EXACTLY... Everyone thinks rafer sucks but he had to play freaking 40 minutes a game, he is no superstar if he gets stuck with that many minutes he is gonna look very bad and his shot will be completely off. Rafer AND James are good for no morethan 25-30 min a game (James is older than Rafer and no one can say James can play more min that that unless they hadn't been watching him in minny) So that would be decent 2 headed monster and PG. Oh BTW, that makes it almost clear what Rockets plan on doing (I THINK, well at least I Hope): Battier, Head? for Wilcox Sura, Vspan, Pick, Snyder for Artest Would leave us nicely prepared James, Alston Tmac, Wells Artest, Novak Wilcox, Hayes Yao, Deke, Jake Not bad.
I say keep the combo of james/alston for great depth at the pg Use the MLE for a PF Trade Bob Sura, Kirk Snyder, V-Span, and even Novak to land another decent PF Head could possibly hold good value but i hate to lose him
I wonder if Minny was saying the same thing? There is sure to be some sucker that will take our backup pg and his bloated contract and huge ego.
If Rafer and Mike James were on last year's team, Rafer would have started. You play Yao in the low post, someone has to get the offense started, and get the ball to Yao. Mike James isn't good at that. Now Rafer would have come out with Yao all the time and his minutes would have been cut to probably less than 30 mpg, with Mike James making up the difference. Contrary to popular opinion, Rafer wasn't the problem with the team. The fact that he had no viable backup was a problem with the team.
That wouldn't be bad. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with Wilcox but he does have the tools. Can he hit a midrange jumper? How is his passing? I'm going to assume both are sub-par. Still, it'd be great to add somebody with his size and athleticism and one would hope that the fire Chuck Hayes plays with would make Wilcox bring up the intensity to compete for his spot. But the part really makes me drool over your proposed moves is that you forgot all about the MLE. We could potentially have a roster like that and still have the MLE to add some extra depth. And honestly, that's what the MLE is ideal for. It is generally less than ideal scenario to use the MLE to find a starter. With your proposed roster, the weakest position depth wise is actually the SG/SF spot because we have to depend on an unreliable Bonzi Wells and an unproven Steve Novak - luckily, SG/SF is the deepest position in free agency. The following are possible targets at SG/SF that I would consider desirable, some of whom may eventually go higher than MLE and some quite a bit lower: Matt Carroll Gerald Wallace Andres Nocioni Devean George Jerry Stackhouse Mickael Pietrius Matt Barnes Quinton Ross James Singleton Luke Walton James Posey Vince Carter Desmond Mason Grant Hill Ime Udoka Michael Finley Rashard Lewis Morris Peterson DeShawn Stevenson Some of those guys may not fit well with Adelman's system, others will be returning to their original teams, certainly some are a bit over the hill, but nonetheless, it looks like we ought to easily be able to add depth at the wings. That's a big part of the reason I'm okay with them trading Battier.
exactly. rafer takes a lot of unwarrented flak considering he was put in a bad position. i'd rather not have james on the court with yao and tmac at the same time, at least not to start games.
We had absolutely no depth at the point last season. Now we do, if this deal goes through. No way you trade Rafer unless you get a legit backup point, or a young point who has proven on the court that he can be a backup, might become a starter, and has that potential to improve over the next couple of seasons. Even then, I'd rather have proven, NBA quality point guards 3 deep. Perhaps James, Alston, and Jack. Or James, "?" and Jack. Or someone else, if we trade Rafer and don't make the deal getting Jack and Outlaw. And, to be clear, I'm not at all hung up on James starting. Whatever works out best for Adelman. One of the most frustrating experiences I've had as a Rockets fan from the time they moved to Houston, and there have been a LOT, is watching the Rockets last season with Rafer freakin' Alston starting at the point and NO ONE behind him. No Allen Leavell. No Scottie Brooks. Nothing. Only McGrady playing the role, when he should have been concentrating on killing the other team with his OTHER skills.
We have a great PG combo now and the only reason to break it up is if we can somehow acquire a better PF than Hayes in a package deal. Before we do anything else, we need to get our hands on a PF. Maybe Rasheed Wallace is attainable? He makes decent money, but he can be had for depth and expiring contracts and a pick I believe. They have two young guys waiting to explode (Maxiell, Johnson), McDyess, Nazr Mohammed, and could bring back Webber as well. I'd like to think that we're looking for a PF before anything else right now. It's a big hole, and I hope Adelman doesn't expect to fill it with the players we have right now.
Winner. MJ will do nothing but take shots from Mac and Yao if he starts. He *should* be the 2nd scoring option when Yao or Mac is on the bench.
Its not like we got an all-star caliber PG that we can get rid of Rafer. We only got Mike James. However, this deal is an upgrade since we do get rid of Juwan Howard (who lowers our lenova +/- and other team stats), and bring in Mike James, who with Rafer Alston can keep each other in check (if Adelman can somehow fuel a friendly teammate rivalry between them) as well as reduce Alstons minutes.
I fully expect Rafer to be our starter. By all the rumors, it seems like we will have more than enough scoring power in our starting line-up next year. We don't need Mike James to play that role for us, he is more valuable to us as someone to pick up the slack when others aren't coming through (which rafer can't do). A facilitator is going to be a much better fit for our starting line-up -- Rafer has MJ beat there.
I think Rafer and James make a good combination at 1. Rafer sucked last year because he was asked to play 40+ minutes. With some much needed help Rafer will do well in Adelman's fast offense. I like Rafer starting because we won't need anymore scoring (given we make more aquisitions), and would like to have James off the bench as the spark, playing the "Bobby Jackson role." I like this move.
Hard to say what the Rockets will do with Alston, but an Alston/James combo does not excite me. They’re both average backup point guards over the age of 30. I don’t think that’s good enough to get it done in the West, land of the great point guards. I don’t consider it an upgrade from our point guard situation a couple seasons ago with Sura and a younger Mike James. The power forward position is obviously the next position to be addressed, but I would definitely still look to make a move to improve the point guard situation. Our main trading assets this summer are Battier, Alston, Head, and the #26 pick. Hopefully, we can parlay that into a new starting point guard and power forward, or at least someone young and talented enough to be groomed into a starter in the future.
i'd rather have Francis than MJ. They are the same kind of player, but Francis has more upside and a better attitude at this point in his career.
Keep Rafer, trade Head and trade Lucus if you can either get something for him or if it's a salery match. See the good thing about James is he can play with both Rafer and or Span in the backcourt with him. Head is one dimentional and his value will never be higher with the rookie contract he is still under. Sura (large number but 1 million dollar buy out) and Luther for something we can use. Or Battier (don't want to get rid of him but), Sura and Head for Marrion or Lewis
LOL better attitude, you mean like skipping team flights to go to the Super Bowl and shady injuries poping up with diminished playing time. James is a little crazy but that is what this group of choir boys need IMO.
