HE maybe over paid but he is playing much better I like him as the Second Center he better than alot of 1st centers in the league Rocket River
Cato is average at best, we need to trade him while is value is somewhat respectable...which starting centers is he better than? Since you say "a lot of 1st centers," I imagine that there's at least 10 starters that you think he's better than...
I think he means starting center GriffinFan. And to tell you the truth...there aren't too many. Even guys like Tony Battie are better, IMO.
Depends on what you consider a center, guys like tim thomas, Toni Kukoc plays at center now, but they're really fowards. Most teams today don't start a centers becuz they are soooooo bad. Cato is actually one of the better ones and that's why he has the trade value.
Mark Madsen, Vlad Stepania, Jason Collins, Travis Knight, Michael Doleac, Steven Hunter, Todd MacCulluch, Michael Stewart, Dan Gadzurich, Robert Archibald, Marc Jackson, Mengke Bateer, Curtis Borchardt, Chris Dudley, Calvin Booth, and Predrag Drobnjak. There are others, but that's a start.
Cato isn't overpaid. Please, before you go running your mouth, look at the facts. Cato makes LESS than the average NBA Center, and makes only 1.5M more than the average backup C. You're telling me he's not worth slightly less than the average C and more than the average backup C? The guy ONLY takes high percentage shots, only scores in the flow, and grabs rebounds like a madman. SECOND in rebounds per minute this season, right behind Ben Wallace and was actually leading the league for a large portion of the season. Nevermind the fact that Doc Rocket said his stock was so high, that we might even keep him. Eric Dampier? Adonal Foyle? Bryant Reeves before he went out? Give me a break. Cato is probably THE bes backup C in the entire league and can start for at the VERY least 5 teams.
Cato is getting paid starters money like last yr. In his 24 mins per game like last yr, what did Cato do? I'm not sure any team in the league would swap Cato for their center except maybe .......... I really want to see 5 teams in the west that has a worse starting center than Cato from last yr. I'll take it back, name me 3 of those teams that would trade their center for Cato. Dallas-nope Denver-No Memphis-no utah-no SA-No phoe-maybe clipps-no lakers-no Port-no sac-no seattle-maybe gsw-no minny-no So why does anyone in the west want a guy making 7mill for 24 mins a night? Please tell me why.
If Cato can be packaged in a trade for a starter then the Rockets should do it. Why pay 7 million for a guy who is only going to average 10 minutes a game next year.
We need to think long and hard before trading Cato. If traded we need a clear strong starter. The Yao/Cato combo is perhaps the only spot where we have a consistent advantge night in and night out against virtually all NBA teams.
Sonics Suns Warriors Jazz Grizzlies That's 5 in the West. Celtics Heat (without Zo) Nets Knicks Magic Sixers Wizards Bucks Raptors That's 9 in the East. Let me correct some of your statements too: Cato averaged 17 minutes per game as the backup. That means he WOULD NOT average 24 minutes per game on another team, because only the Lakers have abetter C than Ming. So it's not 7 million for 24 minutes, it's 7 M for your new starting C, and he makes ONE MILLION LESS THAN THE AVERAGE STARTING C. Let me tell yo uwhy people will want him: The league is starved for C's. Cato is one of the few productive C's in the league, he grabs rebounds, blocks shots, scores only in the flow of the offense. #2 IN THE LEAGUE FOR REBOUNDS PER MINUTE. Just to make sure that one doesn't slip by you. Our backup averaged 5.9 rebounds per game in 17 minutes, and btw, that's 16.5 rebounds per 48 minutes. Don't come in here telling me no one wants Cato when Doc Rocket came here and told us that his stock is SO HIGH that we are probably going to keep him. You know what that means? Cato performed so well that we're willing to pay him 7M to back Yao Ming up for 15 minutes. With Cato you get effort, rebounding, blocks, defense, putbacks, power dunks that energize his teammates, experience, and athleticism. This is what people are dreaming Calvin Booth, Marc Jackson, Jerome James, Bryant Reeves, greg Ostertag, and Eric Dampier will achieve. If we didn't have Yao Ming, Cato would give us a formidable player at C, and it wouldn't even be our weakest position.
Sane, thanks for pointing this out. We need to save this post for future threads. Seems every week someone comes in making these statements about Cato that just aren't the facts. BOTTOM line: Is Cato overpaid in "general?" Yes. Is Cato overpaid at the CENTER position? NO. By default all centers in the NBA are ALL overpaid except for the very best. And this trend is not going to stop. Teams will always overpay for height.
Shaq Yao Eddy Curry Ben Wallace Brian Grant Sabonis Divac Tim Duncan David Robinson Magloire Brad Miller Ratliff Pollard Shawn Bradley Kurt Thomas Ilgauskas Mutombo Nesterovic Okur Olowokandi Dale Davis Camby Elden Campbell Jason Collins Raef LaFrentz Alonzo Mourning That's 26 of them off my head. Half of them are even paid less than Cato. Over Cato's 6-year career, he's a 19 mpg center and only one of those season he's having Yao on the same team. I am sure any sensible GMs would look at the whole picture rather than 1 brief little season. The best indication of future performance is past performance. The odds of Cato becoming more than a 19 mpg, 5 ppg, 5 rpg player at 28 years of age is frankly slim to none. If you have no offensive skills and want to be a starter in this league, you better be EXCEPTIONALLY great at other areas like rebounding, blocks, defense. Ben Wallace is like that. But Kelvin Cato is no Ben Wallace. He is not an impact player and a difference maker like Ben Wallace. Simple as that. BTW, Ben Wallace is being paid LESS than Cato. Get your fact straight first please. Check it out: http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_48_minute_leaders/LeagueLeadersREB8Query.html Cato's only 4th on the list. And guess who were higher than Cato in this area? Jeff Foster (who?) and Vladimir Stepania (who?). So you are telling me that these guys deserve 7-8 million a year like you said Cato did for being 2nd and 3rd in this stat? If any GMs evaluate talent based on his 48 mins stat like you did, frankly they are idiots. Well Rockets management were idiots anyway for giving that contract to Cato. So you are basing your whole argument on someone's so called insider info? Be honest, I don't think Cato will be traded either BUT not because he's so good that we are unwilling to trade, it's because there are NO takers and the only thing we can get back for him is another overpaid trash. Frankly if Rockets turn down something good for keeping Cato like you sounded wanted to do, they are idiots and don't know how to do business. I am not ruling this possibility out either. Formidable? You're joking right? He was surely formidable last season or the season before, or for the whole of his career, right? LOL. He's right up there with the likes of Marc Jackson, Calvin Booth, Ostertag for being overrated and overpaid and not living up to contracts. I can't believe that I am still wasting 15 minutes of my life for debating such a meaningless issue with some homers. *shaking head*
Don't be fooled by Cato's salary in comparison with other centers. Centers are generally paid more than guards, because there are so few good ones to go around. Shaq skews that "average salary" figure a lot, Robinson's getting 14 million for being a backup...hell, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is making a max salary! If he were starting, then his value would be a little higher. Since he has basically zero post moves, he needs to be Ben Wallace-esque on the defensive end. He's a solid defender, but not exceptional. Those rebounding numbers are a little skewed also, because that's all he's asked to do. Extremely below average offensive ability plus above average defensive ability does NOT equal $7 million/year. I would only trade Cato if I were getting either a semi-quality player in return (pure shooter), or for an expiring contract that frees up cap room. To trade him just to get rid of him, especially when guys as tall as Ming are more prone to injury that most players, isn't a good idea, though...This whole "trade him while his trade value is high" business is pretty dumb also. This is an NBA player, not some pork bellies or tech stock...
Now is the time to unload Cato! His stock will never be higher. We have a starting center and 2 guard - that's it. Move Cato for another starter.
