i don't know about that trade, it would be good if ellis wasn't so injury prone but think about it for a second. i th ink cato can be every bit as effective as grant. now last year i would have traded cato for pretty much anybody and i've always been a huge fan of grant dating back to his days with the kings. here'ss the deal we would be getting grant for his rebounding bc he don't have a jumper and he can't block shots as good as ming. why woulld we want a player who makes double cato's salary annd gets less boards. honestly, you're not going to improve the teams rebounding by trading mathmaticaclly one of best rebounders in the league. Also as much as i like grant, he kinda underachieving in miami. seems less motivated but then again the playoffs might bring out some passion
1. Grant averages more rebounds than Cato. Cato has more per 48 minutes but when have you ever seen Cato give full effort for more than 20 minutes per game. Grant is 5th in the league at almost 11. 2. Grant can hit an open 10 foot jump shot - Cato can't.
basketball geniuses, kelvin cato is not half the player brian grant is. yes, over the first half of the season, he put up productive numbers in limited minutes and was an excellent backup. however, if allowed to play starters minutes, it would be very unlikely for cato to put up those numbers throughout a game. cato has no offensive game whatsoever, he his a headcase, he fouls a lot, and he cannot keep up the intensity for extended minutes. moreover, though he in theory could play power forward like ben wallace, he does not have the lateral movement of the quickness of wallace. therefore, he would have no chance of playing defense at power forward, unless it was only with the slowest of power forwards. grant, on the other hand, is an excellent, hardnosed defender, he maintains his intensity througout the game, makes solid, team decisions, keeps defenses honest by hitting open jumpers, makes his free throws, and, as icing on the cake, he is an excellent citizen, who puts in long hours of community service. (hows that for a run on sentence?). economically speaking, this would be a sound decision based on overall productivity to the team. catos productivity per dollar is still less than that that grant could offer. this does not even factor in the intangibles of veteran leadership and intelligence. i really like what cato has been doing this year, but he could easily revert back to his old form at any time. the time to get rid of cato is soon. hopefully, he will continue his performance throughout the year, so that his stock is very high by the end. im not sure if im willing to take that risk. im not sure the rockets are either. i rule.
and by the way, in attempting to trade mobley, think about this. you all know what his game is: scores points, gets on streaks, takes many bad shots, slows down an offense, rebounds, passes, and defends poorly. go down the list of every nba team and analyze what they have at shooting guard, and how they could improve. the only team that might have any sort of use for mobley is the denver nuggets. i think we can all confidently say that they would have absolutely 0 interest in mobley. no one wants him, and hes really not that much of a bargain.
RSL, You should have left well enough alone. See, you got cocky. Your last two posts show that your NBA analytical skills leave much to be desired and I am quite thankful that you are not the GM of the Rockets or else you just might run the team into the ground. You should get off your high horse and quit actling like you have some type of "insider" information on NBA players and trades. PS - $50 to the Clutch City tipjar says your proposed trade does not happen.
Codell, I have faith in your judgement and believe that this deal is not going to go down...I'll throw another $50 on top of yours. Call or fold, RSL?
After all the media attention he's gotten over the past couple thousand years, there's now way in hell Jesus Christ agrees to a backup role with the Rockets. Seriously, no way Riley trades for Cato. Cato would be on his way out the door after 1 or 2 of Riley's practices.
If you're going to drop 10 mill on a player, why not get someone who 2 yrs from now you don't say they're stealing money. 2 yrs from now, when Brian Grant is playing, people will be like , he's on the all over paid team. If I'm going to spend that kind os money, might as well get SAR. I think will posted it earlier, but it was a trade that kind of made sense. It was something like Swift and someone for Eddie and someone. I don't see the difference in Swift and Eddie except Swift is more atheletic and can finish. It would probably be a equal trade off.
How bout next season we move francis to SG and get Kidd for a PG and dish Mobley to someone... Yeah I know it won't happen, but if Les will fork out some $$$ it could
I would think that Cato + MoT for Grant + Ellis would be better for both teams. The Rockets get consistency at PF and can have Grant play backup C. And they don't have to worry about having a logjam at the PF spot anymore. And they still have Rice's contract that will be gone after next season. The Heat get a legitimate center in Cato and an upgrade at PF with Taylor. It looks like Taylor is starting to get his game back and would be able to contribute given the minutes, and he would be an upgrade over Allen.
The only problem, DrLudicrous, is Mo's contract. Cato's contract is bad, but at least he's a C and a shot-blocker. Moving 2 bad contracts in the same deal is a little too much to hope for. Now, if the Heat think they can sign, say, Kandi from the Clips this off-season, I can see them rolling the dice on Mo instead of Cato. Either way, I think Rice is going to be in the deal (if there's a deal), Riley wanted to deal for him a season or 2 ago if I remember right, and Rice could end his career where it began. This deal would be excellent for many of the same reasons already noted. Grant solidifes the PF spot, gives Griffin more time to develop (just not ready to start right now), and would be a great compliment to Ming (rugged, defensive-minded, doesn't need the ball to be effective). Ellis has the short contract, and could actually bring a little offense off the bench.
Cato has been playing like a monster these past couple of months. Now that he has finally shown his potential to the world, I would hate for it to be put out because he would be stuck behind Ming. This trade would be great for Cato. He would finally have a chance at becoming a legit center, and considering the East is one of the worst conferences when it comes to big men, he should do very well. Also, it's probably best that Griffin stay out of the lime light for right now. He is way to raw to be out starting PF. Once Grant has given us what we want, I believe that Griffin will finaly be able to come out of his shell and be the starting PF that we want him to be.
As far as predictions go, this is a totally feasible, logical, non-dreamcaster. Love it, just based on that. The problem is, if the trade does happen, it will make rsl5181 some sort of untouchable god this site. I sort of like being a rsl5181 fan now, pre-hoopla. Yes, you rule. CBFC
This trade should not be done for all the reasons stated so far, mainly being that Grant would be like another Pippen or Rice. Givin up anything (besides The Franchise and Dynasty) for Brand would be worth it, but wouldn't make sense to do it for Grant cap wise and talent wise.
HotRocket,Cato has done well and has worked hard for the 1st time in his career but don't overestimate him. He is a backup center and not starting material. The Heat do need a center especially with Zo's health problems but I doubt they would go for Cato and Mo who is still in the process of recovery for Grant and Ellis even though this potential trade has a better chance than the original "trade" of Cato/Rice for Grant/Ellis.
The best "true" center in the East is Brad Miller, actually he is one of the only centers in the East. But even he isn't much of a force when it comes to scoring, rebounding, and blocks. Cato on the other hand has turned himself into a respectable shot blocker and rebounder. Before Yao began playing well, Cato was putting up some very nice numbers in a much tougher confrence. It isn't too hard to imagine Cato avg. 8pt 11reb and 2blks per game, and that is more than enough to put him as a top 5 center in the East. He has never avg. more than 30 mpg in his whole career, I think if the Heat give him a chance he can become a pretty respectable center.
