Thats harsh. Sura played injured the majority of the season. He was in pain the entire playoffs with injuries most players would not have attempted to play with. As far as MJ, he's just too streaky. You never know what you will get from him from one night to the next. Unfortunately, each night he has to get his shots, regardless of his production.
I'm not a huge fan of Mike James because the offense seems stagnant when he's on the floor. However, I do think he can be valuable providing energy and scoring off the bench and I don't really want to see him gone unless we get something better in exchange or the Rockets have plans to improve that position through free agency. I think the arguments against getting rid of him in this thread have been somewhat silly though. Essentially they all just claim that everybody we have on the roster is crap. Well, if we were trading Mike James, wouldn't we be getting somebody else in return? Or at the least, wouldn't we be sure to strengthen that position through other trades or free agency? I don't think anybody is advocating just waiving him outright.
Let's stop the Sura bashing. The guy played hurt all season, staggered into the playoffs, and played poorly while in the worst pain of his life. Give me a break. Sura played very well through most of the year. The guy averaged 10/5, and shot over 40% from the field. He also gave us added toughness which we needed badly. I like Mike James, but thought that when he controled the ball, when he was at the point, the offense stalled. ie. passing stoped and it was iso time, MJ's iso time. When Sura was at the point (healthy), the tempo of the game seemed to go smoother, and there was much more passing. I like Mike at the 2, but I don't like him at the one. The thing is, he's got to be traded because he's not a part of the future (he's going to bolt), he has value, and we just drafted a 1/2. Also, like Wesley, he's doesn't have ideal height to play the 2. None of our guards do, and that's why we've got to make some changes.
MIKE JAMES IS UNDER CONTRACT FOR TWO MORE SEASONS, OKAY? All of this talk of us "needing" to deal him because he's going to bolt after the 06-07 season is unnecessary. Some people make it sound like he's going to be a FA after this season. Sure, he isn't in our long term plans due to the likes of Spanoulis and Luther Head but there is no NEED to deal him NOW. Fact: he's one of the best backup PG's in the league. "But the offense is stagnant when he's in....blah blah blah blah blah" HE DOESN'T PLAY ISO BALL ALL THE TIME. There were plenty of times when T-Mac played ISO ball in spurts, do we need to sink to a lower level and start calling him a ballhog again? James CAN run the offense but he's not a starter---hasn't ever been and wont be by the time he is 32 and looking for a new contract. Are teams really going to fork out big money for a 32 year old career backup? I don't think so which is why I believe these quotes about him "cashing in" are being taken out of context. If a deal comes along to improve the team and we need to part ways with James, so be it. But given the uncertaintly of Sura's health and the fact that our future in the backcourt presently resides on Spanoulis/Head, two guys who have NEVER played a second in the NBA nor provide any form of a guarentee of their success---having a sure-thing type player such as James around is extremely valuable. If we keep him and by the time his deal runs out, if he finds a team that will pay him---good for him. Hopefully by that time Spanoulis and Head will have progressed enough to be ready to enter the rotation. But for now, let's not get trigger happy and take for granted what we already have.
People are blowing one or two games in the playoffs out of proportion. Even in the playoffs, there were stretches in which it seemed nobody wanted to shoot the ball except James. James and Barry are the ones who stepped up. Is Mike James stagnating the offense the reason we won 50 games with James playing through the 4th qtrs?
Guys if he has trade value than please don't criticize him. Tell people how great he is, and how he can make a team better. But in my opinion, we should hold on to Mike James, because he is going to be a great bench player, like bobby jackson was for Sacramento. So he won't be playing major minutes with Tracy Mcgrady, or any other starter. If we find a very solid PG than i will keep MJ because he is a good player and you don't trade players like him who are quick and have good D. The only time i would consider trading him is, if we are having hard time trading others. I would package him with the untradable players for a good player.
James is simply under contract for two more seasons; no options whatsoever according to Hoopshype. People are talking about trading him because he has the most trade value outside of guys named McGrady and Yao. I'd much rather keep James than Sura, but if we could land a good starting PG with Sura coming off the bench, then I wouldn't mind so much. But the truth is that I don't want either guy starting.
according to a previous post, he said on radio he was opting out after next season. maybe misunderstood it
I don't want to get rid of him - but his flaws are blindingly obvious. (1) he's selfish as hell and/or (2) he has the court vision of a tuna
i have no problem with james and like what he brings to the table but he's far far far from untouchable. as for sura, his only question mark is his health. at his age he might not be fast enough to keep up with the quicker guards but on most nights he should be fine. alot of people forget that when he was healthy the rockets played by far their basketball of the season. this coming month should be very exciting.
I like James, but he did ignore TMac one to many times for me in the Dallas series, when he starts dribbling, dribbling and 'feels' it he better deliver or I don't want that ball hog on the same floor with TMac, IMHO only TMac and Yao have the green light to hog the ball. Mark it down- Head (with JVG ordination) will be our starting PG by season end. (stop the LOL!)
No LOL here but its Puff, Puff, PASS! As for James, he is excellent trade bait to get a quality starting player. He already said he is opting out so he will be gone this summer or at least by the trade deadline.
I like him.. without him we dont have that spark off the bench that we were missing.. I know some times he looks like Steve lite, but it's not like he's playing 30+ mins..
This business that we need to trade him because he's going to follow the money as a free agent is ridiculous. All players do that; whoever we'd get for him in trade would do that too. And, the Rockets will be better equipped to pay him when he does become a free agent. His free agency is a nonissue. All the same, we have needs to fill and I see him as the biggest trade asset to fill them. His departure wouldn't be too damaging, so I'm all for shipping him out. Sura too, if he'll bring in what we need, even though I think Sura's rebounding, toughness, and control of the game will be harder to replace than James' speed and scoring.
It just depends on how you look at it. Sura was fantastic before he was reinjured before the all-star break, James showed some ability to run the offense when he cared to do so. I don't have a problem with keeping James, but I think JVG really has to rein him in if he's going to be effective. Sura is a big question mark with less trade value. And I don't think our immediate priority is pg, so it's all going to come down to what deals we may be offered and for who. I don't dislike James, but yes he annoyed me in the Mav's series.
