If we could get Theo to play the 4,I'd be ecstatic.Don't you think it might take a little bit more?Once again,all systems go if we could pull this off.
I guess I should have clarified that a bit more. What I meant was in a package deal, like Cato + _______ = Tier 2 star. I don't want to throw Kelvin in a trade just to get back a Tim Thomas or a Brian Grant?! Trades are exciting and they are fun but rarely are they in the Rockets benefit. As for Cato's value when Yao becomes consistent, I honestly believe it will be the same. Yao being consistent doesn't mean Cato will be getting only 5-6 minutes a game. Yao is not an enforcer, we will still need a guy who comes in and actually bangs with the other teams center.
The team to beat is down the road 200 miles. Duncan is the PF and the center is Nesterovic. Their success last year was always having two big men they could put in the paint. I like the Yao-Cato match up with them better than any other. You want Griffin or Mo guarding Duncan? Take a look and see how that has worked. Any time Yao has a big man to deal with of any size, or the PF is a guy of size, Cato can get minutes at PF. Cato will be able to guard centers on the defensive end to give Yao some relief from the physical wear and tear, thus making Yao more effective on the offensive end.
If the deal were Mo and Mooch for Grant, sure. I'd deal Cato only if we could at least get someone as backup center, even if in a side deal or signing (Stepania?)
Hey Cabbage, If Cato is a stud what the hell is Shaq? Your an idiot. THere is absolutely no argument that he is making way to much money for being truly mediocre. Now, if the rockets had a solid power forward like Kenyon Martin, then Cato could be considered an important role player to come off the bench for yao. Were you the one who was also bashing Jeff Van Gundy, Rookie!? Sounds to me like Cabbage doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Go take a shower!
i think right now is the perfect time to deal cato. his value iis relatively high and we could get a pretty good player in return for him...possibly shane battier if we include another palyer. i think we would be as satisfied with another backup center as we are with cato. the only reason everyone is so high on him as a backup right now is because the year before he played so horrible.
Has to be Cato, with the shorter contract and the true center. Further Mia has enough forwards where Mo would be of no interest--they might as well keep Grant than trade for Mo. Maybe a few of the other teams, Atl--let SAR play the 3, Milw--desperate for a LP threat, might consider Mo instead but most of the teams I mentioned really need that physical defensive presence most of all. Guys like Grant or Ratliff could certainly play good enough back-up C to cover for losing Cato even if we wanted the majority of their minutes at the 4 spot. In Grant's case, if Badine isn't ready to be the 3rd/emergency center than we could find another for that role. With Ratliff, there is no question he can play all the back-up C minutes well, the question is if he would be equally effective at the 4--I think his offensive game and coordination is enough better than Cato's that he could, but that is my opinion. Cato barely has enough offensive skills to play center, he certainly isn't capable to play the 4. Yao isn't quick enough to play the 4 spot either, and having Cato (non shooter, non instinctive offensive player) on the floor would negate a lot of Yao's offensive advantages and the teams spacing. This is why a guy like Grant or Raliff who can play both the 4 and 5 spots and keep the opponents honest enough spacing wise would be a lot more valuable and provide a lot more match-up flexibility than Cato. When you have a guy like Duncan it makes a lot of twin tower type systems work because he can do pretty much everything any PF or C might be asked to do.
If the Rockets are worried about how effective their backup center is going to be then its safe to say Yao Ming is a bust. come on, think about it, did Hakeem need his Charles Jones? Or his Zan Tabak?
Houston trades: C Kelvin Cato (4.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.3 apg in 17.1 minutes) Houston receives: PF Stromile Swift (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 22.1 minutes) SF Shane Battier (9.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg in 30.6 minutes) Change in team outlook: +14.9 ppg, +4.2 rpg, and +1.8 apg. Memphis trades: PF Stromile Swift (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 22.1 minutes) SF Shane Battier (9.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg in 30.6 minutes) Memphis receives: C Kelvin Cato (4.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.3 apg in 73 games) Change in team outlook: -14.9 ppg, -4.2 rpg, and -1.8 apg. TRADE ACCEPTED This is a good deal!
For us it is. I hope we give Memphis the courtesy of a reach around if we were able to pull that off.
Hey Texas Stoke, Not sure your up to speed on the NBA. If you havn't noticed, the west is kinda stacked with big centers and forwards. Every team, besides the Lakers, must have a reliable big man who can come off the bench and be a role player. Yao is gonna be great, but right now he is still extremely young and has very little power inside the paint. Shaq dominates in the paint. Saying Yao is a bust is saying that you don't know what the hell you are talking about. Whether or not he will become a dominanat force is still up in the air, hence the need for a solid power or backup center. For a senior member, you sure sound like a green-ass!
greenass? c'mon man just cause I am a senior memeber does not mean I'm not allowed to make judgment calls and then be wrong. but I have higher expectations for Yao next season, higher than you do it seems, and in my point of view his play is dissapointing the coaches(and fans) IF he's not playing enough big minutes to make a high priced backup player like Cato valueless to the team.
not when he was 23 years old, and coming off of 29 mpg season. And I might add that if Cato had played more while Griffin and Mo played less, we would have made the playoffs. Yao was spent the last 8-10 games of the season, and his shooting dropped below 40%. We have at least 1150 minutes to fill at center, and the likes of Charles Jones and Zan Tabak are not good enough to back up at center. If you can get Brian Grant for Cato, Moochie, and Nachbar, I would take that, but I would not favor paying more for Grant.
down the stretch in April, Houston played 8 games. fg% .514 Cato .435 Eddie .397 Yao .293 Mo points 11.8 Yao 8.0 Eddie 5.7 Mo 5.6 Cato blocks 1.63 Yao 1.38 Cato 0.75 Eddie 0.00 Mo Minutes 28.1 Yao 22.6 Eddie 18.8 Cato 18.3 Mo These stats suggest that Cato had more left in the tank at the end of the season and should have been used more. And, if he had been used at PF some earlier - to take some defensive load off Yao - I believe Yao's legs and shot would have lasted longer. He ran out of gas. Only Cato can take part of the defensive burden of big men off Yao. Mo's too weak and Eddie is too.
Okay, read most of this thread: 1) Kelvin Cato is overpaid but so are all the other stiff backup Cs in the league (remember Todd MacCulloch?) 2) Kelvin Cato is not a stud and reading that was one of the funniest things I have ever read here. He has no offensive game whatsoever. All he can do is finish on an alley-oop, rebound (when he is in the mood), block shots (also when he is in the mood), and foul the **** out of people. Hmmm...sounds like a description of my game (except for finishing on an alley-oop) in my local church league. 3) Unless we got a deal that we could not turn down, I would not trade Cato simply because he is better than Collier and many other stiff C backups in the league. Factor in that Yao is still learning how to play in the NBA and trying to hold up for the long season, we need someone who could step in, for the short-term, in case of injury to Yao.
no, riet you simple child. Who cares how many points Olowokandi, or Nesterovic score? If they were in Houston they would be 4th options and nothing more. We don't -need- scoring from our backup center position. Who cares if Minnesota offered Olowokandi 3 years, and Nesterovic 7? Nesterovic has been getting better every year and shoots for good %, while Olowokandi is coming off a season where he played 36 games. So what? Who cares, don't use Minnesota's discretion to gauge other player's skills. Minnesota figured to invest more of their future money into a player with more potential. I wouldn't want Nesterovic backing up Yao anyways [i know this isnt the arguement], hes soft and doesn't play in the paint. Cato is the most dominating paint presence we have. Griffin and Yao will get you blocks, but they do not -get_you_blocks-. Cato is the closest thing to an 'enforcer' or whatever you guys like to call them. And as someone said earlier, he will give you 4-5 -hard- fouls. He is more valuable than all you stat nerds think. Anyways, back to the topic of discussion. verse made the only good post in this thread back on the first page. Cato's value is as high as it's ever going to get, and it will dwindle as Yao progresses. However, Cato is still valuable to us, given that there are never sure things in basketball. Yes, he has a hefty contract, but the contract was made when the Rocket's plans were for him to be our starting center of the future, thus he was giving a starting center's contract. Either way, if I was the GM of every team in the NBA, Cato would be starting on 70%-80% of the teams, providing he keeps on the same track as last season.
One thing to consider is that, if the Rockets will be making the playoffs, Yao Ming sure as hell better have gas in the tank after 82 games, and that sure as hell won't happen with aMalick Badiane or Vladimir Stepania.
I don't know what your obsession is with Kelvin Cato. What would you prefer? James Posey, Vladimir Stepania, and Travis Best or Kelvin Cato.
uglily is actually the adverb form of ugly. per dictionary.com fomfotable is, of course, not a real word ... yet.
