Man, I don't know. If he signs with the Rockets, I certainly would be happy about it simply because he brings much needed depth and shooting/scoring from the backcourt. But, 5 years at the MLE worries me. I guess I'm a little suprised that this many people are OK with giving him that big contract. I mean, this is the same board who have b****ed about how the Rockets give out too many big contracts and the same board that will probably be b****ing about having a 36 year old, on his last legs PG making roughly $7 mill. +. I'm not arguing James' talent or what he has or will do in his career. But, I just don't feel like the Rockets will get enough value through the length of the deal. I almost feel they could get better value signing a Marcus Banks for a 3 year TE or MLE deal. He is a PG in the same mold of James, keeps getting better at shooting the 3, is quick and is good at creating pressure on the other team's ball-handler. The Rockets could do FAR, FAR worse as a backup. They then use the TE/MLE to get another wing player off the bench that would compliment Banks' game. Anyway, James is the better player and I would prefer him over Banks. Maybe I just wish they could comprimise and he could take a 4-5 yr. deal with the TE. That would make me feel a little better simply because it would allow them to do more this offseason. Just my opinion.
Absolutely, we need Mike James. He knows the system; he's played under JVG;he's a veteran; he's a big time player in the clutch; and he plays DEFENSE. One of the reasons why Yao always gets into foul trouble is because the Rockets' backcourt can't keep their men in front of them. He can play the 1 or the 2 to match up with Dallas or Phoenix. Let's say that the Rockets land James, then our lineup will look like this: James McGrady Battier Howard (hopefully Cato) Yao If we match up with Phoenix or Dallas, then our lineup will look like this: Alston James McGrady Battier Yao (or Howard) That looks like a hell of a scary defensive team to me. It seems like everybody has forgotten about Luther Head, who was a solid contributor last season. He'll be more productive off the bench, because he can knock down 3s and play defense. I hope the Rockets pursue Cato after the soap opera with James is over. I know JVG has mentioned several times that he'd like to get a 4 who can spread the floor, but Yao isn't a dominating center just yet. (I'll probably get a lot of flack for this one). He picks up cheap fouls because he's not a good shot blocker for a man his size. Too many times, I see Yao let oppossing guards drive down the lane for an easy layup. Hayes seems like a smaller Oakley type, but he can't muscle the likes of Duncan or Stoudamire. If the Rockets land James and Cato, they'll be a contender for the title, for sure. As for a 2, this guy Pat Carrol looks like the next Drazen Petrovic.
I reconsidered overnight. As long as Tmac and Yao can physically walk out on the court, maybe as much as 10 more years, the Rockets are going to be over the cap. Having two superstars eats up so much of the cap space that it isn't too long into their careers that you are left with no tradeable assets, like we have now.The only moves we will be able to make are our excetions and minimums so we need to use them as effectively as we can, every year. If Mike James is the best MLE we can get, we have to get him. The luxury tax isn 't something fans need to consider, it's not our money and for the owner the difference in making the playoffs, selling season tickets and selling out the arena is probably more important to the bottom line than paying some amount of tax. This same thought though has me reconsidering the draft too. The only way you are ever going to get superstars is to draft them or to clear enough cap space to sign one as a FA. (or find one that will orchestrate a trade to your team for his own reasons) Maybe a #8 pick only has a 20% chance of becoming a star but that is a better chance than the Rockets are likely to see for the rest of the Yao/Tmac era barring another injury riddled season. We shouldn't ever be picking as high as #8 again so our chances of developing another superstar that we can retain through Bird rights are nil. Gay could have been our best shot at a 3rd. superstar for another decade.
One game a season removed from. That's all you got. If we go by that, then none of these guys should even be in the league because every single one of them has gotten lit up at one time or another. Name 5 point guards who are better defensively than Mike James in the NBA.
1st, Jason Terry has lite up pretty much anyone he has played 1 on 1 for two years (did you not see what he did to GP or Jason Williams and anyone the Spurs threw at him). Wade and Bell, terrific defenders with size and quickness, were about the only guy to handle him in spurts. 2nd, Mike James looked a lot better versus Terry than any of our other guards did (Sura?).
Sorry, I didnt give full details. It was a late regular season game in 2005 (in L.A.), right before they played Dallas in the playoffs. If Mike James is a suspect defender he sure didnt look like it that game. He had like 4 steals and 2 deflections and coulda had 2 more steals if not for ticky tack foul calls. The whole team played well though not just him, and they were in prime playoff form. *This I note WITHOUT JUWAN HOWARD, who was out with injury). Padgett filled in admirably in his place, and then the Dallas fiasco happened later, but thats a whole other thread.......
The answer to your question is Yes, we have to have Mike James. Now the reason: This year's free agent class is crap. If there were other good backcourt alternatives I wouldn't say that we "have to" have MJ back. We need a reliable third scoring option, and we need someone who can take over games should Yao or T-Mac go down. We needed a more reliable 3pt. shooter, and we needed someone who could fill in at the point occasionally. And we needed all that without a drop off in defensive intensity. Mike James fits all of these needs. From what I can see in this year's FA market, there's not another guy who would fit those needs, especially not someone who would play for around 5mil a year. Four Years/ around 20 mil, with a team option for a 5th.
i think if he can eventually develop into a true PG, he is worth it. seeing that he'll be in his mid 30's, he won't be able to score as much or create his own shot at that age, especially at that height. he's going to have to improve later in his career with his point guard skills if he wants to be effective for that long.
He doesn't necessarily need to improve his point guard skills. James just needs to play defense and knock down shots. The majority of the passes should come from Yao and McGrady, who will be getting doubled. James is a bigger, tougher Jason Eugene Terry.
I definetyly think we need him..he is a bargain for th eMLE.....if we don't get him,, this offseason will be a disaster....he is exactly what we need....
I voted no. Mike James would certainly make the Rockets better, but I look around at how everybody complains about Juwan and his unmovable contract and I realize Juwan was actually younger than Mike James when he was given that contract. Not only is it not unreasonable to project that we might regret the 4th and 5th years of that contract, but we could even regret the 3rd. It's easy to say we don't have to worry about the luxury tax as fans because it isn't our money, but so long as Les Alexander is worried about the luxury tax we should be too. I want our team to remain capable of acquiring the talent they need year in and year out. Not just this year. That said, I'd be really tempted to give him a five year deal using the TE if he agreed to it because that would free us up to use the MLE for some much needed depth. If that happened, then I truly do believe we'd be contenders this year.
Kurt Hinrich, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Earl Watson, Jason Terry off the top of my head. Hell, David Wesley is better defensively than Mike James. Mike James isn't bad defensively, but don't make him out to be more than he is.
By the way, I voted no. I'd like to have James and would give him 4 years, but he's hardly a player that makes or breaks a team.
Kirk Hinrich is NOT better defensively than Mike James. I watched numerous Bulls games last year- he's OK with steals and the passing lane, but one-on-one? No way.
Yes, I do not object that he can help. Based on his 2005-06 stats. yes. based on his career... it is hard to say What Rox really need is a SG with good SIZE, defense and shooting, i.e., Brandon Roy. So MJ is NOT EXACTLY what we need. but what's available on the market. How I wish we lost to Denver and retained 6 seed in draft...
it's not about whether we need MJ. Of course we NEED him, but you have to consider how much you are willing to pay for that need. 5 years is way too much considering he is already 31 and peaked.
Jeff surely its a combination of James, Yao Ming and Tracy Mc Grady that will bring success to the Rockets. If not James as the missing piece, then who would you suggest?
Try and imagine that James signs with the Mavs!! Do you think that the rox can get out of the first round?
You've got to be kidding me, right? The man drew Dwyane Wade duty and did a better job guarding him than anyone else in the playoffs. He's the best in the NBA at avoiding being picked. And you think Mike James is better defensively than him? If my subjective evaluation doesn't satisfy you, compare them statistically: Mike James Kirk Hinrich
