I'm sad about losing the 2 second rounders. They have some value. James' assist-TO ratio is very pedestrian. He's in the lower half among guards, and doesn't really bring great scoring or anything to compensate. Even so, I'm very very happy about the trade. We should have signed him in the offseason and it would have been cheaper for us, but better late than never.
Didn't the Rockets originally draft Zendon Hamilton back in 1999? I hear he's a decent rebounder - maybe we could use him. Anyone have any insight on him?
What I like about the trade, besides getting a very good young player who is actually a point guard who shoots the 3.... Bob Sura can now play at the 1 and 2 and T-Mac might actually play ever-so-slightly-fewer minutes.
No, the Bucks didn't need James for a combination of reasons. One they are 22-30, and out of any real playoff contention. Secondly, they have two good younger point guards on their roster in Maurice Williams and TJ Ford(provided he can recover from his injury). Therefore why not get whatever you can for James, and they got some cap relief that they wanted. I'm absolutely thrilled with this trade. They kept the pick this year which they can use to get a PG/PF for the longhaul, and got an outstanding role player in the process(defends, shoots the 3 well, and accepts whatever role he's given) on a very nice contract. I suggested James in the GP thread a day or two ago, and all I can say is I'm glad CD thought the way I did.
He won't fix all the Rockets' problems, but Mike James will definitely help -- both short-term and long-term. He's a solid, all-around PG with no glaring weaknesses. He knows how to contribute to a winning (championship) team and has a very reasonable contract. Hate to lose the full trade exception but that's what they're for. Not a bad move for Milwaukee, either. Traded a backup PG for more than $15m in financial flexibility (salary + FTE).
Living in Boston, I saw James a lot when he was with the Celtics. He's a very solid player. He's unspectacular, but you know what you're going to get. He's a very good for a back-up 1 and can step up temporarily while Sura is injured. And for the rest of the season, he's also going to let us give Sura more rest. James is also a very solid citizen, from what I've seen. Maybe now we can get the ball past the timeline.
Looks like both Stein and Feigen were right and wrong ... just need to merge their reports: Zendon Hamilton is in the deal, but so are the two second rounders we're sending out. Atleast according to a Rockets press release.
Venson Hamilton, I believe is the guy the Rockets drafted. Not Zendon. Zendon was a NYC legend coming out of high school and signed onto play at St. John's in the famed recruiting class that included the Felipe "The Original Jesus Shuttlesworth" Lopez. They were supposed to put the Johnnys back on the map, but never panned out. I think Zendon has been bouncing around the league for a few years now.
29 (soon to be 30) isn't really young and he's not a long-term solution at anything. What he can do is stabilize this team and prevent it from going into a free-fall. We need this team to make the playoffs so our superstars can grow. Everything else at this point is secondary. The draft is going to be especially important this year. All of our role players are old and we need some youth.
Maybe I'm just blind, but I don't see any reference to the 2 2nd round picks in the Comical article. I know ESPN reported it, but maybe it changed. ESPN didn't have Hamilton invovled. Just saw Clutch's post about Rockets' reporting 2nd rounders.
Nooooooooo. Wow, CD is in the zone. Now just trade Mo T for some valuable pieces and you can start your nice vacation, CD.
Obviously, the majority of you do not know how the NBA works and how important that Trade Exception (cash) was. Honestly, I do not have a clue as to who Mike James was before today, but I sure hope he is real good. This trade exception was our ticket to a bigger, stronger PF this off season, now we don't have it. I think this was a boneheaded move by CD not a brilliant one for not losing a solid player. I sure hope I am eating crow by the end of this season.
all I can say is wow, CD does it again. I still wish we had a better rebounding PF but PG was the obvious priority
I don't think so....Mike James is # 9 in the NBA among point guards per 48 minutes in rebounding. Link Indeed he is an underrated rebounder. Mo Williams only beats him in the age, rebounding and assist (in part because he plays with the first team) department but Mike beats in everything else including experience, savvy, FG%, 3-p FG% and defense. Mike's efficiency rating is higher. I even took time to take a look at Arroyo's numbers since I was one that was willing to give up a first rounder to acquire him from Utah but to my pleasant surprise Arroyo and James are similar and a wash when compared to each other. And we did not give up much to get James. This is a certified steal. I cannot even believe we landed James. Awesome!!!
