strange for his character.
I'm glad JEFF started this thread. I have wondered the same thing about Cuttino for a little while now. The All-Star voting might have upset Cat. He wasn't even in the top 10 as far as voting for the guards. And he and his agent have been trying (I don't know how, I don't know what) to get him that sort of recognition. The rumor mill might be really getting to him. SOmething seems amiss, that's for sure. All-Star weekend heightened the relationship between Steve and Yao---posing for pictures together; talking about how much they liked to play together; "Yao is my brother"; "I'd love to play the 2". Cat has also been really laying it on the refs lately, more so than usual. Something's eating at the guy. It must be very difficult for him because he wants to be a gunner, but the team must now revolve around Steve and Yao. He's like the guy whose best friend just found the love of his life: "Hey, I'm at the Colorado Club, you coming over?" "Nah, sorry, me and Yao gonna go get some pizza." "Um, OK, say, where you goin? Maybe I can---hello? Hello?" From what I understand, Cat's a great guy and I hope, if he's traded, that it's a good situation for him (and great for us); and, if he's not, well, that he comes around (but I think Cat and his dad, Rudy T., might have a tough time getting some balance into this team).
I think one of the things bothering Cat is him becoming kind of a spot up shooter. He hasnt had to do that much during his career. He has had isos, and other plays designed just for him. Now because of yao ming, he has cut his isos to a minimum, maybe a little too much so, and try to get open and play catch and shoot. He is not bad at it, just that he is not a pure shooter, he is more of a rythum shooter, and its hard for him to sometimes get in a flow of a game that way. And he sometimes forces the shot, thinking its a good shot because the ball has been moving around, but its not. What doesnt help is that even if he does around 3-4 iso moves a game, and doesnt hit, fans are dogging him left and right, not only the web or 610, but also at the compac center. I think there has to be a way to get Cat involved more. Maybe a little bit more isos, or maybe a little bit of 3 guard line up might help. W/o Cat playing good solid ball, Rocks are not making the playoffs.
I suspect, strongly suspect, it is off court issues. That's worse, more difficult to design a play to make change.
We cannot forget that the coming of Yao to Houston was a completely unforseen development. I'm sure that when Cuttino took our offer instead of the Raptors, he saw Houston as the best opportunity for his goals carrer wise, and making the All-Star game was one of these goals, i clearly remember. He obviusly thought he had a better shot at becoming a superstar if he stayed in Houston with Francis, who he thought of as an equal, than being Vince Carter's sidekick. And he was right, probably. Yao has changed all that, and it might be starting to sink in. Hp has talked about Cuttino's personality. I really don't have anything against the guy, but i'm not sure if his game, and even more so, his personality is suited to a minor role like being third option or sixth man. He would see that as a backward move as far as his carrer goes, and let's face it, he is probably right. Cuttino will not play Ron Harper to Pippen and Jordan and be happy about it. That's my impression, and Jeff might be on to something indeed.
Whatever the reason might be, I have absolutely zero sympathy for Cuttino unless it's family relted or some other personal crisis. If it's basketball related, oh well. Life is tough, even for millionaire streetballers. Nobody points a gun to his head and forces him to jack up shots and cost us games. His little bell inside his brain should have gone off when he dishes out assists, he scores. Once again, if it's something priveat and personal, I hope he overcomes it. But if it's cause of all the heat he's taking for his basketball screwups, then screw him.
Man...Feigen nailed this situation. In response to his question - Should Cuttino's hiring a publicist be a red flag?. My answer is yes, and I didn't know it on September 29, 2002, the date of the article.
I've been having exactly this thought for weeks now, but why wait for Rice to come back to do it? Start TMo at the 3, and let Mobley back up SF and Posey. As you said, this has the added benefit of putting better entry passers on the wing, increasing Yao's touches and involvement in the offense.
My guess is it is physical (fatigue, chronic injury), which can also effect his confidence and mental approach tot he game. One thing I have not figured out is why his 3% is down from a pretty good 36.5% career average (equal to SF BTW) to 32.2% this year, while his other shooting (non-3s & FTs) is up over his career average. I am wondering if he is experiencing leg problems and this is limiting his normal comfortable range on his J.
i remember having an open relationship with a girl years ago. she could see whomever and so could i. but i always knew i was #1 for her. well, one day i found out i wasn't #1, a different guy was. i wasn't pissed. just kind of hurt. sulked a little bit, even though i knew what the deal was before i got into it. sometimes, though, you think you're "the man" and when you find out you're not, it hits your pride and affects your "performance" for a little while. eventually, you snap out of it...
