MJ always bothered me, but Skip to my Lou is a risky guy too.... However, with Tmac, Yao, and Swift, players tend to find where they belong....and I am sure winning will help his attitude a lot. DD
Rockets Acquire Rafer Alston from Toronto Mike James Sent to the Raptors HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets have acquired guard Rafer Alston from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for guard Mike James, General Manager Carroll Dawson announced today. Alston (6-2, Fresno State) joins the Rockets with career averages of 8.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 323 games with Milwaukee, Toronto and Miami. The six-year NBA veteran averaged 14.2 points, as well as team highs of 6.4 assists (11th in the NBA) and 1.48 steals (18th in the NBA), in 80 games (78 starts) with Toronto last season. Alston also ranked 19th in the league in both 3-pointers made (139) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.02). He also set single-game career highs for points (29 on Jan. 26 vs. Miami) and assists (15 on Jan. 17 at Minnesota) in 2004-2005. Alston had his streak of 61 consecutive games with a 3-pointer snapped on Nov. 27 at New York. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rafer_alston/index.html The New York native spent the 2003-2004 season with the Miami Heat, where he was the only Miami player to play in all 82 games (28 starts). He averaged 10.2 points, a team-high 4.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.39 steals in 31.5 minutes per game. Alston made his first appearance in a Raptors uniform in 2002-2003, averaging 7.8 points, 4.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 47 games. He also played in six games with the Mobile Revelers of the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), where he averaged 15.8 points and 9.7 assists. The 6-2, 170-pound guard spent his first three seasons in the NBA with Milwaukee, averaging 2.8 points, 2.5 assists and 0.50 steals in 114 games (nine starts) with the Bucks. Drafted by Milwaukee in the second-round (39th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, Alston went on to average 6.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17 games with the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Alston played one season at Fresno State after spending his first two collegiate years at junior colleges (Fresno Community College and Ventura College). Tagged a “playground legend” while playing in Queens, New York, Alston earned the nicknamed “Skip to my Lou.” James (6-2, Duquesne) departs Houston with career averages of 9.2 points and 3.5 assists in 248 games with Miami, Boston, Milwaukee and Houston. In 2004-2005, James averaged a career-high 11.8 points (on a career-high .441 shooting) and 3.6 assists in 74 games with Milwaukee and Houston. He joined the Rockets in a trade with Milwaukee on Feb. 24, 2005, averaging 12.4 points and 2.9 assists in 27 games with Houston.
Holy cow, this is great. Rafer gives us the true starting point that we've been looking for. Mike James only gives us a good bench.
you got to be kidding... i do not think "the professor" or Main and Sauce will stand a chance in the NBA.
I just got news and was skimmimg to see if anyone had metioned this... You know he consulted Stan on this. Or he just knows what Stan thought of him while he was playing for him. Either way... BOLD move... IMO. Skip running the break with DA, T Mac and Swift is going to be SWEET!!! One OOP after another!~!~!
For atleast this season I think we are fine at SG with Anderson, Wesley, and Barry. I do agree that for the future that position looks like the only one that is unsettled.
You guys are WAY too into conspiracy theories. I doubt the Rockets knew about this trade well over a week ago otherwise they would've pulled the trigger prior to the opening of media day and training camp.
a risky move, but potentially a fruitful one. james probably shouldn't have talked so much about his upcoming contract situation this past summer. I'm sure van gundy and management don't appreciate that kind of misguided focus, publicly stated--I'm guessing that didn't help his situation here.
Thanks. I always thought Alston as Francis lite. The games I have seen him, he would shoot ridiculous treys, and from time to time would have crazy moves. A street baller I always thought.
A FULL HOUR AFTER CLUTCHFANS BREAKS THE NEWS. Official Rockets Station 610AM just broke into the Rome Show with a sports flash announcing this trade. WHO'S AMATEUR JORNALISM NOW!?!?!? Im not even going to bother noting how long it takes to get updated on Rockets.com
I've watched Rafer in a lot of games, so here's my take on him. Positives 1. He's probably got the best handle in the game, I am not making this up, this guy has better ball control than Ron Jeremy. 2. He is actually a better "pure" PG than most people think or give him credit for. He wil drive, but a lot of times it is to setup a shot, not to finish (though he can do that pretty well also) Negatives 1. Well documented attitude problems, but I think that might hva ebeen exacerbated by the horrendous situation in Toronto. As far as I know, he was well liked by teammates in his other stints 2. I can't possibly see how he will be able to fit in right away. This will be a rough transition. and I do believe Yao's game will suffer, at least for the early part of the season.
i think Alston will fit Houston well......I think in Toronto he didn't know his role so he tried to do more than what he is capable of....the guy makes some really good passes but players in Toronto couldn’t really finish…..that will NOT HAPPEN IN HOUSTON .... i think this is a positive move which only brings the Rockets closer to a championship.....this trade will only look good in the long-run.... the only problem I had when he was in Toronto…was how he played as if there was nobody on the court except him and his lack of effort on D….if he knows his role in Houston and plays D like he’s capable…. then you know what….Spurs fans you better watch out...
Hey, I referred to the media day photo. You don't think Sura knew of the trade yesterday? I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he did. Or that it would piss him off. With all due respect, of course.
