I think his production fell off cause he had a guaranteed contract and became complacent, I think in his 2nd year he will be more motivated
I think getting rid of Howard is enough incentive to trade for James. Secondly, yes he may not be the premier passs first point guard but he is an upgrade over Head, JL3 and V-Mac. If he is wiling to come off the bench, he could be very good addition as the spark and the 3rd scorer. He could play the "Bobby Jackson" role and is aggresive enough on offense for Adelman. If we get a 2nd rounder as well...thats gravy!
Yeah you may be right about there being better options. However, he could be part of the solution. Trading Howard for James (assuming he can waive the trade kicker) would mean getting a contract that is 1 year longer and generating a ~1.2M trade exception. This trade exception could be used to pick up some midseason help if needed. The biggest part of the proposed pickup would be getting rid of Juwan Howard's inconsistent offense and horrific defense for an instant offense guy who should have a lot left in the tank because of his relatively low NBA miles. We can draft a PF and sign Mikki Moore or Varejo for the MLE. Trade Battier and Sura's expiring for signed and traded Rashard Lewis (starting at 11.2M per). Hope Francis gets bought out and sign him for the minimum or LLE. Resign Hayes and either Deke or Jake. Rafer/James/Francis/VSpan/JL3/Head TMac/Francis/Head/VSpan Lewis/TMac/Snyder/Novak Moore/Hayes/(drafted PF)/Lewis/Novak Yao/Moore/(Deke or Jake)/(drafted PF) That puts us at 15 players, an infusion of talent and athleticism, and versatility at a lot of positions.
Really. They all suck. James had a decent year with the Rockets and so many people look as him as the savior at point. I would really hate to take on another significant contract for a real ?. Francis is terrible nowadays and was over-rated as a rocket. Rafer is a decent backup. This roster has lots of holes and no way to fix them without trading Yao or Tracy and that argument is getting really old too. Come on Football!!!!!!
This doesn't sound half bad, actually. I'm not a big MJ fan or even at all. He's more realistic like Clutch mentioned, but he should be our last option if nothing else happens this off season. I think it's just embarrassing that we traded a guy for a sub par player and then practically begged him back. We should just bite the bullet and let him go. Doesn't this club have any pride left?
If the cost was just Juwan, I'd say go for it. I don't think it will cure our ills, but I would rather overpay James than overpay Juwan. I think he, like Rafer, is a decent backup point guard. If, by some miracle, we land a starter we could then trade Rafer or James for an expiring contract.
Nice profile. I'd like to see James back, primarily as an immediate scoring threat off the bench. It also seems like he's probably going to be available. He's not well-liked in Minnesota...I think fans had very high expectations after his season in Toronto.
WHAT? WHERES BOBBY SURA?????? WE MUST INCLUDE BOBBY IN THE POLL!!! jk. I love the potential profiles, but let's look at people who were never rockets/adelman players.
Mike James at Toronto Raptors = Near All Star Mike James on the Timberwolves = Average Player Mike James on JVG Rockets = Average Player Mike James on Adelman Rockets = Potential of Raptorlike Numbers
Rumors saying Heat have an interest, as well. I'd be a happy camper if both Feb's non-deals became Juky deals, James, Kleiza in and Lil Luke and Juwan a go go.
I doubt Denver would go for the Kleiza deal after seeing he can actually play. at the time of the discussions he was nailed to the bench.
That's because offensive output of Mike James is likely directly linked to the system and players around him. Mike James at the Raptors had the green light. Mike James at the Timberwolves was hampered by the fact that the T-Wolves are a slowdown team that runs much like the Rockets last season. Kevin Garnet is the first option on the T-Wolves so James would have to defer. That being said, I am not entirely sold on Mike James. The only time he was better than average is when he played for Toronto. He has had lapses in judgement at the Timberwolves. He was basically up and down all season with the T-wolves. Under a more offensive coach, James might and I stress might do well. Here are some comments from USA Today on Mike James Mike James G Minnesota Timberwolves Height: 6'2' Weight: 188 DOB: 6/23/1975 Age: 31 Latest notes Mar. 18, 2007 - 11:08 p.m. ET Mike James came out of nowhere for 18 points and 11 assists off the bench in Sunday's loss to the Lakers. Randy Foye got the start but was highly ineffective, although it's hard to get too excited about the strong line by James. In his past eight games, he'd scored a total of 17 points and handed out a total of 11 assists, so he basically got two weeks worth of work done on Sunday night. We're not sure Foye is the answer to your point guard needs, but odds are, it's not James either. Feb. 27, 2007 - 11:10 p.m. ET Mike James failed to score in 18 minutes during Tuesday's loss to Dallas. He missed all six of his attempts but wasn't alone in poorly shooting; the Timberwolves shot a franchise-worst percentage of 29.6 from the field. James has now been held under 10 points for three consecutive games. Feb. 22, 2007 - 11:20 a.m. ET The Houston Rockets have reportedly talked to Minnesota about acquiring one-time Rocket Mike James, but apparently the T-Wolves are demanding that Eddie Griffin be included in any trade for James. Considering that James and Griffin make close to $8 million, the Chronicle suggests that a deal that didn't include Houston sending one of Rafer Alston or Juwan Howard to Minnesota would be difficult to make happen. From the sounds of it, Houston would not be interested in including either of those players, making this deal unlikely to happen. Source: Houston Chronicle Feb. 22, 2007 - 10:10 a.m. ET Unable to land Mike Bibby directly from the Kings, Cleveland has now reportedly involved Minnesota in what would be a three-way deal. In this scenario, Bibby would go to the Cavs and Mike James would head to Sacramento, but it's unknown what Minnesota would acquire. The Cavs are desperate to land Bibby, so involving a third team may be the way to go. Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer Feb. 21, 2007 - 11:51 p.m. ET Mike James scored 17 points and had five assists in Wednesday's loss to the Bobcats. He's still coming off the bench, but is averaging 18.5 points over his last two games. The Wolves are just 5-9 under new coach Randy Wittman, and it's quite possible that James could regain his starting point guard role for the team. Randy Foye started again tonight, but had just nine points and two assists, as the Wolves blew a late lead to Charlotte. Of course, James is a prime candidate to be traded, so don't make any moves with Foye until we see what happens on Thursday, the NBA trade deadline. Feb. 20, 2007 - 9:53 p.m. ET Mike James scored 20 points in Minnesota's loss to Washington on Tuesday. He did little else, but was effective on the offensive end and hit 10 of 12 free throws. It remains unwise to start James unless he reclaims the starting job at point guard. Feb. 12, 2007 - 11:08 a.m. ET Mike James is not happy about being benched in favor of Randy Foye, but it sounds like it could be a semi-permanent move. "This is what they've worked for. They're getting what they want," James said after Sunday's win over the Celtics. "It's just that, it's tough at times. I just feel like, if I'm not a fit here...like they always said, if it ain't one place, it can always be another." Randy Wittman likes the scoring potential James offers off the bench, so Foye appears to be an excellent pickup right now. Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Feb. 11, 2007 - 9:06 p.m. ET Mike James appears to have lost his starting job to Randy Foye after coming off the bench in Sunday's win over the Celtics. It could just be a temporary move, but James was having such an awful year, it could be the real deal. James was 0-of-1 from the floor in 13 minutes of action, finishing with just five points and three assists. If you're ready to give up on James, cut him for Foye, who had 10 points and a eight assists in the win. Feb. 7, 2007 - 10:29 a.m. ET Mike James and Ricky Davis came off the bench for the second half of Monday's blowout loss to the Rockets. "That's how he felt, what he felt he needed to do," James said. "That's what he did. He's the head coach; you follow up whatever his decisions are." We have been hinting that a change at point guard could be coming, so look for Marko Jaric and Randy Foye to get more minutes if coach Randy Wittman decides to make a move. Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Feb. 2, 2007 - 11:42 p.m. ET Mike James hit just 3-of-9 shots for seven points, one assist and one 3-pointer in Friday's loss to the Hornets. James has been quite disappointing for the Wolves this year and would have already lost his job if the Wolves had a competent backup to take his place. Marko Jaric and rookie Randy Foye are the leading candidates to do so, but it's hard to tell if Randy Wittman is ready to bench James, who played just 17 minutes tonight. http://fantasybasketball.usatoday.com/content/player_news.asp?sport=nba&id=828&line=79453 I find it very interesting and humerous that Minnesota is demanding that we take Eddie Griffin back if we want to aquire Mike James. LOL that is NOT what we need. The NBA's version of Daryl Strawberry.
Griffin has a history of violence dating back to his high school years. He was a phenom at Roman Catholic High School, touted by some as the biggest basketball star to emerge from Philadelphia since Wilt Chamberlain. He competed in the McDonald's All American Game and led Roman to the Philadelphia Catholic League Championship in his junior year. In his senior year at Roman, he got into a fight with a fellow teammate in the cafeteria and was subsequently forced out of the school, though he received his diploma a month after graduation; the teammate was expelled. At Seton Hall, rumors floated that he had gotten into several verbal and physical confrontations with teammates. In his rookie year during the 2001-02 season, Griffin played in 73 games (starting 24) while averaging 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and an impressive 1.84 blocks per game (ranking 13th in the NBA in that category). He followed with another solid year in 2002-03, averaging 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.44 blocks per contest. However, Griffin suffered from alcoholism, and his troubles piled up quickly over the following year. In December 2003, the Rockets released him after he missed practices and a team flight. Griffin signed with the Nets in January 2004, but missed the entire 2003-04 season when he entered an alcohol rehabilitation center. In February 2004, Griffin violated a court-ordered curfew stemming from an aggravated assault charge against his ex-girlfriend (he was accused of hitting her and shooting at her), and spent 11 days in jail. He pled guilty to deadly conduct over the aforementioned incident, and was sentenced to 18 months' probation, fined $2,000, and ordered to take anger management classes. Prior to the 2004-05 season, the Timberwolves signed Griffin to a one-year contract, and for that season he put up roughly the same numbers he had in his two previous seasons. The Timberwolves re-signed Griffin for three years (player option in the third), starting with the 2005-06 season. Griffin had a relatively significant drop off in scoring and rebounding (whilst suffering only a slight drop in minutes per game), while averaging a career-high in blocks per game (2.11). On March 30, 2006, he was involved in a bizarre car crash. Witnesses and friends stated that he was watching a "p*rn movie on a DVD in his vehicle, and was masturbating".[2] After the accident, Griffin entered a nearby convenience store. The store's security camera recorded video of Griffin repeatedly saying he was drunk, that he didn't have a driver's license, and of him pleading with the man whose SUV he crashed into, offering to buy him a new car in exchange for not calling the police. Police eventually did arrive, however, but allegedly did not require Griffin to submit to a breathalyser test or field sobriety test. An investigation is underway to determine if the officers violated standard protocol in light of Griffin's celebrity status.[3] AND PEOPLE THINK RON ARTEST IS A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER???
