Trading a back-up PG for a PG putting up 14 ppg, 6.5 apg, 1.5 SPG and 3+ rpg isn't making a trade for the sake of a trade. That's called a great trade!
My initial reaction was negative as well but after I read through a lot of the info in this thread and on the web my views changed as well, heck since I first heard about it, I’ve been getting more and more excited
James has his championship ring so I don't think he minds being sent to a bad team as long as he is starting and getting paid big money, something he will likely get from Toronto.
I still have reserves about this transaction. Although I've only watched a handful of his games, Alston's style of play has always been more of a shoot-first point guard. His shot selection isn't the best either. I really hope he buys into the JVG system.
Puh. I just read this whole thread. 2 things: 1) I am almost sure that I read an article where Skip to my Lou talked extremely positively about Yao Ming and foreign basketball in general - even though he came to fame as a streetballer, I believe he said something along the lines of "the foreign guys are better than us - they are more fundamentally sound". I'm unable to find the interview/article, but I am pretty sure I read some complimentary quotes from Rafer Alston about Yao Ming and foreign players in general somewhere. 2) http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=49561&highlight=skip+to+my+lou I quoted a nice article about him a couple of years ago: http://www.angelfire.com/nb/alston/slamarticle.html "Rafer Alston - Best point guard in the world "
I read some interviews of NBA players on nba.com. They had to evaluate player types - who's best at what. I was very suprised that most of them - when asked who is the best ball handler in NBA - answered: Skip to my Lou.
This worries me a little you trade for a guy who was a cancer on his team. Mike was a team player.I hope Alston brings a new attitude here to Houston. Sidenote did anybody see the episode of And1 when they came to Houston? Mike was on the Houston team that beat the And1 team.
..but there's one thing that surpireses me - headline on nba.com is Houston traded MJ to Raptors and then there's article where's just a little mentioned that it involves Alston.
didn't someone report that Tmac was not fond of Mr James . . . I guess T-mac wanted him gone. . .and he is gone? Rocket River
Of all the posts in the TSN forum concerning the trade. This one I liked the best. No. 46 Author: grahal24 Welcome to the new Rob Babcock era! (the one in which he admits his mistakes and acts like there's an actual plan to rebuild the Raptors). James will be solid, if unspectacular... but at least we won't have to watch him take away touches from Bosh while launching ill-advised 3-pointers. James' contract also expires at the same time as Jalen's bloated deal, which means we'll have more cash for free agents in a couple of seasons. And is it just me or is it odd that Babcock got a more serviceable player for Alston than he did for Vince Carter?
RR - I corrected your post in response to your question. It was a square peg, round hole issue, but having Tmac calling for your head must have factored into the equation somewhat.
I just read some of the posts in the RealGM Raptors forum. The thread over there is like 57 pages, though, with MacBeth (I had forgotten he is a Raptors fan over there) making about 2,034,231 posts in that thread .
Iv'e actually heard the complete opposite. SVG and CD both said that he's a pass-first "pure" PG, otherwise this trade wouldn't of happened.
What the heck happened to Macbeth? He was back for about a week and then he disappeared again. Did he get booted that quickly.
2 things: 1. I want to go on record as saying I am very excited about this move. I was actually disappointed we didn't sign Alston last season when he went to Toronto. 2. The staff of SLAM magazine is jumping up and down for joy right now. Skip joining T-Mac, Yao and Swift for the next five years? They've got to be going nuts.
He posts as Raptors fan "Harry Palmer" on the RealGM board. Did not mean to derail this thread, it was just funny, I went there to read Raptors fans' opinions about the trade and stumbled across a gazillion MacBeth/Harry Palmer posts - funny thing being that when he said "we", it was the Raptors.
What I'm curious about is the type of shape Alston is in. For a guy who last year was threatening to retire and I'm assuming didn't always play his hardest with the horrible position he was in with Toronto, how motivated do you think he was to work and get in shape in the off-season, like most of the Rockets did, considering he thought he was still with a horrible team. Am I overestimating the "horrible team factor"?
My guess is that he plays non-stop, pretty much, during the offseason. I'm not worried about him being in shape at all. I'm more worried about everyone being happy with their minutes.
20. Rafer Alston, Toronto: He was productive last year, ranking among the Top 20 in the league in assists and steals while averaging over 14 points and three assists per turnover, but his constant bickering with coach Sam Mitchell was definitely a distraction. The temperament of both coach and player is very similar in that both want to win so badly that they clash, but Skip-to-my-Lou is still the best the Raptors have, even with Alvin Williams healthy enough to play again and Spanish import Jose Calderon set to contribute. Hopefully, last year served as a learning process that will aid him this year, as more dark days appear to be in the cards. from SPORTSLINE.COM....its ranking of top 20 Point Guards. http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/8923617 i believe he should be #16 on that list....easily.
