Disheartening words, regardless of what line of work a person is in. Everyone wants to go out on their own terms. But with each passing day, it appears less likely that Cuttino Mobley will have that privilege. From Frank Isola at the New York Daily News:
Mobley is due to arrive in New York today, and there is a strong possibility that the veteran guard will be forced to retire due to a heart condition. Mobley has been meeting with specialists since being acquired from the Clippers in the Zach Randolph trade three weeks ago.
The Mobley story is strange and sad for a number of reasons. Heart conditions are serious business. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country, and the ordeal must be frightening for Mobley and the people who care about him. The prospect of anyone losing his livelihood — even if that livelihood is derived from playing a game for outrageous sums of money — is difficult. Ironically, durability has been one of the hallmarks of Mobley’s 11-year career. From the Clipper perspective, Mobley will always be regarded with fondness. He willfully chose the Clippers during free agency in 2005 — a significant event at the time — and was a linchpin of the Clippers’ most successful season in franchise history.
Several questions remain unanswered. The condition isn’t new and reportedly raised concerns while Mobley was in Houston. Were both the Clippers and Mobley under the impression that it wasn’t dire? Did Mobley know the condition was a problem, but took the risk in order to play? Was it a case in which Mobley didn’t realize how serious the situation had gotten until he took his physical for the Knicks?
Whatever the case, best of health to Cat.
22 Responses
This is all still very vague. If he doesn’t care and we don’t care, why don’t we just resign him after they waive him?
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Good luck to Mobley. Maybe it’s time for him to retire & think of taking up assistant coach job. He can have a long career in NBA arena.
Back to basics. We’re scoring & competing in every game since Randolph trade.
Even Mardy Collins can produce some solid minutes backing up Baron.
All of us can agree, that we made a definite progress towards getting ready for better & stronger team performance.
But we are not finishing well against playoff bound teams. And we can pin point few reasons.
1. Like KOBE, Baron tries to take over 4th qrtr. This change makes it difficult for other 4 to play with purpose. Baron can’t drag his wagon by himself to win. All 5 should be involved in final assault to win tough games.
2. ERIC GORDON is not ready to play 35+ min. & produce 20+points every nite.
He can be productive coming off the bench. Atleast this season his minutes should be limited to 25min. per game.
3. If Ricky Davis continues his poor showing, start Mardy Colling at point & Baron at SG. Or trade Baron for a proven SG. Dunleavy can get better results from Mardy Collins at PG. And we have Hart, Taylor & Gordon back him up.
CONCLUSION: This team cannot succeed under Baron Davis. Even Jeff McKinnes was pruductive seasons ago with the bunch of chest thumping rookies.
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stoptheboomdizzhatin Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I really can’t believe all you baron haters. Sure he takes some ill advised threes and makes some dumb decisions, but is that something new? Have you guys not seen him play elsewhere? He’s been doing that since when he was at crossroads, yet still, single-handedly, took GSW to the 2nd round of the playoffs.
He’s had a rough time meshing with a new group of guys, a new system and a stubborn coach and you guys still hate on him when he’s playing with a stomach virus and made a crucial shot against miami? or had to sit out the first 6 stupid minutes while he cooled down from a dominating 3rd quarter performance against orlando? I’ve seen baron’s blog and only GSW fans(loyal) have commented. That’s sad to see as a Clipper fan.
I can’t belive all this hatin’. He’s the best pg since we had sammy or mark shimmy jackson. There isn’t any other pg that can do what he does or an available superstar SG out there. mardy collin’s ain’t gonna do shit. ill-advised shots should be on the player, but half comes from that mindless coach. He’s still gettin points and assists up there at least, making us at LEAST competitive. We might not even have those 4 wins if it wasn’t for him. I don’t hear no complaints bout al when he gets 4 points and 4 fouls.
Sure I’m frustrated too. I’ve been a clipp fan since the 90’s and supported wack ass players like elmore spencer and keith closs. I get pissed off every night the clippers lose but stay optimistic and supportive because that’s what TRUE FANS DO. Yeah, there are definitely some educated complaints from those that know basketball. But most of these whinning complaints/comments are unbearable to read as a clipper fan, you guys must be those rich ass mofo’s that never played organized bball. you guys just sound like laker fans to me, only became clipper fans when they made the playoffs in 06′, bandwagon hoppers.
We definitely have one of the most talented groups in clipper basketball history. We should be winning and I also think we have to get rid of MDsr. But that’s not gonna happen anytime soon so why not support these guys? They have only looked better since the beginning of the season and the chemistry’s starting to get there. As a kaman fan, I’m still shaky about how he’s gonna mesh with these guys, but I’m still looking foward to him coming back. Let these guys play for at LEAST til jan and see how they do and then we can talk about trades. (still don’t think we should give baron away). They can only get better, let’s keep our heads up!
ps. KA, first time blogging but man, your entries are awesome. you always have insightful things to say and soothe out my anger from the losing the next day.
pps. whoever hated on ralph and mike have obviously not seen laker basketball. They are far more entertaining and unbiased than any other team commentators. (like the f’in laker guys). You said Ralph doesn’t get angry at the Clipps? He was furious after the memphis game on the radio. obviously you did not hear that. They just don’t show it on tv cuz he’s being what you call a “professional”. They stay supportive of the clipps. something we should all do.
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Knocking on the Door Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
“We might not even have those 4 wins if it wasn’t for him. I don’t hear no complaints bout al when he gets 4 points and 4 fouls.”
Even Jeff McKinnis won 38 games for us with the bunch of rookies.
It’s not about the talent of Baron Davis. It’s about his negative emotions about MDsr. & Clippers in general.
When you spend your evening with Laker fans, it hurts to be a Clipper.
Someone needs to tell him… NBA career is a full time job. Unfortunately he doesn’t think, that Clippers deserve his full attention.
We still remember Andre Miller & Kerry Kittles.
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FireDunleavy.com Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Only bad thing I gotta say about Baron is he should have done his research about the coach before signing. That sorta tells me he’s more concerned about being in LA than basketball.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 9:15 am
btw, sad story about cat. I read on the latimes when he got traded about how disappointed he was and how he “whispered” that they were just starting to get close. Or on DeAndre’s blog, how they had thanksgiving at his mom’s even though he wasn’t there. Made me wanna cry. Cat’s a good man, they should let him play a lil more. NY is just as messed up as we are.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 11:22 am
ur right boom doesnt deserve as much hate as thorny does. Baron still puts up dumb shots way too much. Baron still needs to grow up and learn how to make the team better. Al Thornton is a constant source of dumb turnovers and bad decisions. He may lead the team in scoring but isn’t as consistent offensively. Thornton and gordon would be great off the bench but because of their inexperience the clipper defense usually falters against teams with more learned veteran players.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
yea we should bring cat back and have him start over gordon
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Losing Cat sucked – he was an asset on and off the court and is definitely missed on the Clippers.
But, I’m gonna file this one under ‘everything happens for a reason’ because this trade just may have saved Cat’s life.
Good luck with everything, Cat – may you live long and prosper.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
What a drippy, sappy buncha crap. I dont wish any ill will on Cuttino Mobely but I’m not exactly under the impression that his presence defined the Clippers or anything. Its not like if there was a Clipper Hall of Fame that we’d induct him or anything, or even retire his jersey. We overpaid for him in free agency, and like any pragmatist, he happily took the money.
This is embarrassing, we lose Elton and Corey and you guys deride them for the 100% effort they brought to the court every single night, and Cat has small heart condition, traded to NY and all of a sudden you’re a bunch of momma’s boys wishing him well and sending him Hallmark cards?
Sorry Cat, sucks to be you. Glad NY was able to wiggle out from your contract, and it makes me wonder why we hadnt thought of doing the same thing a year ago. No offense.
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J ROCK Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Great post assh*le.
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Stian Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
You are a complete dick with ears.
Cat was always a valuable player for us – we sure as hell could use his 13, 14, 15 pts a night off the bench right now. Cat was always down for the team and while Maggette bitched about coming off the bench, Cat volunteered to do so if it made the team better. That’s called class, something you do not possess an ounce of. Just like Elton Brand doesn’t either.
Yes, we slightly overpaid for Cat but it’s not like he put a gun to Sterling’s head and forced him to sign him. In fact, the Clippers were lucky a FA of note wanted to come here at all and actually believed that the team’s fortunes could turn around, which it did for a while. Cat and Cassell provided great veteran leadership when they joined – something the team could never count on from their supposed leader, Brand.
Most Clipper fans will always remember Mobley as one of the good guys – too bad losers like you see it fit to belittle and disrespect the man in what has to be a pretty dark moment in his life.
Go F yourself.
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bongstradamus Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Im glad the main point we all took away from here was that im a callous dick and not that we’re all a bunch of hypocrites, which, was originally supposed to be the main point.
Im glad your heart goes out to the mediocre of the world and that you have seething biting criticism for those guys that actually did carry the team.
I have nothing against Cat. He was what he was. But as a fan who wants to see a competitive team I saw him as $9M of dead weight being started over a clearly more superior talent. We decided to keep Cuttino at $9M a season rather than paying Corey $10M to average 10ppg more.
When you really think about it, and im sure this math creates a kernel panic in your processors too, Corey only makes $1M more than Cuttino in his new deal. He made $4M less last season and produced nearly 10ppg more. From the bench. However, our glorious organization, being the razor’s edge of the NBA, kept Cat and let Corey walk basically to save $1M. The thing that burned me was knowing that only $1M was the difference between Corey and Cuttino.
Sure, I was callous. But Cat to me was more than a veteran player providing his sage experience all over the court like musk in an adult movie theater. He was a terrible financial decision that kneecapped us from remaining competitive and a sore reminder of just how stupid this franchise can be, and how ridiculously overpaid he really was.
You wanna be mad and indignant? Be mad that this is how it had to happen in the real world to escape the cost of his contract. He’s signed two waivers in the past to play with his heart condition, what this was is NY, in a very shrewd and cold way, trying to save themselves the financial burden of a terrible contract for a mediocre player.
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Stian Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Are you nuts?!
Do you seriously think Corey ‘carried the team’ at any time in his 7 years here just because he was able to score 20 PPG? LOL That notion is so laughable it’s not even worth discussing.
Cuttino may have never been the scorer Corey was but he was superior to Maggette in every other aspect and did things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. He provided leadership, was a major glue guy for us, he was unselfish, and he played D – things that Corey wouldn’t know the first thing about.
Cuttino was a more valuable player to us than Maggette – that is a fact. Do you realize that not even his best friend, Elton Brand, wanted to play another season with Corey?! – That’s all you need to know about the team value of a guy like Maggette. Just look at how they already regret signing him in Oakland. Being a 20PPG scorer isn’t everything – far form it – and Corey is the epitome of that.
Why are you crying about Maggette anyway? He wanted OUT. He OPTED OUT. The Clippers didn’t force him out – they simply decided there was no point in matching those GS dollars. It was a given that if we got Baron there was no way we’d retain Corey because we a) had Thornton waiting in the wings at SF and b) PG is where the money needed to be spent, first and foremost. As much as Baron has been a disappointment so far – I’d do that move all over again.
One last thing – you have no idea whether Cat’s heart condition is still the same it was when he came into the league with Houston or when he signed with the Clippers. It is very much possible that it has gotten worse. The Clippers were not being “very shrewd and cold, trying to save themselves the financial burden of a terrible contract for a mediocre player” – they needed a real PF and found a way to get a guy they were interested in going back to last summer. If it was all about getting rid of Cat, this trade would’ve gone down in the off-season. Obviously, Dunleavy wanted to keep Cat then but at the end of the day Cat became a victim of the Clippers’ miserable start and moving his contract (along with Thomas) is what it took to make the Zach deal work.
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bongstradamus Reply:
December 13th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Yes, I’m slightly nuts.
Yes Corey and Elton carried this team for 7 years.
You can love Cat for all his intangibles, but math is math and the numbers say Corey out played him. Dig for all the obscure stats you want, but the main line shows a clearly superior talent.
And it was NY i said wiggled out of the contract. And to be honest, it wouldnt surprise me if the backstabbing, slick backed hair, former financial executive Mike Dunleavy Sr didnt drop the idea about Cuttinos waiver to a severely over-cap NY team as added incentive to trade for Mobely. Again, math being what is, NY got rid of an $18m contract and absorbed a total of $9M with Cats forced retirement. Forced is the word being used to describe his actions. Sounds like Walsh pulled what they now call a “Miles” on Cat with the forced retirement and removal from the books.
In the end, it was a win-win for everyone. NY just poofed 9M off their books and put themselves in drivers seat of the 2010 Free Agent market and the Clippers added the 4 they lost when Elton left. If the contracts for Thomas and Mobely werent ridiculous to begin with we’d have had the cap this summer to keep Elton, and, possibly Corey too and still gotten Baron. That’s where we could have been, and honestly, I’d have much rather seen that lineup. I wanted Brand to retire here, to put his jersey in the rafters, and to see a Clipper in the Hall of Fame.
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
It’s called sympathy, sir. I don’t see what’s wrong with showing some.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Wow…what a completely offensive post, Bongstradamus…
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
all the best to cat. he served us well. worked his role best he could.
never seemed like a squeaky wheel or a pain in the ass on any level.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Bongstradamus is a troll, stop feeding him.
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I guess it’s fitting that Cat played his best game of the year in his last game as a Clipper. May his last game period!
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Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Mobley was my favorite clipper. He was the only one (besides q ross and singleton that gave a crap)
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