The trade is a good one. The risk is calculated, but not as great as it has been made out. Fegwu hit it on the head - Alston doesn't need to be a star. He needs to do a few simple things. I'll take it one step further. When it's time to execute to win close games against good teams, Alston will NOT be on the floor. Van Gundy will go with a combination of Wesley, Anderson and Barry, probably Wesley and Andersen for perimeter defense. Down the stretch, T-Mac will handle the ball. If Alston is on the floor, that means that he has consistently played perimeter D and made good decisions. All Alston has to do is help us get there. He will bring the ball up in the first 3 quarters, thereby saving T-Mac a lot of energy. Alston just needs to take care of the ball, hit open 3's and play some perimeter D. He need not be an all-star. He just needs to do some simple things. CD and JVG determined that James was too shot happy, and would be more so in a contract year. Thus he was shipped.
dan dickau? are you serious??? the guy couldn't stay on damn roster longer for 2 months his first couple of years and after he plays decent for like 30 games on a horrible basketball team, he's a proven player...trust me, the kid is a fluke. he's a decent backup PG who can throw up a bunch of jumpers and put some points up. if skip's background bothers you, it really bothers me that dickau couldn't get off of the atlanta hawks bench.
No offense, but I don't put Houston on the same level as San Antonio or Miami. I don't Rafer has the mental make up to play for a bona fide Finals team, therefore Houston is a better situation for him. A strong contender who needs him to perform well, but he suffers from either brain lapses or want to be a hero just a wee bit too often for him to be the guy to put the Rox on the same level as San Antonio or Houston. Sometimes. Often even, but not enough of the time. Bingo. Rafer will be a help, but not the saviour that some are making him out to be. He will get the team so far, but not all the way. That's all I'm saying. Hell, I'd like nothing better than for him to succeed (in spite of TMac being there)... I just wanted to paint a more realistic scenario for people in here who may not know him and are getting a little carried away with their expectations.
