I did mention it, although not specifically. Go back and read. Also, the comparison to be made is to Rafer to Brooks. Which one is better? Hands down, Rafer is better. He's a known commodity. Brooks is a complete unknown. When was the last Houston guard drafted low turned out decent? Mobley. If Steve and/or James got hurt, would you be worried if Rafer had to start 20 games. Knowing what you know RIGHT NOW, would you be worried if Aaron Brooks had to start 20 games. It's a no-brainer that Rafer is better than Aaron Brooks, right now. You gotta try to get some value in return for Rafer esp. since our PF spot is still questionable. If not, you gotta keep Rafer. Rafer is tied up for 3 years and Steve might not be here next season ...worst case.
No. No. I think you are contradicting yourself. Just because we know more about Rafer does not mean he is better than Brooks. It just means that with Rafer, we are more certain about what we will get. Brooks looks promising, though. Yes, I agree.
I would agree. I feel that Rafer Alston is worth a second round draft pick, at best. If the Rockets ever got a player in return for him, they better be glad they would get Michael Doleac, if anything. Daryl Morey thinks he is worth more than I or many other people believe on this board in a trade. I would have to declare that Rafer Alston has been the player with the highest amount of debate on this board for this current offseason as far as trading him is concerned. I have a question for any one of you on this board. If you were a GM, tell me why you would trade for him.
I don't mind keeping Rafer or if Les Alexander doesn't mind paying the Luxury Tax and we keep Deke. As for the rest of our scrubs...fooey! Waive them, send them away for cash and draft picks.
We can say, yeah, what if James and Francis got hurt. But what happens if Yao gets hurt, or Tmac gets hurt, or Scola, or Hayes? Right now, in a pinch, we have James, Alston, Brooks, Francis and Head who can give us some production at PG even if in the 2nd team roles get switched (Tmac is paired with Francis or Head for decision making). On the other hand, right now we only have 1 legit center, though hope to add Deke soon. (I feel a whole lot more optimistic for good minutes from Brooks at back-up PG this year than good minuts from Butler. Butler was in the league last year, and was a flat zero with little optimism from his team he could ever be productive, that is worse than not being in the league at all but tearing up the college and summer league ranks). And then move to PF. Our only proven NBA player is also a known limited 22MPG type player. Our best option, somewhat analogous to Brooks, has tore up other leagues (Spanish, International play) but is new to the NBA. As good as he may be, he almost certainly going to have major learning curves in not picking up fouls and trying to guard NBA athletes. So we are a little tenous here, even with guys healthy. (Landry I think is a non factor, he showed little to give us an indication he is anywhere near the NBA.) Anther concerning factor, Scola may be needed to provide back-up C minutes too. Further thinning the PF depth. So you put this together Alston is clearly a luxury if we can pick up a veteran big who we could count on for 15-20 minutes if needed. Or worst case, we should get his salary savings, future pick, and allow us to sign another big (Landry, Harris, someone else) we otherwise can't add. Our roster is just too thick in the guards and wings and too thin in bigs. Alston is most likely to go, but Head and even James (if Brooks or Francis shows enough and a great deal is on the table for him we can't get with Alston instead) are other possibilities.
Noone is saying that. we're or i'm just saying keep rafer as a insurance policyin the event of francis going down again with injury. looking at Stevie's prior medical history and to be bluntly frank, it's not matter of if, rather then When. Also i dont think adelman is planning to start francis. rather he will probaly use him as a combo guard to provide offense for the 2nd unit.
I agree. As a mainstay point guard, I absolutely think Alston is better than Francis (or at least a safer bet). As a player, and particular as a combo guard where he doesn't have to do much decision making, Francis is the superior player. We even have to consider the fact Francis is on the way of Derek Anderson. basically too much lost in athleticism for a player whose game is largely built on athleticism to remain a quality rotation player. I hope not, I don't think so, but it is possible. Rafer could still help a lot of teams, I just think we have a luxury of guard depth relative to other depth issues and he seems like the odd man out.
I cant believe I saw the words Playmaker to discribe Alston. Now thats about as oxymoron as it can get.
Let me re-phrase then, it is UNREAL how so many people are saying Rafer Alston is better than Steve Francis AS A POINT GUARD.
If I were Rafer, I'd be happy going to the Celtics. He's got just as good a chance of getting to the NBA finals up there as he does playing for the Rockets. Heck, he's got an even better chance up there with that stacked Boston team in an extremely weak Eastern Conference.
Rafer does need to be traded. If we dont we will be stuck with his contract for two more seasons after this one. I believe he will be 35 by the time his contract is up.
Neither one is all that and bag of chips. At this point, SF sux less. How much less remains to be seen, but he didn't cost much so he is worth the risk.
If Steve and Mike James got hurt, I would rather the time go to Aaron Brooks. Rafer is done here, and good riddance.....bad trade....bad trade... If we get a 2nd round pick for him don't we also get a trade exception? I think there is a good chance he gets bought out too....I would be shocked if he is in training camp. DD
Wait you mean the same Steve Francis who got beat out of rotation minutes in a sub 500 New York team. The same Steve Francis Portland decided would rather buy out at 90% of his contract yet then committ double the money saved in that buyout for a poor mans Rafer Alston (Steve Blake). I mean we all hope for a Steve Francis resurgence, but some NBA teams and NBA scouts obviously think it is anything but a sure thing. And even if we see a resurgent Francis, we know from his consistent record of TOs his best role is likely as a back-up combo guard without a lot of traditional PG roles/duties.
100% agree. If we can trade Rafer for a servicable big, then pull the trigger. But all these folks suggesting we should CUT Rafer are just plain silly. I promise you that Brooks will not put up better numbers than Rafer after, say, two seasons. Rookies just don't come in and make such an impact esp at PG unless they were lottery picks on crap teams. I PROMISE you, Rafer is a more productive NBA player last season than Brooks this season ...despite how promising Brooks looks. VSpan looked promising. JL3 looked promising. Eddie Griffin ... Stromile Swift ... etc. "Potential" means you haven't done $hit, yet. If Rafer could hit a shot, he's otherwise a top ten PG. Brooks ain't gonna step in his first year and outplay Rafer, sorry.
Hit a shot Play defense Slash to the basket Finish at the basket Be able to hit free throws Stop shooting so ****ing much and realize he is a point guard Put up better assist numbers Be able to run a fast break consistently Yeah, if Rafer could do any of those things he would belong in the NBA. He probably would not even think of himself as a top ten anything in his wildest dreams.
