Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract LINK:http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NBA/T...742483-sun.html<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Morris Peterson, the longest serving Raptor, used to talk about starting and finishing his NBA career his adopted hometown, Toronto.Not anymore.Frustrated over a lack of minutes this season and the fact his NBA statistics are nearing all-time lows, a subdued Peterson admitted yesterday, following the team's shootaround at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, that he may not return to the Raptors for the 2007-08 season. Peterson is in the final year of a three-year deal and is eligible for free agency this summer."That's something I'm definitely going to have to look at," he said, when asked if his frustrations this season will impact on where he plays next year. "When summer comes, I'll evaluate what I want to do, and where I'll want to be."Peterson, who began his career with the Raptors in 2000, is averaging a mere 23.6 minutes this season and 10.1 points per game, more than two points less than his NBA career average and a whopping 6.5 points lower than last season's average. He is also averaging almost 15 fewer minutes per game from the 2005-06 campaign and has started only nine games this season after starting 77 last season.Peterson has been reluctant to comment on his personal unhappiness this season because he does not want to take away from the team's new-found success. But his frustration level has been building and perhaps peaked on Sunday in Toronto's 120-119 overtime win over the Seattle SuperSonics, when coach Sam Mitchell played Peterson only eight minutes in the game and started newcomer Juan Dixon to begin the overtime period."My love is to play basketball, that's what keeps me going. All the other questions you'll have to ask Sam, because I don't know," said Peterson, when asked about his mindset. "I mean, it's always frustrating when you don't play. But I'm not going to let that stop me from trying to accomplish my goals. And my first goal is to win. "There have been rumours that Mitchell and Peterson are not getting along, something both have denied, but there is no denying that Mitchell has lost faith in Peterson as an impact player, though the coach does believe that injuries are the main reason why Peterson hasn't found his stride this season."My (message) to Mo right now is not to get caught up worrying about minutes, just make sure, by the time we hit April, that you've got yourself mentally and physically ready to play," the coach said. "Because we need Mo playing like he did last year. He's had a lot of nagging injuries, back and hip, he's been sick. He has to put the extra time in, and he's been doing it, to get back where he was."Mitchell said that Peterson's experience in the post-season could prove invaluable."Mo's done some good things for us, don't get me wrong. But I think we would agree he hasn't been as consistent as he was last year," "Mitchell said. "But we've got (18) games to go, and hopefully we'll have a long run in the playoffs and a lot of things can change."</div>Since Dixon was acquired, Smitch has been giving him more minutes than Mo. This obviously frustrates Mo a little.. but what do you guys think about his situation? Do you think he'll want to stay with us next year?
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract He's gonna walk. No big deal. We'll get ourselves another guard in the off-season. He just wants more PT. I understand that. He's a veteran capable of scoring 15. I understand his frustrations.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract This tells me that the coach is stupid to give more mintues to dixon than mo pete as of late.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract Sam wants to win, and Dixon has provided instant offense. His mid range is so good. He is such a skilled offensive player. He is so good at creating a shot off the dribble.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract yup I play like juan dixonI really like mo and I would hate to see him leave...
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract He looked frustrated today during the knicks game. But then perhaps he may change his mind during the summer. Who knows. But by the looks of it he'll probably not stay as a Raptors anymore. Perhaps we can do a sign and trade with him since he still has value and is just 30.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract Dixon can create his own shot and even create shots for teammates. Mo is not as agressive as he was last year and he is not able to create shots for himself. This is the reason Dixon has over taken Peterson in the rotation. I know Mo's numbers have been falling but nobody is talking about his free throw % at an all time low. Its 10% down from last season. I would love to have Mo Pete stay but since we such strong depth it wouldn't be the end of the world if he left because it would open more cap space.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract I would love to see him re-signed, since he is my favourite all-time Raptor, but if we can't, I want him to get signed somewhere out of the Atlantic so he can continue to play, but we don't play him that often, lol.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract I have no sympathy for mo pete. for every good game he has he has two where he plays completely like sh*t. hes cost us plenty of games, including that defensive laps on dallas that cost us the game when howard wasnt covered and mo pete stood there looking like a f'n retard. im tired of his years of inconsistency . his game has barely developed since he came into a league, he came into a league a 3 point chucker who occasionally slashed, fast worward 10 years and hes still a 3 point chucker who cant dribble and is barely fast enough to slash anywhere. defense? his defense was ok , now it sucks. sorry mo pete your magic trick is over, we arent fooled anymore. when you shoot 0-8 in 14 minutes and you are crying over minutes, heres a reality check mo pete stop playing like sh*t , whining and making faces and sit your ass on the bench where it belongs .
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract ^You had some good points in that rant, except when you said Mo's defense is sh*t now. It is now, Mo's defense is still solid.
Re: Mo Pete's Expiring Contract I dont know I would call his defense sketchy and plagued with inconsistency at best. some nights he will go in chuck for 20 minutes come out with no rebounds or steals , he becomes a void on both endsanyways in general defensive consistency has been completely up and down. first he has droughts where he gets no defensive rebounds and makes no impact on the passing lanes and man to man defense, and then the good morris peterson shows up and has a good game only to disappear into obscurity for the next few games. its also apparent that if things arent going good on offense his defensive game/confidence goes down a bit, usually if hes scoring well his defense goes up . otherwise it becomes a slippery slope.
