All very interesting, though, especially with the Aldridge comments as well. For all the crap that Mobley gets for his on the court play, he is easily one of the most enjoyable Rockets of the last 5 years in terms of personality, off the court persona, etc. I'm torn between whether or not I think he fits basketball wise, but, whatever, happens, he will definitely be a player I will continue to root for (whereas, for example, there was always something about KT so that a month plus after he was traded, I never check out his box score or think how he's doing - speaking of which, 3 poitns, 7 boards, 1 assists, 1 block, 3 TO and fouled out in 26 minutes today).
Damn, I've never really considered Eddie Jones, but now that I think about I'd love to get him to play the 2 on this team. He's a great shooter, defender, and even more important a solid team player. He does have a big contract and is 31, but I'd rather have him than Mobley. Although I know the Rockets couldn't afford it salary wise, a Rice, Taylor, Mobley for Jones and Brian Grant works salary wise. Damn, that would leave us with a lineup of PG- Francis/Moochie SG-Jones/Posey/Hawkins SF-Posey/TMo/Boki PF-Grant/Griffin/TMo C-Yao/Cato/Grant That team would definitly give us the chance to make alot of noise in the playoffs this year. But, it would leave us in salary hell in a few years when Yao and Griffin want extensions. Hey, I can always dreamcast right?
I'd love to have Eddie Jones if Mobley goes, but at that contract? There's no doubt the Rockets want to trade. If you've been a Rocket fan long enough, you'll know it. Look at ESPN, Yahoo!, RealGM, and all other similar websites. You will find that 20 or so teams have clearly stated "we'll only deal if it's lopsided" and 3 or 4 more have clearly stated that "we're cleaning out the house". The Rockets have not said a WORD. They're working the phones pretty hard, and I'm hopeful they'll get a deal done. One thing though: I don't want tog et robbed for Mobley though. I agree that he doesn't fit in, but if we trade his brilliant contract, I'd like to package MoT or at least Moochie with him. I really hope we don't deal with the Heat or the Hawks. Anything from the Clippers is good.
Cuttino's performance is definetly not up to par this year. He usually comes on strong in the second half of the season, and I haven't seen anything to indicate that is coming this year. His stats are down in totals and percentages. His points per game are down 4 from last year, his FG% is down .12% and his 3pt FG% is down .8%. More than anything, he doesn't really seem to be affecting the outcome of many games. On the unusual occassion that Cuttino makes the "Rockin'" box, he gets there with defense.....? Cuttino is turning into Hersey Hawkins. I'd rather have the old Cuttino. Remember what we used to talk about: "Cuttino is the best one-on-one player in the NBA." "Cuttino is the best 6th man in the NBA." I haven't seen much of anything that spectacular from him this year. (after posting, I just noticed Jeff's thread)
He'd still be the best 6th man if we could find another G to play alongside Francis without losing Monley, which would probably be best for us.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but by my understanding, Mobley's been playing on a bad foot/ankle(s), for the greater part of this season. Perhaps that's the reason for his inconsistency. Let's face it, the NBA season is a long and grueling one, and players are constantly playing with aches and pains. Though Mobley is officially off the DL from November(?), I wouldn't be surprised if he's not fully healed. So this begs the question as to whether Rox mgmt believe that Mobley's performance is a temporary or chronic problem. If it's the former, than patience is a sure solution. If it's the latter, than maybe trading Cat would be a good idea. theSAGE
well everytime mobley goes one-on-one everyone yells iso, tries to gouge their eyes out so they don't have to see it and collectively yells "GIVE YAO THE DAMN BALL!!!" so it's kinda hard to expect mobley to affect the outcome in anyway offensively if all we let him do is hang around for open shots. as for defense, i think he has been excellent on D this year and i rarely see him do anything but go all out on D.
he'd tell you, but then he'd have to kill you. and that would almost be as bad as being banned from cc.net. now you don't want that do you?
That's the problem. You want the "old" Cuttino back but does the "old" Cuttino fit in with the current team? Does "the best one-on-one player in the NBA" fit in our current offensive game plan?
Clutch, thanks for the info. I would like to see the Rockets pull off something and get in a backup point who can help run this team or a strong backup SG to boost this team's shooting.
I feel for Cuttino because he is truly a nice guy and a talented player. It's just that the situation no longer fits for him or us. Just imagine how well Cuttino would do in Detroit. He certainly could play Hamilton's role better than he does. The Clipps, with his budy Odom are also a nice place for the Cat. I hope that we end up with a Cuttino > Andre Miller move and possibly a Rice/Taylor or Cato for Brian Grant, as I feel that would improve our team tremendously. I just don't think we have what it takes to get Elton Brand, but with these moves, I'm sure the team would be on the right track, as the pieces fit in quit nicely.
Cuttino would look good on the Grizzlies also. They lack someone who's able to take it to the hole and break his man down one-on-one. West is looking to deal, but apparently, he's dealing with the Magic.
So, what Clutch is implying (someone beeyotch-slap me if I'm overreaching) is that Cat is unhappy with his role on the team (no big surprise) and would welcome a trade if it was to the right team? I have mentioned Cuttino for Andre Miller. If this trade happened, we'd be all right in the backcourt --- defensively, at least, no worse; and the passing would improve. Andre at 6'4" could guard the 2's, Steve could "guard" (I just had to italicize that) the 1's. I have liked Cuttino, I know his entire family is here and he is, by all accounts, a really good guy. But he doesn't fit with what the team is trying to do. And I think by his recent play he is aware of that fact.
Andre Miller is not 6'4". He's 6'2". I'm not sure it would make that big of a difference. Cat's only 6'3", so not much difference than we currently have...except the new tandem would pass-first.
espn.com insider on the possibilty of the clips making a move... Wishful thinking . . . Of course, for every possible trade that's out there, there are 10 more that probably will never happen. I hate to shatter dreams with so much time left before the deadline, but here are a few deals that look like they just aren't going to get done. . . For those of you itching to get your hands on Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Lamar Odom or Corey Maggette . . . forget about it. Several NBA GMs told Insider over the past few days that the Clippers weren't doing anything. "They're not having serious talks with anyone," one Eastern Conference GM told Insider. "They believe that come this summer, the market will allow them to re-sign most of their players for cheap. I don't think that is going to happen, but Donald [Sterling] is always the optimist." The problem for the Clippers is that they don't really have anything to lose at this point by waiting. They don't need to clear cap room, everyone but Michael Olowokandi (who's untradeable) is a restricted free agent and it isn't like they're getting offers for better players in return. The Clipps are still in the driver's seat for about five more months. Still, you get the feeling that Sterling's also about five months away from driving the team right off a cliff.
Just to bust one Mobley myth (or Francis myth): He and Francis are not the buddies they once were. They get along, but they are not joined at the hip. Things change. Francis would NOT freak out if Mobley was traded. I don't think Mobley will get moved, but it would not effect Francis if he were. Francis is about winning first and, if he believed moving Mobley would help the team win, he'd be thrilled. Period.
Jeff, I know that hasn't been brought out in the open, but I think fairly everyone has already assumed that. I definitely made this assumption right before the All Star Break. It's good to hear though, because I wouldn't want an akward situation where Francis would be unhappy but winning, or anythign of that sort.
Jeff are you serious about this? All the anecdotes I've seen on TV and in the press would suggest that they are buds. But heck, if they are "businessmen" first and can put aside those personal differences, even better. I had always been under the impression that Steve's solid confidence in Cat insured Cat's place on the roster. Could Cat's "fall from grace" be related to the arrival of Yao? I seriously wonder if there would be any hard feelings on the part of Cat, knowing that he is a tradeable Rocket property? If Aldridge's report is correct, then surely Cat must be feeling something about being trade bait. I don't know, but my gut tells me it's more human than not to be "insulted" if one were the subject of trade rumors. What intrigues me about your post are the implications that Cat may not be all that distressed or angered by his being traded away. What would this imply? 1) Cat has known for a long time that he is "falling out of grace" with Les and Rudy 2) Cat has been itching to get out of the Rox organization to shine somewhere else 3) Cat and SF are having difficulty working alongside each other 4) Cat does not like his new role with the arrival of Yao Is there something more than meets the eye here? ponderin'SAGE
It was pretty obvious on Sports Sunday last night that Cuttino and Franchise have some little issues affecting their friendship. Cuttino said himself that he has not been over to Steve's crib in over 2 weeks. They showed a clip of Franchise asking Cuttino if he still has all of those J-Lo pictures on his bathroom mirror, and Cuttino said Whatever BUDDY in kind of a condescending way. Franchise even seemed to be speaking to Cat in a unfriendly manner in my opinion. Of course it could be joking for the camera's, but I took the whole thing as being a little exchange of verbal jabs.
