1. Hell ya he can dunk on me! IF he ever puts his donuts down. 2. Of course he can dunk on me! I'm not an *ahem* athlete like he is. 3. IF most teams would gladly pay him the $7 mil, then why can't we trade his azz? 4. Centers like Cato gets $7 mil nowadays: then he can afford lots of Prozac cuz we ain't gonna let up on his lazy butt! 5. hell ya I'm upset! I wanna get paid $7 mil also to be a lazy, cry-baby, donut eater too!
wtf, your question was what can Cato do. My reply was a list of the things Cato does. I'm sorry I didn't affirm your notion that he is a wothless slug, but I have seen others that seem to agree with my viewpoint.
Err, I would have to strongly disagree with that last statement. Does anyone else notice when some timeouts are called, Cato pulls his shirttail out of his shorts, but he pulls up his shirt just high enough to catch a glimpse of his fat-a$$ belly rolls? When I first saw this I couldn't believe that a guy getting paid that much money to be an "athlete" could be in that bad of shape. In fact, here's something Cato can do: pose shirtless for the before picture in a Body Solutions ad.
NBA Centers ranked by 2001-02 salary To the right my personal ranking by ability. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) ..… $21,428,572… # 1 Alonzo Mourning (Mia) ..... $18,754,800… # 7 Jayson Williams .....……..... $15,125,000 (retired but still on salary) Dikembe Mutombo (Phi) .... $14,315,790… #3 Bryant Reeves (Mem) ........ $11,555,554… #30 Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle).... $11,250,000… #17 Antonio Davis (Tor) ...….... $11,000,000… # 10 (now a PF) Vlade Divac (Sac) .....…...... $10,444,642… # 4 Theo Ratliff (Atl) ......…….. $9,667,969… # 9 David Robinson (SA) ....…. $9,500,000… # 8 Matt Geiger (Phi) .........…… $8,142,160 released Elden Campbell (Cha) ........ $7,975,000… # 11 Marcus Camby (NY) .......... $7,300,000… #12 Dale Davis ..........…….…... $7,010,000… #13 Greg Ostertag .....……........ $6,933,328… # 24 Jermaine O'Neal …............. $6,325,000… # 6 Erick Dampier ..…….......... $6,235,000… # 19 Kelvin Cato ........……........ $6,048,000… # 18 Jim McIlvaine ...……......... $6,000,000 [released] Isaac Austin .......……........ $5,695,715… #29 Lorenzen Wright …............ $5,500,000… #22 Vitaly Potapenko ..…......... $4,762,500… # 21 Ben Wallace .......……....... $4,700,000… # 5 Calvin Booth ...…….......... $4,539,000… #27 Todd MacCulloch ....…...... $4,538,000… # 20 Michael Olowokandi ......... $4,662,472 … # 2 Nazr Mohammed .............. $4,500,000… #26 Jahidi White ........……...... $4,413,375… #28 Ervin Johnson ...……......... $3,670,929… # 23 Patrick Ewing ..…….......... $2,118,420… #25 Jamaal Magloire .….......... $1,048,080… #14 Jerome James .....….…....... $465,850… #15 You can argue my ability Rankings but as a whole NBA centers are paid above average and Cato’s salary looks about right. He's actually below average in salary for starting NBA centers. Even said, I still believe cato’s salary is a luxury (as in tax) we can not afford. And my biggest fear is that Cato's trade value will never be any higher than now so ifwe wait to dump him we might get stuck.
FARKING SCHNIRT! Zydrunas Ilgauskas is making $11 1/4 million? Damn...Cato is sounding like more and more of a bargain now...
He can be effective when he gets the ball. I remember 2-3 years ago in an OT game at Phoenix where he went off for like 26 or so, he was just awesome, grabbing boards, finishing breaks. He was super athletic and looked like a monster center. Whatever excuse for a center the Suns had at back then was powerless The rockets almost won that game but were screwed out of it by a bunch of ridiculous phantom calls and absurd no-calls at the end that let the suns tie and fouled francis out, and that's not a Bill Worrell Gene Peterson assessment, the TNT guys were the ones who were appalled I believe. BUt Cato hasn't done jack since then, and I have no more patience for him.
Aw c'mon BJ! Do you really believe that?! Do you REALLY think that the Rockets can actually trade Cato BUT chose not to?!
Did I stutter? Centers are in demand. He's not so overpaid anymore, as evidenced by the center salaries posted above. (Where was Hakeem, by the way?) We could trade him, but we won't trade him unless it's for another center. I guess you'd rather go through the season with Ming and Collier, because Cato sucks so bad and is such a cancer that we don't want his six points, six rebounds and six fouls. Not to mention a block or two. No question we could trade him and no question we won't do it without getting a center back.
Sorry not intentional beig a big Olajuwon fan. A grave oversight on my part. I selected only one center from each team. And actually Davis is really their pf, and Clark finished the season starting... But Hakeem made a little over 5 million last year. And cato outplayed him in thier one meeting... Also something else to note. Theeir or centers that played better than Cato and got paid less but I can assure that they will all be given significat raises when their contract expires and most of them will be making more than cato... some considerably more. The average salary for a starting NBA starting center is a little over 7 mil. Cato makes below that average. Is Cato an average center. I think the second half of last season he played better than the average center. My only concern is that with the luxury tax, wecannot afford to pay so much for a back up center. I also believe cato's trade value is as high now as it may ever be so I think if a good opportunity comes along we must trade him.
We can afford to pay Cato's salary even as a backup, because we can. We won't get hit with the tax with our current roster + rookies + max for Francis. Personally I don't think we should use the MCE if we're worried about the tax. It'll be hard enough to find time for the players we have. I agree that his trade value might be at its highest now, but tell me who we'd trade him for that would improve the team. I agree he's an average center (which reflects poorly on today's centers), but he's an above average (top five?) backup center -- which is exactly what we need while Ming's getting acclimated. Who do we trade Cato for that gives us 25 minutes a night? This is why he's worth his contract now more than ever and why this is such a weird time for the resurgence in Cato bashing.
Batman, First off I am not a Cato basher. I think Cato is a more than an adequate center when he wants to be. I thought he earned his money the second half of last season... Second I agree with you Cato would make an excellent backup if he decides to be. So I don't want to trade Cato for the sake of dumping a lousy player... But as I said earlier I do believe his trade value is as high as it's going to get... And while I do believe Cato is a talented athlete... I also question his desire. He came in camp last summer out of shape and not ready to play last year after Houston signed him to a hefty contract. That disappointed me big time. He did work himself back in shape. But it took way too long. He also does seem to be the kind of player that needs a lot of patronizing. So we pick Ming at Cato's spot and I am concerned how he feels about that. Can he accept his new role with the team, if and when he is relegated to backup center? And now I here rumors (on and off this board) that Cato isn't happy. There is a thread betting ming starts within seven games. Another person says he saw Cato at a club and he makes a comment that the Rockets don't want to talk to him. Even if all that is just rumors I still have seen Cato get in his moods. And he does seem to have an attitude problem ( maybe attitude is not the right word) but at times he seems to get in a funk... Forgive me if I am skeptical. I hope Cato comes into camp in the best of shape, with a good attitude and he welcomes Ming onboard with the team and is ready to accept the challenge. If thats the case then I welcome him back to the team. But if he comes to camp out of shape... If he is not showing signs right now of working very hard to improve his skills and contribute to the Rockets. If he is already showing signs of having a bad attitude, then I say trade him while the getting is good. Cause we most likely won't get any better offers than now. That is why I am open to any trade offers for cato.
Hooo-boy! Someone's high on something and it ain't life! We can hash and re-hash the arguments about Cato but the underlying problem remains: we have a player who does not give effort consistently! Three years after signing his contract, he has shown "incremental" improvements, if any. I can be okay if he sucks offensively! BUT, there's NO excuse for him being a BIG STIFF at the defensive end! Cato does not hustle, does not try to intimidate, does not rebound. Rodman couldn't score a lick BUT he played with passion and hustle. Is that really TOO MUCH to ask from Cato? I mean, really, is that just too much?! All we ask is for him to be a "force" on the defensive end, he doesn't even have to score(except for garbage points that he may pick-up). He just has to give effort and hustle on the defensive end. BUT he CANNOT even do that. No, he's just a ghost on the court. No presence, no effort, nothing.....What a waste of $$$! There are no more acceptable excuses for his "lack" of play. He'll get BASHED unless he improves or is gone. He's had three years to show something and we're STILL waiting.....Let the games begin.....
Old Man Rock: First off, I didn't think you were bashing. You make good sense. Second, I don't disagree with anything you've said. It is dangerous to keep him on board for the reasons you cited. I am hoping for the best for the reasons I've cited. I just keep waiting for him to come true. Last season showed he could. Yes, he requires very special attention. I don't say that's a good thing, but his fouls and his 20 minutes of play next season are worth the extra effort. Next year he could actually be a significant part of turning things around for the Rockets, if he can just get in the right mood. Yes, a very iffy proposition. ESource: I agree with a lot of what you say, too. His improvement last season though, when he played with passion, was not incremental. It was a major attitude adjustment. Remember the string of double doubles? Remember the string of posts wondering if he could keep it up? He played with some small fire when Steve was in there feeding him alley oops, and that made all the difference. I have hated Cato with all the rest of you since we signed him. But this is still a weird time to scream to the high heavens how he can't do anything and no one sucks more than him. What's different now? 1. He is no longer overpaid. The climate has changed and his salary is now appropriate for a 6/6/1.5 backup center who plays 20 minutes. 2. We no longer need him to improve as much as we did when he was our presumed starter. We just need a big body for the games we play against legit centers. 3. We are going to really need his fouls next season. From all accounts, Ming will be prone to early foul trouble until he gets used to the NBA game. All that said, I'd trade him for a center who can give us those things. Not for a power forward. Not for Othella, as much as I love the guy. And not for a small forward. This is the first time in a very long time that we've had a decent rotation at center. In order for Ming to develop on time, he'll need someone to spell him. Even if we sacrifice his trade value along the way, as Old Man Rock rightly worries we might, for my money it's worth it. My bottom line is that, yes, we've been watching Cato phone it in for three years. We've all wondered if he had any value at all. This year he actually does. And all the bashing might make you feel good ESource, and it might make you feel righteous, but when Cato hears that stuff, right or wrong, it effects his production. I, for one, like it better when he's in a good mood and productive. If he needs his hand held, so be it.
What in the world can Cato do? Cato can post 20 and 10 consistently with some hard work and determination. What in the world WILL Cato do? Show up out off shape. Whine and be moody like my two year old when she doesn’t get enough sleep. Waste a roster spot and cap room. And amazingly enough be an above average center at an average salary for a center. I think Cato does have value on this team and gives us an advantage at the center position (with Ming) over almost every team in the league. Would I trade him for a 6’10” to 7 footer that will hustle for rebounds, loose balls and work hard every second he is on the court ala Scott Polard/Ben Wallace. HELL YES!!! Would I trade him for a shorter roll player just to get rid of his salary. No.
okierock: Exactly. Everything you said is true. Of course I hope Cato comes with a better attitude this year, but that's less likely than ever with Ming taking his spot. Now if CD can get Scott Pollard or Ben Wallace for Cato, the drinks are on me. But I'm not trading him for Othella or even Kurt Thomas (though he's closer) or, as so many people have suggested, a bologna sandwich. Then again, I'm vegan.
....maybe Ming will take some presure off Cato to succeed. I know I play better when I'm not expected to do alot.
Okay fine. I'll refrain from "bashing" him until training camp begins. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt(once again). BUT so help me and the rest of us fans, if he shows up overweight and out of shape! With the drafting of Ming, he should, if he has any pride whatsoever, come in the best shape of his career and fight off a rookie trying to take his job! I REALLY don't bash just to bash BUT I do have a limit on how long to give players chances. I think three years is plenty but I'll cool it for now. If getting Ming doesn't motivate this guy then NOTHING will. Then the games really will begin! Fair enough? Nothing but good thoughts, nothing but good thoughts.....
