What people seem to be forgetting is that in acquiring DA, we got a lot of the qualities that made Mike James expendable. In acquiring Rafer Alston, we got a quality that Mike James couldn't provide and made him expendable - passing ability. We may have lost a little offense, but we also gained a lot of offense indirectly with the Skip's ability to handle the ball, set up offense, and make plays. Combine that with the DA and Stromile acquisitions and it's all positives unless Skip decides to go nuts and be a malcontent, of course.
People are wondering who gets playing time when Sura comes back. In my mind, playing less would be good for Sura - there's only so much left in that knee.
I think this trade sucks. I guess time will tell hopefully i'll be proven wrong. MJ must have pissed someone off because his play was solid (ouside 1 playoff game). Anyone think they may have plans to package Alston and some of our other scrubs in another deal to get a more JVG type guard?
Sura is done. Even if he does come back in a few months, what type of shape will he be in? Not starting point guard shape. I can see him coming off the bench, but more than likely he is done. Old knees don't heal well.
I haven't read through this entire thread, but I hope Rafer keeps his shooting touch. He was infamous for not having a jumpshot earlier in his career, but after last season, he seemed to be one of the more accurate three-point shooters in the league... very up and down... hope he can maintain his accuracy/percentage. Stuart
This is right up there with Metallica kicking Dave Mustaine out and giving him a FRICKING BUS TICKET across the country back to NYC. CD: "Hey Mike, sorry, but we're trading you." MJ: "Okay, okay, I guess that's cool. Where am I going?" CD: "Uh.... Toronto, where the winters are blistering cold, the currency is devalued, the taxes are high, and the team is terrible." MJ: "Oh. ... F*ck you CD." CD: "We'll be sure to send you a copy of the Rockets 2005-2006 Championship video and a t shirt. Security will show you out shortly."
It would be a fair guess that Jeff talked to Steve before this trade. If there had been the slightest question the trade would never have happened. We have created a whole new team again while keeping the best parts from the old one. We have one more trade in us around deadline time where we might pick up a real asset on the cheap. It may take a while for them to gel, but this team is beginning to look awesome.
Believe me, the whining of a few village idiots did no such thing. Most of us put the Rockets team potential and outcome above our personal grudges and knee jerk overreactions. Good luck James, welcome aboard Alston!
mike upset people not because his play was solid, but because he kept mouthing off about his contract situation BEFORE the season had already started! Even if it was misconstrued, it shows bad judgement and a lack of team focus, in my opinion. Talking about "opting out" a year before your contract is up is really nothing more than a vague ultimatum to management to prepare to cough up the bucks. No one appreciates threats.
How many subplots do we now have for this season? Skip, Swift, DA, Head, Sura, Juwan - hard to say what any of them will actually do. If everything clicks, Western Conference finals for sure, but that's a big "if". One thing we do know - this season won't be boring.
Well, his assists will definately go up with the likes of Tracy and Stromile running the floor with him. Alston is not going to be asked to score - just distribure the damn ball to our superstars. Maybe Yao will get a decent entry pass into the post now! (If he can get decent position.. ) I see many alleyoops in the rockets future.
I like this trade I think. I liked James a lot but this is more of a long term fix for the pg situation if it works out. JVG wont tolerate drama and if Skip is willing to work with him this could be great for us. I liked him on the Heat a couple of seasons back. The alley oops that are possible will be awesome. It is kinda scary knowing that our main pg is brand new to our system and we dont have a reliable back up though. I will take his 14 and 6 from last year anyday. He has a career avg of less than 2 TO a game also so that is nice. Either way the trade happened so hopefully it will work out. Skip to my lou a rocket is something I never expected.
Hopefully i'll be proven wrong. On the court I like James' play better, but if he was causing trouble in the locker room or with his contract, then I can see why they traded him. Alston is fun to watch and is a decent shooter, could be a good thing for us, we will see.
