Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley, who retired in 2008 because of a heart ailment, would like another shot at playing in the NBA.
Mobley played for 11 years with four NBA teams, but was forced to leave the game after he was traded by the L.A. Clippers to the New York Knicks.
After a routine physical following the trade, Mobley was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
It is the same condition that led to the deaths of basketball players Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis.
Click the link for interesting quotes. Mobley’s the one former Rocket about whom, moreso than any other, my feelings completely evolved over the course of his tenure with the team. His first year, when he won the starting job at the ’1′, I was ecstatic. After suffering through the Matt Maloney years, I had been hoping for an athletic, scoring point guard.
But after he switched to the ’2′ upon Steve Francis’ arrival, he quickly became insufferable to watch. He’d force bad shots and the play where he’d hold the ball, stare down at his opponent’s feet before forcing an off-balance jumper made me tear out more hair than has grown back.
Strangely, after Jeff Van Gundy took the reins, my feelings for ‘Cat’ morphed back to admiration. No one benefitted more from the former Knick coach than Mobley. Where Steve Francis’ game took a nosedive, Cuttino improved in ways thought otherwise unimaginable. He became more efficient with his ball control, made smarter decisions, and learned to make use of his already impressive defensive gifts. Mobley became the perfect complementary shooting guard and he was the guy I was most disappointed to see leave in the McGrady trade.
When he became a free agent a year later, I hoped desperately that he’d opt for a return to the Bayou City. With his defensive prowess and three-point shooting abilities, Mobley would have fit this team like a glove, allowing Tracy McGrady to slide over to his more natural ’3′ position. But alas, he chose the Clippers, forming my favorite non-Rocket backcourt of All-time (alongside Sam Cassell).
Here’s a toast to Cuttino Mobley, a true Houston Rocket.
