[Done Deal] Rockets dealing Juwan Howard for Mike James

I think that he'll start next year...Assuming Alston's still here, either at PG instead of Alston or at SG when alston starts (with t-mac at 3) depending on matchups....

And I believe he'll be happy enough...

In toronto 05/06 he took a total of 1610 shots...

Rafer this year took 1550 shots... So I'm sure there will be enough shot attempts to go around

 

good question, I doubt I did, It just that the whole "Trade Kicker/Juwan Incident" killed it for me.....

Like I said he is a decent PG, can hit the three pretty well and likes to hustle, he could help the rockets, but as a man he's a piece of ish! and I am not sure if I could accept him anymore

 

But you got remember Alston played insane amount of minutes this year.

 

Sorry. I'd been silently holding out hope that the Rockets would finally do something other than go backward (well, at least it's not Stevie Franchise). This move makes them somewhat better but is nowhere near enough to close the talent gap they face vs WC guards. And I am left scratching my head over how this makes them younger and more athletic. It seems that my initial concerns about Morey appear to be true (clueless) and I am not confident about who (or what) he'll come up with for the PF spot. It's gonna be a long season...

 

Rafer Played 3040 mins this year, James played 2925 in toronto....

I still dont think it's that much of a difference... I would expect James to shoot more than rafer anyway

 

If we don't trade Alston stay with the James-and-Alston combo for PG, I could see Alston starting with James coming in and playing more of a sixth-man role. I can even imagine going with Alston at PG and James at SG at times depending on the matchup.

What I'm wondering though is what will happen to Head. James could make him redundent.

 

James has always been CD's guy. Does this mean CD is still laying in the weeds pulling some strings?

 

Exactly
MJ + Howard < MJ - Howard

Rocket River

 

Actually this is even better b/c we finally found a way to dump Juwan and his ridiculous salary!

 

I hope this trade works out a lot better for us than I see it. I know I'm in the minority on this, and am not trying to change any happy minds. This doesn't strike me as a big win.

Not economically, especially with the kicker involved. I believe this is a double hit to our locker room chemistry. I don't believe James operates well as a PG, only as an undersized scoring guard. I believe there may have been better value deals to be had.

But next year will tell the truth, and I'll be there to see it. It is encouraging to see that the Rockets are going to make moves and continue to press to crack into the elite. I don't know if it will happen, but it's great to see them swinging.

Evan

 

In exchange for a contract that runs a year longer and will be due more money. Not really a big selling point for the trade.

Maybe this will rile the James fanclub, but he's barely worth half of what we'll be paying him.

 

Now he will have to defer to two players.

 

Honestly MJ's contract is at least as bad. I do expect James to give us more than Howard would next year, but I don't expect him to be more than a stop gap solution at PG. He certainly isn't young enough to build around nor good enough to consider the "missing link" between first round exit and title contention. He might be the link between first round exit and second round exit though. It's a decent move that could pay off big with other moves. It all depends on what else the rockets can do this offseason.

 

My point is neither will play that amount of minutes (35-37 min). It will be more likely 25 min for each. If his agent complained about deferring to Kevin Garnett as the reason he is not happy now, how can he be happy to defer to BOTH TMac and Yao?

 

I gotta agree that it's NOT a big win. I've never been a fan of Mr. Shoot First, Mike James...he's not the facilitator we need at the point and he's way undersized at SG (we already have one of those in Luther Head, don't we?). IMHO, anybody can go up to Toronto and lose a lot while jacking up a bunch of shots to pad your stats for ONE season.

The only thing more inflated than his stats and his perceived value is his ego.

I hope this doesn't hinder us from moves that really will benefit the team.

 

I think MJ may fill the Bobby Jackson type of role on this Rockets team, energy and scoring punch off the bench.

DD

 

I have wanted Mike James for a long time, but have mixed feelings. I guess because of the timing.

It is the wierdest thing getting him after trading him and the two failed attempts to get him back.

I don't know if it is the best we can do, but the trade has promise, the more I think about it.. As many have noted, we do have a shortage of trade bait aside from Yao, T Mac, and Battier.

1) James is the tough guy, and very probably the third scorer that we need. With his driving, James can even demand the double team at times. Too bad we did not have James earlier or we would have won the Jazz series.

2) Shane can now be Shane without hurting the team on offense. Mike also can set up Shane.

3) Rafer can be traded or be less hurtful. Rafer can play big minutes, perhaps, even start. He must be replaced by James at crunch time so that Tracy does not have to not only beat the double or even triple team, but set up the alleged PG, i.e. Rafer for his outside shot. Mike would take it to the basket time and time again if they double or triple team Tracy-- not just stand around waiting for Tracy to shoot or pass out of the double or triple team. A Rafer, Tracy, Shane, James combo might be useful at times in the running game, though,of course, Rafer cannot finish with the slightest traffic.

4) Howard was a nice guy, and even useful as the scoring big man when Yao was out, but overall it is good to get rid of his contract. Realistically what more could we have gotten for just Juwan, who might have that much left in the tank?

 

I love this trade even more this morning.

I can't WAIT to see who is on the team next year, I expect a lot of changes in the people that are on the team and in the rotation.

Gonna be fun.

DD

 

I think this is probably a good move.

They definitely need help at power forward.

 

People are acting like this is only move we are going to make all offseason, just wait and see what the rest of the picture develops into...

You guys are fooling yourselves if you think we didn't get the better end of a straight-up swap (there may be more players/picks involved). We needed a third scorer, quickness, and consistent shooting from someone closer to 6 foot tall than 7 and we got it, better late than never...

Good job Rockets brass!