I didn't click the link, but I assume they are as clueless as the ESPN commentators who said Rafer won't be a huge dropoff from what Jameer Nelson had been giving the Magic. Jameer Nelson helped raise the game of every key player on the Magic because defenses had to respect him or he torched them. I've lost count of how many daggers 3s he's nailed on the road late in tight games. Now defenses can completely dis Rafer while clamping down on Howard/Turkey-Glue/Lewis, which will make it harder for them to score and hamper their efficiency. I'm not saying this was a logical trade for the Magic if they couldn't do any better. It was a good move that will decelerate their decline into mediocrity.
Kenny or/and Charles said the Rafer trade pushes Orlando past Boston or Cleveland. Forgot which team. I like Rafer but I'm trying to figure out what is up with all the hype on this trade for Orlando.
I think he responded well as a professional. Best wish for Rafer especially he is in the east coast, so we won't see him go against us often.
Well done to Rafer showing class in that interview, as pointed out in this thread Morey didn't give the same class back to him. Whatever your views on Rafer hes had a hard go with the fans(at times its been fair though) yet he never complained when they signed up James and Francis and it was considered he was gone or getting no clock... never demanded to be traded and to me he tried as best as he could every game... I can't say the same for the rest of the team. Good luck to him and I hope the Magic do well.
I'll say one thing about Rafer: he knows how to handle himself in front of the media. TMac could learn a lot from Rafer on that.
It's like TheRealist137 said above. With Anthony Johnson and Tyronne Lue as their PGs, the Magic were toast. At least Rafer is worthy of being in someone's rotation, even if he's overmatched as a starter. I didn't hear anyone go so far as to say Rafer pushed them past the Cavs or Celts. That is totally ridiculous. It won't take long for Magic fans to figure out what they got. A couple more games similar to this one should do the trick.
Obviously, Rafer has more class than Morey, who was totally uncalled for with his cheap-shot at a guy who has started for your team for the past few years, and always played hard. This is good for both teams, the Magic got a true point guard who can control the tempo, and deliver the ball to the right spots; the Rockets team was going nowhere with Alston anyway, so this will give them a chance to see if Brooks can be a real PG for them in the future.
Yeah Morey is kidding himself if he really thinks he "upgraded" this team in the PRESENT with this trade. I would rather him be honest and say this was for the future. Unfortunately he doesn't want to be blunt and say we gave up on this season, and understandably so. Oh well.
Congrats Alston I'm happy your ass is gone too so I guess that makes two of us. I wish you luck on building that new arena for the Magic with your famous patented bricks. Just wish we could have scraped the dog crap off our other shoe and unloaded T-mac as well.
im glad he's happy. at least the rockets were classy enough to send him to a contender. tmac on the other hand was rumored to be sent to golden state...i guess you get what you earn
Rafer is happy now because he's the starting PG, he'll probably be less happy when Jameer comes back next year and he goes to the bench. After watching AB yesterday, I think the trade was more about the Rox being comfortable with AB taking over the starting PG position than about upgrading the PG position by getting Lowry. I had the sense that Rafer wouldn't have been happy with backup minutes and the Rox made the trade to head off any problems.
Wow great prediction. A lot of the magic fanboys were really excited about his arrival "Alston coming is like a ray of hope!" "Great move! He's not a world beater or anything, but at the start of the season Rafer and Jameer were on an equal level!" Not really knocking on Rafer, but my opinion on him is that his negatives almost always even out his positives, so you're left with a player who is only average overall. Sure he sets up people really well, however once people in the East figure out he can't shoot Hedo and Rashard are going to have greater trouble getting their shots up. Since teams are gonna leave him wide open, I don't doubt for a second that Alston is going to average the same or more shots there than he put up with us. They're going to have the same problem we had when Alston was here--live by Rafer (when he's hot) and die by Rafer (when he's not). Still, I can understand their optimism. Alston is league better than their lue/johnson combo lol.
its not like nelson is alot better, nelson just gotten better maybe. but i think rafer could improve with orlando. rafer always played better when mac was out (assist wise and points). it was a good trade for both teams though.
