Heat Continue Discussions With Rockets For Alston 7-25-07

Can't believe they would take Trash Parker, who has completely sucked w/ the Fakers, over Rafer.

They must be out of money and looked desperately for the cheapest garbage out there.

 

Actually, Rafer has a very reasonable contract. Around $4.5M per season for a steady ballhandler who can give you 10-15 ppg and 5+ apg is well below the going rate these days. As sad as THAT is.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/184682.html

Time for Morey to start calling MJ in Charlotte.

 

Until some team finally takes him off the Rockets he's untradeable Anyway he was labelled untradeable in his final year in Toronto.

 

Not according to the Miami Herald... they could have traded him for the expiring contract of Doleac, but chose not to, it seems.

 

so Alston to Miami is DEAD. Bring on talks for Jeff Foster!!!

 

Yes, I think Jeff Foster is the big man Rox really needs, let do it.

 

Smush was one of the few FA guards of any caliber left. And he isn't as good as Rafer.

Rafer has some value. He is better than Blake and Smush, and they got signed using at least a substantial part of the MLE. What may have happened with the Heat was they just offered garbage (Doleac). They had to bring in Haslem or a 1st round pick, I guess they didn't.

Miami or other teams may still want Rafer. Mia can't be confident in Williams-Parker. We could always do Rafer + end of the rotation players for Williams (big expiring) + pick. One way to shed salary and players, a lot better than Doleac + (they would have to add in other players, Alston for Doleac doesn't work).

And no to Foster unless it is a combination of complete wastes/marginal NBA players. Deke is a better and cheaper back up center (what Foster really is). Hayes is a better power forward (Hayes is offensively potent by comparison and has much better quickness to guard 4s). Foster's contract is actually higher than Alston for the next 2 years.

So, keep on shopping Alston and don't settle for Doleac + change or Foster unless we get picks out of it.

 

I think foster is a good fit. For speed we can have Hayes, then for size purposes, we can have Foster in there banging with the best in the West. Scola starts the games as our offensive pf. I think a combination of those three players is pretty good.

I have watched Foster for quite a few years, and I think he has the mobility to keep up with pfs.

 

I agree Deke is a good backup Center. But he won't play after this year. After lease with Foster we can get 2-3 years out of him. You mention he is a center - right. But in Adelman's system, I think he will see the 4 and 5.

 

Looking at this from a Heats fan perspective, they believe they are still a title contender in the East, and with a healthy Shaq/D-Wade, they have a legit shot.

Udonis Haslem is a young 27-year old PF who nearly averages 10 points and 10 rebounds a game.

How is trading hm for Rafer Alston, a BACKUP PG, going to help their team. Sure Rafer would help, but at the cost of losing Haslem? They have no one to replace him with: Wayne Simeon, Antoine Walker, yuck.

 

For about the same money I'd rather have SAR or Marshall as a 3rd PF to Hayes (defense, rebounding) and Scola (will see). At least we would have a vet guy who can come in and for sure not limit our offense even more than Hayes does (Hayes by comparison is a legit offenisve theat).

Foster played all his minutes at C last year. And his ratings (own production, +/-) were worse than say Ike Diogu (who played PF and C). And Indy wasn't very good. If we went for a PF/C off Indy, Diogu would be the only guy after Oneal I look at value/contract/production wise (an obviously we don't have the pieces for Oneal). SAR doesn't look good in this respects either, but he has been an efficient player at times in the league and can put the ball in the basket. As a 3rd alternative to Scola and Hayes he would bring some security.

The Rockets were actually a really excellent defense and rebounding team, but mediocre in offense. We don't need to get an even more 1 dimensional player than Chuck Hayes or Rafer Alston into the rotation, particularly at MLE level money. Jeff Foster, though not a bad back up C, is quite a bit more one dimensional than either.

 

I'd like to see a Head/ Alston for resigned Jamal Magloire.

 

bad news, heat signs smush parker

 

For it to make sense I think it would have to be Alston and Hayes (S&T) for Haslem. My personal opinion is it would have made both teams better. Particularly if Miami had used their MLE on a guy like Barnes. If they added Alston, Hayes and Barnes to the mix including Wade/Shaq/Zo/Walker/Williams I think they might have add the athleticism and perimeter quickness they needed. But it looks like they didn't follow my plan for them if they actually broke up the MLE (instead of using the LLE) for Parker

 

If Portland sent us their 1st round pick too, maybe. Otherwise Head or Alston alone is probably worth more than Magloire.

And given we have Yao, Butler, and should be able to get one of the best back-ups for Yao in Deke for cheap, back-up C is not a priority.

Too many around here just assume these centers like Magloire, Etan Thomas, Jeff Foster, etc., can hang as power forwards. Maybe they can in a pinch, but they are much less of power forwards than Chuck Hayes. We are not trying to pair Cato 2 with Yao. The last thing we need is another guy who can be ignored on offense, clog the middle, or slow down defensive rotations/perimeter quickness around Yao. Chuck Hayes is as marginal in some departments as I want to go in the PF rotation.

 

It looks like the Miami Heat discussions are over:

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/184682.html

Heat agrees to terms with guard Parker

BY BARRY JACKSON

bjackson@MiamiHerald.com

The Heat concluded its nearly month-long search for a veteran point guard Friday when it agreed to terms with guard Smush Parker, two sources said. Parker started most of the past two years for the Lakers before losing his starting job late last season.

Parker, 26, is believed to have agreed to a two-year contract for a portion of the Heat's $5.35 million mid-level exception. The deal is contingent on Parker passing a physical on Monday.

Parker, 6-4, is considered a strong on-the-ball defender and skilled three-point shooter -- he shot 36.5 percent on threes last season (110 for 301) and gives Miami another outside threat to help compensate for the loss of small forward Jason Kapo no, who signed with Toronto. But Parker, who also can play shooting guard, is a below-average free-throw shooter (64.6 percent last season, 71 percent for his career) and always has had a poor assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9 career assist average, compared with 1.84 turnovers). His lo w assist numbers with the Lakers were partly a function of Phil Jackson's offense, according to a personnel director with another team.

Parker, who essentially replaces free agent Gary Payton on the Heat's roster, is expected to back up Jason Williams, who has one year left on his contract at $8.9 million. Williams missed 44 games the past two seasons with knee problems and other ailments.

A shooting guard at Fordham, Parker went undrafted in 2002. He became primarily a point guard in the pros and had stints with Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix and a team in the Greek league.

A native of New York, Parker joined the Lakers in the summer of 2005, and emerged as a surprise starter, shooting 44.7 percent from the field and averaging 34 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.7 assists, 1.8 turnovers and 1.7 steals in 82 games, all starts .

Parker's numbers declined slightly last season (30 minutes, 43.6 percent from the field, 11.1 points, 2.8 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.5 steals). He lost his starting job to rookie Jordan Farmar for the final two games of the regular season and the playoffs.

In five playoff games against Phoenix, Parker shot 2 for 13 from the field and averaged just 11.8 minutes. The Lakers did not try to re-sign him, but the Clippers showed interest recently.

Parker's first name is Henry, but his father was nicknamed Smush, and Williams was given that nickname by his uncle, who died when Parker was 8.

The Heat turned to Parker after unsuccessful earlier attempts to acquire Mo Williams, who re-signed with Milwaukee, and Steve Francis, who joined Houston. Miami also spoke with free-agent point guards Steve Blake (who signed with Portland), Jason Hart (Utah) and Jannero Pargo (who's still unsigned). Other point guards still unsigned include Brevin Knight and Earl Boykins.

During the past week, the Heat also has been unable to pull off a trade for Houston's Rafer Alston (the Rockets were believed to want more than center Michael Doleac) or FC Barcelona combo guard Juan Carlos Navarro, whose rights are owned by the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have shown no interest in accepting a draft pick from the Heat for Navarro.

 

thats good news, but we still need to trade his ass

 

I know as a rookie, I can't really start any threads....but, the Miami Herald said Morey was exploring other options...... I'm wondering what the other options could be? Indiana, Portland, New York, Denver....? If it's not Haslem, then what's the next logical choice?

 

Cavs, Clippers are two teams that need help at the PG spot Urgently.