Hmm. I think you may be right. We would have had James' Early Bird Rights, but not his full Bird Rights since he was a free agent from Detroit when he signed with the Bucks last year. So his Bird Rights clock started last year and he'll only have 2 years of credit when he opts out this summer, which he most certainly will.
Facts.... Player..........Date signed...# of years.....total salary.......FA Mike James........8/5/04.........3...........$10.23 million.....p-opt '06 * LARRY BIRD EXCEPTION --.......This exception allows teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their own free agents, up to the player's maximum salary. The player must have played for three seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. This means a player can obtain "Bird rights" by playing under three one-year contracts, a single contract of at least three years, or any combination. It also means that when a player is traded, his Bird rights are traded with him, and his new team can use the Bird exception to re-sign him. * EARLY BIRD EXCEPTION --.......A player qualifies for this exception after playing two seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. Using this exception, a team may re-sign its own free agent for 175% of his salary the previous season or the average player salary, whichever is greater....... * Mike James' wife is from Houston, he enjoyed playing for the Rockets, hung around in Houston with Tracy McGrady during the summer of 2005, (in an NBAtv interview) regards Tracy and Yao as two of the best players in the league and would have had no problem deferring to them just as he emphasized playing D for the Pistons when he won a ring with them, was obviously hurt by the trade and made it a point to handily outplay Alston in two Toronto wins over Houston, and in another interview has stated he has no problem returning to the Raptors. * Without a Sign and Trade, only the Bulls, Bobcats and Hawks have enough cap room to offer James more than MLE $ in the summer of 2006. * With a healthy McGrady and Yao Ming, the Rockets are a much better team than the Raptors. Deductions... * With all of the injuries, James (who wasn't injured during 2005-06) would have been required to expand his role as a Rocket. IMHO, they'd have still been a playoff contender. They'd at least have won 2 more games (vs TOR). * The Rockets would have had minimum Early Bird Rights and had James used his Player Option for 2006-07 had James full Bird Rights next summer. * If each party was willing, James could have taken the 2006-07 Player Option on the assumption of a full Bird re-signing in 2007. This is basically illegal to communicate but it is innuendoed frequently. * Had the Rockets and James decided to part ways after 2005-06, the Rockets were out the services of James and would have needed to use their MLE or draft pick for a starting PG. But they would have been preparred to offer a starting position to them. * The Rockets fundamentally traded away what James brought to the table for the security of a middle-of-the-road PG they'll be paying $5.3m to for the 2010-2011 season. Alston will be 34 years old during his final season. The problem I continue to have (and why I feel James was the better option) is that we are giving away points at the starting PG position that TMac and Yao need to compensate for. IOW, if your goal is to compete with the Spurs, however much Parker outplays Alston must be balanced by Yao outplaying Duncan and TMac outplaying Ginobili. That's tough enough to do without having any handicap. Edit: The 175% mentioned in the Early Bird Rights above turns out to be more than the 2005-06 MLE. James currently makes $3.41m. Times 175% means the Rockets' Early Bird offer would have been $5.968m. Nearly a million more than the $5m 2005-06 MLE.
Deuce - My apologies. You are right...I need to let this one go. I need to indulge myself in all of the positive possibilities of the draft. Maybe we can package Alston and the Lotto pick to the Hawks for Childress and change (ZaZa).......
GATER, Excellent analysis of why the James-Alston trade was such a bad one for the Rockets. To those who keep saying that Rafer is the "better fit", I really don't see how you can keep defending that deal after reading GATER's last post.
when i saw him at jam session i told him to come back to houston. he said maybe. we'll see what happens. translation: "F*** off!"
Now the question is, how come Rockets managment did not have the same information Gater presented on the forum....
Because, obviously, Gater, is smarter and more capable at making NBA level decisions and evaluating players and team needs than the entire Rocket's top brass..
This trade was one of the, if not the worst trade in the history of the rockets franchise. (Barkley for sam/horry is right there with it)
How about they trade Rafer too for a point guard who can actually shoot the ball and dribble penetrate. Speedy Claxton or something who works well in an halfcourt offense.
Well, I guess it's better to think positive and focus on what we have now versus what we should've (or not should've, in this case) done. This situation could be salvaged if the Rockets acquire Cassell in the off-season, and in doing so relegating Rafer to his natural position in the NBA: as a back-up PG. May be then we can have the "best of both world" (i.e. a 'pass-first' PG and a premier 'scorer' and shooter who's as good or better in getting/making quality shots as MJ). Get'r done!
Haha liked that last line he said..quick someone change the thread title to: Mike James to join terrorists next season!
Yeah James really sucked that series, this is why the Dallas Morning News still refers to James as a Mavericks killer. Whenever Sura was on Terry, he got lit up like a Christmas tree.
Not sure how to take this. But there is an old story that is appropriate. A tractor-trailer driver got his rig wedged underneath a railroad overpass. He couldn't pull forward and he couldn't back up his truck without possibly damaging both the bridge and his truck. The semi driver, several tow truck drivers, local fire and police departments and many by-standers contemplated the correct course of action.......but none could agree. Finally, a little boy of twelve told them to just let some air out of the big rigs' tires. Your statement attributes an infallibilty for those employed in professional sports management. That infallibility just doesn't exist. The landscape of NBA trades is extremely littered with poor decisions. Seldom do trades work well for both teams. I've got a pretty good track record around here. When I'm wrong, I'm the first to admit it.
this guy scares me I said it last year, the trade was a win-loose sitation, you really never know with him he has a big mouth, but he is a decent player... lmao at the last sentece "I am going to be a terror for at least the next five years" now that's passion
We missed James but we have to move on. We need an athletic PG who can pass,shoot and defend. Skip probably isn't going anywhere so another backup or a SG who can pass from the 2 spot could be helpful for us.
