Oh is this a Head with Howard or James poll? I didn't see that! Thanks for pointing that out. When we traded Juwan we got almost 2 1/2 yrs younger, and the James contract is less than Juwan's. James is faster than Juwan. Juwan used to be a stud in the league years ago, he had a great career and made a ton of money. Thanks Juwan. Now let's move on.
I really can't find the purpose of having both Mike James and Steve Francis. Juwan is quite worthless as well, but at least he would have been a nice trade bargaining chip next year, and a cooler head in the locker room.
Bringing Steve and Scola means Rafer and Juwan immediately go to the bench and are reduced to 15-20 min each maximum ...assuming they are still on the team. I know everybody hates Rafer and Juwan so not only is this an uphill conversation but it's pointless at this stage since Juwan is gone and Rafer is the odd man out. Regardless, I've got no problems having Rafer and Juwan available to me off the bench given our circumstances. 1. If we trade Rafer, we don't have a PG to reliably bring the ball down the court. This myth that Rafer shoots too much is overblown. JVG has said many times that the Rockets are a 3point shooting team. I firmly beleive that JVG gave Rafer the green light to shoot 3's. I'd blame JVG more than Rafer for the quantity of his shots. 2. Unless Scola turns into a 40mpg guy, we still need somebody to come in and play some minutes and won't make a bunch of mental mistakes. Like JVG, Adlemen demands "smart" players. Juwan and Rafer won't kill you because of mistakes ...like Steve Francis can. With Rafer gone, I'm a little worried that our PG position will always be a ?. So we'll see. If we can something of value in return for Rafer, then at this point you gotta pull the trigger. I'll just hope that Stevie becomes rejuvinated back home and makes this whole conversation moot.
we'll realize how much rafer meant to us if francis runs the point. i dont think its physically possible for him to catch the ball and pass it without looking to dribble or shoot it. adelman's offense requires smart players who know how to pass fast and accurately...these are big question marks for francis.
I'll go with MJ since we desperately needed a PG. We got scola and hayes at the 4 right now and i am sensing maybe DM will pull the trigger in the coming weeks to get us another PF. Mike James is an athletic PG who can penetrate and shoot 3s. If we kept Juwan and only have SF3, Rafer and brooks at the point, we lack 3 pt shooting. Currently in our roster, we only have head who is a spot up 3 pt shooting guard. The addition of mike james will allow us to have another player who can hit the 3 when yao is double team. That gives us Mike James, Shane Battier and Luther Head who make clutch 3 pt shots. I'll definitely take MJ over JHo.
My guess is that both James and Howard are really going to suck next season, so it really does not matter if we did the trade or not.
Juwan Howard sucks and is old anways, he didnt even show up in the playoffs against the UTAH j*zz , I'll take MIKE JAMES over juwan howard anyday of the week... no point of this thread when we have Scola
I don't agree with that MJ and SF are the same type of players. They bring different things to the table. Even if it was the case, REDUNDANCY IS BETTER THAN USELESSNESS.
Rafer chucked up 3 after 3 last year. And Alston is the complete opposite of a smart player. Alston is a scrub and doesnt deserve to start on any nba team On another note, I dont understand why people care that James and Francis are the same type of player. Bibby and Bobby J were very similar, and very successful.
Mike James by far. Younger, more athletic, and can score. Juwan is old and doesn't score, but provides great leadership in the locker room.
james is better than howard, and until steve proves it otherwise, he's atleast as good as francis as well. there's nothing wrong with having two additional guards who can create shots for themselves and actually make them. last year that list included t-mac and that's it. howard was a great lockeroom presence and if he wants to assistant coach here in the future, great, but his on-court skills diminished greatly in the second half and he was non-existant in the playoffs. scola should be able to replace him by himself, probably even out-performing him.
You know, if JH was the leader, then where exactly did he lead us to? You may have reservations about how quickly Scola adjust, but c'mon are you telling me that the best player in Europe is not at least as good as a 35-year old Juwon effing Howard? I'm not saying Scola will be an All-Star, or ROY or any of that, but c'mon Juwon Howard? So if we take all the deals in context, not only Steve Francis, but Scola, then how can you not like this trade? Also let's not forget Justin Reed. Reed was drafted by Morey in Boston: that should mean something for this forum, no?
Amen to that. The only difference is that James is often a locker room malcontent and Howard has the exact opposite effect. At the time of the trade, though, it worked out well for all parties involved. I personally think the Rockets may move Mike James (they can move him by himself now or with other players in August). Keeping Alston is still an option. Mike James wasn't brought in to replace Rafer, but to compliment him. Mike James couldn't produce with the T-wolves when he was supposed to have a major role, why would coming to Houston change that? I hope he contributes significantly, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
Why does Steve, a 3 time all star, have to "prove it otherwise" when he was injured most of last season and Mike James, brought in to Minny to play a large role and sucked, doesn't? Their stats from last season? Career? Honestly... And they both sucked last year.
i knew someone would comment on that. steve hasn't been a 3 time all-star in quite some time so i don't see why that's relevant. that aside, i think both are going to bounce back and be quite effective. i think it was more mental, james not liking minnesota, and steve not liking new york, that hurt their games more than their older age. but in the unlikely event that both of them weren't affected by anything but age, then i like james' chances of recouping success because his game isn't nearly as reliant on athleticism as steve's. i think steve will prove to be the better player once again but if i had to pick only one of the two, imo james seems like the safer choice.
