You guys truly do hate mobley... Mobley is a good shooter who deserves to take the shot whenever it is given. There is no such thing as Yao and Francis HAS to take 20 shots, or taylor/griffin/nachbar MUST have 10 shots each. Nachbar has potential to be good shooter/slasher, but Mobley is already a good shooter/slasher. As long as mobley learns his role (which by all stats, indicates he is learning), I have no problem with him being on the floor. He is a much more dangerous weapon then a jon barry type players because people have to honor his ability to get to the hole. It never hurts to have more weapons on the floor. Mobley is not something you trade away just because you think there is not room for him. And as long we keep winning, Mobley is not going anywhere.
Actually, if not for past injuries, Penny for Mobley,Cato or Taylor and Thomas would be ideal. Penny would allow someone to start the offense without going small. Penny would also give us a player who doesn't need to dominate the ball. He has about 3 yrs at 14mill per season left, so basically you're trading Cat at about 4 yrs at 4mil,Taylor with 5 yrs at 8 mil and thomas who is in his last yr. I don't think it would be done, but its very interesting to say the least.
Safe, Its not Mobley hating. I dont have anything against the guy. Its just the reality that this team has two players that are capable of being among the tops in the league if they have the proper support talent around them. When you have two players like Francis and Ming you have to give them the bulk of the shots. The true superstars in the league that have go-to capabilites receive in this range of shots. If Steve did not have to concentrate on playmaking as much which is a weaker point in his game btw and could concentrate on scoring, he would easily average 30 PPG while shooting atleast 47% from the field. That is some pretty amazing stuff. Also, assuming Yao keeps his FG% up, he should average in that range as well. The problem is, I just dont see how Cuttino Mobley can be nearly as effective as a 10 or less than 10 shot per game role player. He does not perform the other parts of the game nearly well enough for him to be effective shooting this little of an amount. Ofcourse, Yao is not going to start taking 20 shots a game tomorrow, but that should be the end goal. A player that can shoot 60% plus from the field should be getting as many shots as possible. Why would you give more shots to Mobley in place of your two most efficient offensive threats?
Leeb, The irony of the situation is that Penny would be ideal if healthy. He played in 80 games last yr and has played in 10 so far this season. The problem is that you cant give Mobley/Cato for Penny due to potential health concerns that could re-surface unless Phoenix really makes it worth your while. For instance an UNPROTECTED 1st rounder this summer thrown in.
A few random thoughts. 1. The Rockets cannot afford all of these players. It's called a salary cap. 2. The two biggest salary hogs are Cato and Rice (SF is worth every penny). While Cato is playing better this year, is he worth the money the Rockets pay him? 3. The Rockets are too heavy at the forward position, and it is 100 percent inevitable, that someone gets traded in order to reduce the log jam. 4. Trading either Rice or Cato would help cap wise, but Rice, because of his age, is pretty much untradable. That leaves Cato. 5. Of course, the Rockets would have to take an equal contract, in return, but maybe they can get a player with a shorter contract. 6. Remember this. Yao Ming is going to become a MAX player, and no team can afford more than two of those. So what the Rockets need to do, is surround SF and YM with affordable role players. That's the blueprint for building a dynasty, a la LA Lakers. 7. Like it or not, the Rockets need to trim some fat from the salary cap, and at the same time, clear up a log jam, at the forward position. Raven
Man, that Penny Hardaway possibility got me thinking. I was thinking through some scenarios and came up with a way to unload the major floatsam ie Cato and Mooch along with dealing Mobley and coming away with Hardaway and Barry. Here's what I came up with: Houston Gets: Penny Hardaway, Jon Barry Phoenix Gets: Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Moochie Norris Detroit Gets: Joe Johnson, Jason Collier I had heard the Pistons were planning on letting go of Barry at season's end in any case; thus a young wing player like Joe Johnson may interest them. The Rockets would have a backcourt of Francis and Hardaway with a sharp shooter in Jon Barry coming off the bench. Hardaway has really become the type of player that does more of the little things since his injuries ie rebounding, passing, ball handling etc. Also, Hawkins could slide into the backcourt in a pinch. KT could also be kept around as Mo and KT would become the primary backups at the frontcourt positions to Yao and Eddie. This deal would clear up much of the glut and complement Francis and Ming with much more complementary support talent. Alright, thats enough dreamcasting for now.
Seeing as how I haven't dreamcasted in awhile... So we have a 2-guard who's an awesome scorer, but is now on a team where he needs to be an awesome defender/passer...things not completely part of his game. We have a SF/PF that can score pretty well, and defend, but just doesn't quite fit in with what's trying to be accomplished. And we have a backup point guard that needs to change. His hair, his game, or better yet, his team. And we need a 3rd guard that can play a solid, relatively mistake free PG, and a replacement starter at SG. I give you... Cuttino Mobley, Kenny Thomas, and Moochie Norris for Alvin Williams, Morris Peterson, and Eric Montross Rockets: OK, so we take on Montross who has 2 years left including this one. He becomes bench fodder in the case of injury to Cato or Yao could possibly eat some minutes. Signals Collier's unfortunate end. But the real coupe is the combo of Peterson and Williams. Peterson is an excellent defensive swingman that has a great shot (though he's been slumping this year). He's unassuming, and is tailor-made as a roleplayer. Williams fits very well as a 3rd guard. An excellent defender with height, he can play in tandem with Francis without making us too small. He has a magnificent 3.17 AST/TO ratio, so he's relatively mistake free with the ball. We can put together a 3 guard of Francis-Williams-Peterson that has handles, quickness, and decent size. We remove the 4/5 clutter, but maintain the depth to make up for injuries. Raptors: This works well for them, IMO. They need to make a change. They pursued Cat a couple years ago unsuccessfully. They could really use a bona fide 2nd fiddle to Vince, and Cuttino assumes that nicely. Moochie takes over the PG with a new lineup next to Vince and Cat a little more suited to his style. Kenny finally takes a spot on a team that desperately needs an offensive weapon up front, and moves to the East where not every PF is Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, or Tim Duncan. They get rid of Montross' empty contract, at a position where they have another one (Dream). They need to add some punch, and adding a 20 ppg SG on a great contract, plus the rights to a very solid PF could get them out of a tailspin.
No way would I give up Mobley for Peterson. I think Alvin Williams is not much better than Moochie. If one says Mobley has sucked so far this year, just check out Peterson's fg % (I know you mentioned it, but .366? No thanks.)
