I don't know why people are in such a hurry to trade Alston. Sure he's not he best PG in the league, but he's not that bad either. Having both James AND Alston makes us a stronger team. Getting rid of Alston kind of defeats the purpose of why we got James. Aaron Brooks will not be ready for a couple of seasons and it's great insurance in case someone gets hurt. And I still see Rafer still as the starter running the offense with Yao and Tmac. James and Bonzi are the primary scorers off the bench. There just won't be enough shots to go around with James/Tmac/Yao all on the court at the same time. If we look to move any players it should be Luther Head, JL3, or Steve Novak. They are all limited in what they can bring to this team. Alston/James/Brooks TMac/Snyder Battier/Bonzi Scola/Hayes Yao/Deke/Butler I think that is your 12 man roster at this point. If we keep Luther then Butler or Brooks will be rotated on the phantom injury list. Or maybe we don't resign Deke now with Butler and open up a spot for Luther.
Rafer lovers feeling the pressure of one Steve Francis coming to Houston? I cannot wait for the Skip to my Lou fans nervous breakdown thread. Get him out of here.
im with you. it doesnt make sense to trade rafer and only be stuck with MJ, brooks and maybe francis (if some have their way). rafer's always been the easy whipping boy, for the obvious reasons..i guess people just dont really understand what he really does
well this thread is surely necessary... defintiely adds some unique insight beyond the 20 other different threads dedicated to the same topic...
Yeah, I hope the Rockets keep Alston. He and James would make a solid duo..with some cameos by Brooks.
I totally agree. You cannot discount Alstons value. He knows how to run an offense and his defense is not that bad. Morey will not trade him because he can analyze numbers. The +/- needs to go down first before you can trade him. He had the highest +/- on the team even more thn TMAC. I know it is because of the backup PG but I would make sure before I get rid of a player with these kind of numbers.
Rafer does pass the ball well but his shooting has been his down fall. He needs to get a better percentage going this season if he stays. I don't see why he should be the first to go if SF3 does come back. I would rather have Synder, Novak, Lucas III, Reed being dealt. I think that would be enough add SF3 without losing Rafer and Luther.
I don't see why the Rockets can't keep Alston. A 15 man roster should have room for 6 guards with one on the inactive reserve. The guard rotation would be T-Mac, James, Alston, and Francis. Brooks may crack the rotation or be on the IR. Snyder and Head will have to fight it out to see who stays, but to be honest, Francis would be an upgrade over Head or Snyder so we should do it. I don't count Sura or JLIII on the list because they should be gone before the season starts.
I have seen both play pg in hundreds of games and I know Rafer can get in position and distribute a heck of a lot faster than Steve can.
Come on guys. I don't understand the love for Francis here. What did he do when he was here? Not a damn thing. And while he may be more talented than Alston, he is NOT a good fit on THIS team. We need someone to RUN an offense, not dribble for 2 years then jack up a garbage shot. All I have to say is if we go into the season with James and Francis as our PGs we will be in trouble!
Morey knows Rafer's stats are HEAVILY skewed by playing with Yao and Tmac....... DO TRADE ALSTON !!!! Otherwise, teams will continue to leave this dribbling scrub wide open and cover the other 4 Rockets on the court with him. You need 5 players capable of hitting shots, that is what the elite teams have.... Rafer, would not start in most NBDL games, much less the summer league. His skills are eroding faster than the banks of the Mississippe river. DD
If steve signed today he is behind Mac, Yao and Wells as scoring options and is on par with Mike James also Battier and maybe even Scola are better all around players. If you sign Steve you sign him to take Luther's spot because he is just a significant talent upgrade over Head
if there is a chance, I'd trade Alston as quickly as I would trade Howard. then we wont hear losers repeating these : "Alston is enough for Rockets" , "no Rockets is better at PG than Rafer." "Rafer has best dribble."
I would put Francis with James as possible 3rd scoring threat behind T-Mac and Yao. Bonzi and Scola will contribute, but aren't that good right now as far as I'm concerned. Maybe they'll develop as the season progresses, but we'll see. Nevertheless, I agree with you that it will be Head or maybe Snyder that will get the boot with Francis coming. Alston is a servicable pure PG and should be kept over Head and Snyder since we've got James and Francis for shoot-first PGs.
