Pardon me starting a new thread, but I wanted to single out Skip's attitude issues for discussion in a separate thread. Am I the only one who has deep reservations about this trade? I can see nearly everyone is dismissing the character and attitude concerns about Skip because they trust the judgement of CD & JVG. I will admit if these end up being non-issues, we are now a bonafied championship contender who can beat anyone. I only gave the Rockets a "B" for the offseason specifically because they didn't address the PG issue I've ranted and raved about since we lost to Dallas. If Skip blends into our team and doesn't disrupt our chemistry, I change my grade to an A+ because he has skills we need badly. But I'm very concerned and have doubts. Alston is coming into a new environment for him. Based on the last 2 years, JVG is not an easy adjustment for most players. I think it's almost probable the two will have problems with each other. How will Skip react? The guy doesn't have the average NBA player mentality (i.e, most bad stuff stays in lockerrooms). I can see not getting along with Jalen Rose and Sam Mitchell, but I'm sure Skip was at least part of the problem. Any Rockets fans out there who followed Skip closely in Toronto or Miami have any comments? Please leave off the statements about trusting CD & JVG (since this has been said 100 times already) and stick to substantive pros and cons about the guy. Based on reading some things off the internet from Toronto chat rooms and other places, we may regret this, I'm afraid. I give it until mid to late season.
I would be concerned if Rudy was still our coach, but JVG ain't going to take **** from Skip or anyone else, and when a player KNOWS the track record that JVG has (i.e. how he doesn't take **** from no one, while Rudy T was known for quiet the opposite). Besides Larry Brown, I think JVG is the one coach in the league most qualified to whip him into shape.
Who besides Francis, who still sacrificed his game for the team, didn't adjust well to JVG? Are you referring to Tmac's slow start last season or what?
His year in Miami was virtually seamless. I had always looked at him as an all-IL guy until that season. You can rest assured that SVG tossed in his 2 cents before we made this trade. He didn't act up in his previous seasons, as far as I've ever heard. That said, I'm not 100% sold on Alston. He's so-so at best on D, and can go Jason Williams on you. Has a habit of breaking plays to drive,-stop-and-pop on his own. Much more effective on the break than in a halfcourt set. This is where we hope McGrady keeps people in line. Evan
...and you don't think that some of his problems last year were a product of the situation? He was the new starting PG on a very bad team that had a new coach as well. In Miami, he was very well liked by his teamates and his coach, SVG. Hell, the Raptor players supposedly liked him and Jalen Rose of all people went as far as to call him his "homeboy", I believe it was, however he might not be sincere. If Rafer doesn't know what to expect and how to act under JVG, he will soon learn if not from Jeff himself but from the players such as T-Mac.
i live in toronto...seen many many many many games.........sadly enough ..... there are no problems with Alston...there were problems with the WHOLE team.... 1) Vince Carter and Rafer had a huge fight....Alston accused him of not putting in any effort.....though i think Alston was right on this occasion... 2) Coach had a problem with Alston's pass second attitude.... he wanted Alston to change his game ....to pass more and shoot less...this is the reason behind Mitchell's & Alstons altercation's...though i don't believe Rafer would have this problem in Houston....he knows there are many players who deserve the ball before him.(i hope) 3) Overall i think he is a perfect fit for THIS team....he makes some incredible passes in the paint....hopefully our Yao Ming can handle his passes...seriously his passing ability is so underrated.....and i think you guys are gonna hate the fact that Yao can't handle em in the paint ...so expect a lot of T.O... 4) the major flaw in his game is his inability to defend.....don't know why so many players get around this guy.........hopefully JVG will improve his D i expect around 12PTS 9ASSISTS a game from him....
Has he had character issues since he has been in the league? (6 years I think) The way some are bringing up his problems you would think he's had them from day 1.
I think after every move that has been made since JVG has been here might have been questioned by us for one reason or another. Becuase we feel the person doesn't fit here or won't do this or that. Then when they play under JVG we see that they actually listen and they were the right fit for the team at that time. I definently give JVG the benifit of the doubt on who he gets along with CD. We honestly can not question any of the moves that JVG has made (maybe the exception of Ward, which looked good at first for his leadership). Every move he has made has worked and made this team better. JVG is no idiot. He would not knownigly bring someone in here that he knew he couldn't handle. I am sure he sat down Skip and told him how it's going to be and if he gets any vibe that it isn't going to work he wouldn't have pulled the trigger on the deal. JVG will get him to play like he wants under his style and Skip just needed a change and this is going to be good for us.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't recall ever hearing of attitude problems from him before last season. From what I've read and seen on T.V., 'Skip" is a very competitive guy who absolutely hates to lose, seems to be kind of sensitive (in terms of taking criticsm), and has alot of passion that he brings to the game. I think under Sam Mitchell (probably by far the biggest disciplinarian in the league), who also seems to be very competitive as well, didn't help matters. With all the losing and playing for a crappy organization who doesn't know what they are doing coupled with that type of coach, i think it just created a very volatile situation. From what I remember reading, 'Skip' wasn't the only player who had conflict with Mitchell, but it seems his battles got much more attention from the media. I think we would see the same thing with the Rockets if they were losing almost every game with JVG. Players would get sick of his sh**. Anyway, I'm not too concerned about it. He has come out recently and said he regrets being apart of those incidents and all he wants to do is come out and play hard every night. IMO, even though I've never met him of course, but it seems some of the negatives that people throw around or create about him derive from a perception of all streetballers from the general public.
we may have not heard of any attitude problems other than Toronto, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. For instance, what kept this guy out of the NBA so long. He's a pretty damn good point guard, and he didn't learn how to play point playing on the And One circuit.
To answer 2 questions above: 1 I never said players didn't adapt to JVG. I said it was a tough adjustment for them. Just ask T-Mac, Yao or JH. They all admit it even though they like JVG now. 2 Obviously some of his problems in Toronto were team related, but was he also part of the problem or totally innocent? VinceCarter, thanks a lot for your comments. tigermission1, I have no doubt JVG will win if he and Skip battle each other. The rest of the team will support JVG and put pressure on Skip to conform. My question is how will he react to this? I'm not trying to be negative about this trade, just realistic. I want Alston to be the missing piece (PG) we need as much as anyone. I'm going to stay grounded until I see the product on the floor for a while.
I'll call you out on that Blatz. Where were ANY reports of Rafer's attitude problems? His teammates have called him "very passionate" about the game of basketball. Don't forget this isn't a league full of pansies. They get upset just like anybody else does. Stan Van Gundy loved having him in Miami. Don't you remember them trying to resign him before he opted for Toronto? I read an article yesterday from the Toronto paper that Rafer had run-ins with Sam Mitchell because Sam was a new coach and didn't know how to handle players properly. I believe he got a bad rap for that, but he inevitably learned from the incident. Furthermore, Sam Mitchell and him are both cool with each other. The media sensationalizes things to merit more air time. They made a HUGE deal out of nothing out of the ordinary in the NBA. Players and coaches disagree all the time.
This was orchestrated by Les and JVG. It has nothing to do with talent or fit. It has everything to do with Rafer being from New York.
Well based on what I've read on various boards and media articles: Pros: Very talented- Tremendous handle. Very quick. Good work ethic- Came into the league lacking jumpshot, now is a good 3pt shooter. Actually re-watched Raptors games from last season during the offseason, so obviously he's committed to getting better. Very competitive- Just wants to win. Of course this gets him in trouble sometimes because he can't control his emotions. Excellent passer- Good assist/to ratio. Can drive and kick well. Great open court player- Pushes the ball EVERY SINGLE TIME. Much closer to being a pure point than James- It's nice to have one PG on the roster instead of a stack of combo guards. Cons Poor defensive player- Has the tools to be a great defender, he's got quick hands and quick feet, but goes for steals too much and just relies on his quickness to get back. Questionable attitue- This might have been brought up once or twice. Inconsistent- Will have a string of good games, and then some poor ones in a row. Bad entry passer- This raised my eyebrows when I saw a number of Toronto fans on the realgm board bring this up. I don't like that at all, but I'll reserve judgment until I see him play. Hotheaded- Heard that if he gets lit up on the defensive end, Skip will often try to get the guy back by immediately trying to take him one on one. And yet this is what it all comes down to. If JVG can control Skip then this deal is a slam dunk. Otherwise, he's on his way out of town and maybe we take a step back. But honestly, does anybody want to bet against CD/JVG right now. I don't think so.
There are any number of reasons why he had not made it to the NBA in so long. I don't think it's fair to assume that he had attitude problems even though we didn't hear about them (and I'm not saying you are). For one thing, if he had attitude problems in other stops, you know we would've heard about them in this day and age.
There's nothing Skip did in Toronto that Vince Carter didn't already pull. I don't like the fact that you couldn't count on them when the chips were down. But you can see how putting guys like these in a winning situation improves their attitude.
My guess is all of Alston's problems in Toronto stem from him hating to lose and being frustrated with being on a bad team. Put him on a winning team and all of those problems with his teammates and his coach will go away. Winning cures all ills. As long as this team wins, everybody will get along like a happy family.
