You're right. We probably shouldn't give him a chance. Probably shouldn't have given Wesley or Deke a chance either....
Wesley and Deke are still servicable players, Baker really isn't. Baker is washed up with the best of them. I would put him the same category with Spoon, Ameachi, and Strickland. None of us are saying we shouldn't give him the chance, but like kaiser said, I don't think he will amount to anything.
The other thing that James brings to the Rockets, and I haven't seen it posted on this board, is we get a player who was a big contributor on a championship team last year. He brings that experience as well as his ring to motivate the rest of the team.
I'm pretty confident about our team. I just want to get that next win. And get Bob Sura healthy and playing. Hmn. 1. Mike James, Bob Sura, Moochie Norris 2. David Wesley, Jon Barry, Bob Sura 3. Tracy McGrady, Ryan Bowen, Bob Sura 4. Juwan Howard, Scott Padgett, Clarence Weatherspoon, Vin Baker 5. Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, Vin Baker 2005-06 season: Mike James, Bob Sura, David Wesley, Jon Barry, Tracy McGrady, Ryan Bowen, Juwan Howard, Yao Ming....I can't help myself....Elton Brand.... ARGH! We have GOT to turn these riffraff contracts into a real power forward! Got to!
Hey ROXTXIA! You should have continted with the All-Sura roster... 1. Mike James, Bob Sura, Moochie Norris 2. David Wesley, Jon Barry, Bob Sura 3. Tracy McGrady, Ryan Bowen, Bob Sura 4. Juwan Howard, Scott Padgett, Clarence Weatherspoon, Vin Baker, Bob Sura 5. Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, Vin Baker, Bob Sura
I don't think this article has been posted yet. It really doesn't say anything new. But, I'll post it anyway. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3421886 Rockets hope new guards bring luck Joel Anderson / Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) - Few teams were playing better than the Houston Rockets heading into the All-Star break. That all changed once Bob Sura went down with a back injury. Sura missed consecutive losses to Seattle and San Antonio that ended Houston's eight-game winning streak, and the Rockets learned soon after that their starting point guard wouldn't be able to play for at least another 10 days. Left only with a weary 18-year veteran and undrafted rookie at the position, Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson realized it was time to tinker again with his roster before the NBA's trade deadline on Thursday. "We needed to do something," Dawson said. "Sura was having a great year. He means a lot to the team." So the Rockets acquired point guard Mike James in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for seldom-used Reece Gaines and a pair of second-round picks. Houston also sent forward Maurice Taylor to the Knicks for guard Moochie Norris, forward Vin Baker and a second-round pick in 2006. Stuck in sixth place with a 32-23 record in the Western Conference, the Rockets can only hope that James brings them the same kind of luck he brought the Detroit Pistons last season. James went to Detroit in a midseason trade and was in the Pistons' rotation throughout their run to the NBA title. "I see the same qualities here that I saw in Detroit," James said. "That can happen here." The acquisition of James is actually the culmination of a prolonged effort to get him in Houston. The Rockets tried to woo him last summer when he was a free agent and nearly pulled off a trade for him in December. James was averaging 11.4 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds with the Bucks this season, and he proved to be an efficient scorer, making 44.6 percent of his shots and 38 percent from the 3-point line. With only rookie Andre Barrett and Norris on the roster until Sura comes off the injury list, Houston will immediately plug James into the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Utah. The Rockets waived veteran Rod Strickland on Thursday, a day after his unproductive start against San Antonio. "We're just going to throw him in and we need to make it work," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He's been coached well along the way. We feel fortunate that we were able to get him." Despite an offseason trade with Orlando that paired Tracy McGrady with center Yao Ming, the Rockets have continually massaged their roster since getting off to a disappointing 12-14 start. The Rockets made trades for David Wesley (New Orleans) and guard Jon Barry (Atlanta) in late December that gave the Rockets a much-needed boost of offense, toughness and veteran moxie. Since trading for Wesley on Dec. 29, the Rockets have tied the Spurs with an NBA-best 19 wins over that stretch. Sura's injury slowed down some of that momentum, but the Rockets are hoping the addition of James can keep them rolling into the final two months of the season. "It just adds another weapon," said McGrady, who ranks seventh in the league in scoring with 25.3 points a game. "He's going to make things a lot easier for us." -- droxford
But here's a pretty good one from the Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3058383 Feb. 26, 2005, 12:07AM James happy to headline for Rockets Guard goes from 'other guy' status to linchpin of deal; will start Sunday By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle He has been the new guy before. He has packed his bags and moved, learned a new system and a new set of teammates before. Mike James has been in the big trade-deadline deal before. But that was different. That was the Rasheed Wallace trade. James' name was in fine print. This is the Mike James trade, and there is an enormous difference between headlining a deadline deal and simply being a part of one. Last season, James was another guy in the three-team, seven-player, one-draft pick trade that moved Wallace to the Pistons. He was not an insignificant addition and had a place in the rotation that won the NBA championship. But he was not the reason the trade was made. This season, the Rockets desperately needed a healthy point guard and went after James. But they had coveted James' quickness and toughness since last summer, nearly landed him in December and have plans short-term and long-range for him even after Bob Sura returns from a back injury to be the starter again. "I knew they inquired about me," James said. "It always feels good to be in a place you know you were wanted. I'm excited to know they're bringing me here to not just be another name, another player, (but) to be a piece to their puzzle to get to another level. I've been on the back burner all my life. (The public) doesn't have to know who I am, as long as I know and my teammates know what I bring to the table." He brings enough that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has said James will start Sunday against the Jazz. "We have to throw him in and win, somewhat similar to when Sura came back from injury the first time," Van Gundy said. "There wasn't really time to monitor minutes and ease him in. We're just going to throw him in. We need to make it work." It might help that James, 29, has made similar adjustments the past few years. The Rockets will be James' fourth team in the past two seasons. But the team he played for before those four teams, the Miami Heat, uses a style and terminology similar to that of the Rockets, offering a familiarity James and Van Gundy said could make the transition easier. "He's been coached well along the way," Van Gundy said. "He's played for a lot of teams. ... That being said, in 48 hours (after the trade) he's going to be playing in a game and have to play well, so we have a lot of work ahead of us." But James would seem to fit well enough to slide in smoothly, offering many of the qualities the Rockets desperately needed when Sura was hurt to start the season, and since he was forced out of the past two games — and the next five — by a sore back. "What we liked is what we missed at the start of the year," Van Gundy said. "We were a very slow team and he has great quickness, quickness with the ball. He's got a scoring mentality, which is similar to Sura. That's not a bad thing. ... There's been many guys that won championships who were just along for the ride. He had a significant role. He did it well. I think it says a lot about him." The Rockets would like that experience to become valuable for them, too. For now, they hope his familiarity with making the rapid transition to a new team will help them. James did not seem too concerned. He cited the improvement from the Bucks' lottery status to the Rockets' loftier aspirations. He spoke of the advantages that come with playing with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. He even had the added perk of getting traded to his wife Angela's hometown. "It's an easier transition to go from a team where you didn't have a superstar to where you have two," James said. "My job isn't that hard. I don't have to put pressure on myself. All I have to do is play off these guys. "In Milwaukee, our goal was just making the playoffs. Here, the goal is to try to get as far into the playoffs and trying to win a NBA Championship. It's exciting. The best part is being part of a team that wants to win a championship." Of the current Rockets, only James has won a championship. If this deal works as well as the Rasheed Wallace trade, the Mike James trade could become as memorable as that one. Rockets Summary Sura sits, but not happily The doctor ordered guard Bob Sura off the court for at least 10 days to rest his sore back. That would keep him from starting to work his way back until March 5, out of at least three games and almost certainly four with the Rockets facing the Mavericks on March 6. Sura had a different schedule in mind, and wasn't happy with the Rockets' decision to put him on the injured list Thursday, forcing him to miss at least five games. "I'm good. I feel really good," Sura said. "I was a little concerned. I thought it was going to be worse than it is. ... I'm a little unhappy they put me on the injured list. I feel I'll be ready to play before that." Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said he expected Sura to try to come back more quickly than his doctor's wishes, but that the team would be careful to follow the doctor's instructions. "You never know about Bobby," Dawson said. "He's just like he is on the court as far as getting back. He goes at it full-time so he can be back who knows (when). We're going to go by what the doctors say, but he'd probably tell you a different story. But that's what I love about the guy. He has a can-do attitude." Asked if he thought the team put him on the injured list to force him to obey doctor's orders, Sura said: "There may be some validity to that. Whatever, I have to deal with it, but I'm not too happy about that." -- droxford
With a guy like Sura, someone has to make that decision for him despite what he feels about it. He is going to be a big part of what happens this season and into the playoffs, and he needs to take a break and get his body 100% for the stretch run.
Now that we got Mike James, and if everything goes as expected I'm sure Sura'll be able to rest his body to near 100%. This is such exciting news, awsome trades. CD4Prez Go Rockets!
I don't think so either, but would you rather be right or be wrong about that? I, for one, am psyched that he's happy to be in Houston. I would love to be wrong about him. As a rule we've been been collectively wrong about Mutomobo, Wesley and Howard at least. I'm all for being wrong about Baker. But maybe you'd rather be right.
I think CD did an excellent job on this trade.At least in some fans' eyes,this trade is ideal. In fact,on 26th Jan,a Rockets fan posted a stats analysis article on hoopchina.He pointed that there were four most tradeable PGs out of a 50 PG list.They are: Knight(Charlotte),Watson(Memphis),Daniels(Seattle) and James(Milwaukee). Another fan even pointed out that Knight,Watson and Daniels were not so suitable for Rockets,so James were the most suitable person.Here is the link of this article: http://www.hoopchina.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=23905&page=1&pp=15
If Vin can do ANYTHING at all...unlike Strickland...then I'm exctatic. If he just doesn't embarass himself while playing a few minutes, then I like the idea of having the big body down low. I like Spoon's big body but he's too short. So if he can match Spoon's activity and being 5 inches taller, he could play helpful backup minutes...for the Rockets. Hopefully, next season we will upgrade that.
As everyone knows, or should realize, great trade by the Rockets. Normally, I'm not too high on the player the Rockets receive (hell, I wasn't even happy about T-Mac AT FIRST because I love Steve and Cat so much), but I liked the idea of Mike James right away. It will help Sura get healthy, and James seems really happy to be here which is great. As said, he provides championship experience and another 3-point threat to surround Yao. BEAUTIFUL! Y'all remember how excited we were before the season started, how we could barely tolerate the off-season. Well, the season has been shaping up recently to how we expected it would, but by totally different reasons than we saw coming, eh? Also, give Moochie and Vin a chance before hatin' on them. It's a new start for them, so we should all forget about their troubles in the past. Right now, I'd like to hear everyone hush about them. After they mess up on the court, then you are entitled to complain. As it is right now, they've done nothing to hurt us.
I don't understand why everyone is saying we were wrong about Deke and Howard. Maybe I just don't remember that well, but I was pretty excited that we got Deke and I remember most of us being overly excited over Howard and his so-called 17 & 7. I think most of us doubted Wesley because we had to give up JJ. But like you said, I hope Baker can give us some good minutes.
Definitely, I have't written him off. We shouldn't judge him until after he's had sufficient time. A player will perform a lot differently with a much better attitude when they're happy and feel like they're on a team that's going somewhere, just look at T-Mac.
Lets send Baker to work with Cheney from St. Johns. Cheney will have plenty of time over the next few weeks maybe he can show Baker how to protect Yao. Better yet lets send Yao there. Just remember that Cheney is one mean honry SOB! can you imagine if Yao had that mentalitiy? Mike
