Unless Skip goes postal you have to like the upside to this trade, Finally have a true PG instead of like the 4 combo guards that could play and the 2 PGs not good enough to play. This gives us a semblance of balance at the position now and allows the Rox to play a fast break or half court game if they want. Glad Yao got in shape this off season because he will be running his butt of this season. Interesting how putting on a Rox uni changes the opinion about a guy. Looked up the past threads on Rafer, nobody wanted the guy because he was either a head case, made too much money, was a ball hog or couldn't play defense.
apostolic3 I don't understand your reservations. But if Rafer is even somewhat unstable this team and JVG will stablize the guy. I love CD and usually pretty much always think he's being upfront (somewhat to a fault) but I don't buy his "Sura's health quote forced our hand" remark at all. We were looking to deal and probably tried to hang onto James in the process and probably held out not to give even more. And we only got this deal because Alston was "disgruntled" in Toronto (who wouldn't be though?). It's a shock, and I do think we're going to have to improvise early; and November's schedule is less than forgiving so I do see another bumpy start. However, other than causing JVG (and us too) even more anxiety this trade is a no-brainer even if it doesn't work out. I've read your posts this interminable offeason (along with a couple of other guys) that have given me no reason to even post in a thread because those posts were exactly what I wanted to say and better said than I probably would have. But man, re-think this. If you were CD or JVG what would you have done here? Start James or DA at the point? This may be a complete dice roll, but it is the correct dice roll under the circumstances.
finally that hole at the point is gone, i understand the 2 isn't that great either, but with the myriad of guards on our roster at least we can always keep someone fresh out there.
WOW! I like this trade. Rafer is a really quick & fast point guard the ROXS have always been looking for! This dude is just a pest for the opposing team! Hopefully this will work out very well for the team!!!! Let's ALL get ready for RAFER MADNESS!
Not sure, just because it's a done deal already. I would have voted no if it's still in the negotiation stage. Talent wise, it's a wash at best. But with Alston baggage and long contract, we should at least get a draft pick or trade one of our expiring contract for a player like eric williams (T-mac needs a back up). I really dont like to take long contracts like Juwan or Alston. I am really tired of waiting for Mo-T and Norris contracts to expire. I just pray that Juwan and Alston are not the new one.
Is this character issue thing just from last year or has he had these issues since he first came into the league? If it's just from last year and he had no problems before, I don't understand why people are holding that against him.
Talent-wise it may be a wash, but no one here has even said James' handles are great. No one here has said James is a good ball-distributor. No one here has said James throws a sweet post-entry pass. So trade-wise is this a wash? James' game will fit in anywhere (blessing/curse) but let's count the guys among you that can say that DA, Head, Mooch or Wesley was a viable pg option. Anyone? No. Sura, even if healthy couldn't average 6+ assists in a season even with T-Mac and Yao on the floor. Alston played for a terrible team and still did it. I don't know whether to ask people to smell the roses or the coffee, but Alston represents everything we don't have otherwise. James is a hot/cold tweener that people here adore and we're currently "tweener-guards-r-us". Even if Alston explodes in our faces he still is something we need.
Yeah I like it! not only for the fact that he's a pass-first PG but he's also very skilled and I think the raptors had to get rid of him. So yeah, good addition.
It appears that the trade will benefit the Roxs. The question in my mind is how quickly JVG can get Rafer to conform to the system. As always time will tell.
I'm really not sure what to think about it. It seems that Rockets mgmt likes the trade (obviously, or they wouldn't have done it), but comments from Wesley bothered me (from Clutch's Training Camp Day 1 story). What the players think will be really important! JVG said positive things, but I wonder if that was only b/c he's the coach and kinda has to (he can't knock the trade the same day it went down). By the way, was Rafer at training camp the first day? I feel like we gave up a lot off the bench, but for something that many people/fans/analysts have been saying we needed, which is more of a true point. If Sura makes a strong comeback from surgery, then I think this may end up being a good move. If not a strong comeback, we'll have to see if not having MJ's spark off the bench will hurt. Hopefully Rafer will live up to JVG's words that he also has a spark and can bring energy. I'll give it this--at least we didn't lose MJ to free agency (would have happened at the end of the year most likely, if not traded before).
The Rockets picked up a guy last season that has what Alston represents along with the scoring skills of Mike James. I was a fan of Mike James like I am with most Rockets and ex-Rockets (Notable exception...Mad Max after running into the stands). James did good things for the Rockets. Hopefully, Alston will do the same in his own way. My concern is his defense. Hopefully, Swift and Yao can help out if his defense matches his rep. I am excited about the possibility of having four men on the floor that can be utilized on a fastbreak. A few more easy baskets would be nice to add to the strong half court offense.
Alston's assist stats are very impressive. I can hardly wait to see him play. I have been waiting for years to see a timely well placed entry pass to the post, an event that has rarely happened. A street baller that plays under control? This move could prove to be huge. The Rockets have added a great deal of quickness. If he can consistently hit the outside shot and the open player, the Rockets could be even better than we expect.
