Steve couldn't take us to a 12 game win streak with Yao, 10 game win streak with Mutombo, that is for sure. Steve deserves respect for what he has done, but he doesn't deserve respect for not adapting new play style.
KG is 32 going 33, but still one of the top players in the league. Players don't truly decline to cheap role players until the age of 35. I'm guessing it's because Mike James just isn't bothered to play, no heart and passion. 33 year old players can put up 20+ points easy if they play basketball and not shoot over players every single time. I think if Mike James wanted, he could've become a terrific PG, but his heart isn't in the game. Not to mention, I don't think he is used to being a non-scorer. I think he expects to be the first option or second option.
Mike James did decline rapidly, but the one that gets me is Bonzi. The money this fool passed on and now doesn't even play. It was like 33 mill, instead he got about a tenth of that from the Rockets.
No one could have possible took Yao when he was a young player to a 12 game winning streak. The past few games for Yao is how he played when he was younger... What was our record with Artest and Tracy (not to mention a lot of great role players)? 1-2. And when he Steve not adapt the new play style? He is on freaking rehab. How do you expect him to adapt when he is on rehab? Now on to topic. Mike James was astounding in Toronto. Money can't be number reason why he sucked. He couldn't hit a 3 to save his life. But, what I don't understand, he was in a city where his wife grew up in. He could have had a nice ending career with us... why did he stop having that motivation? The passion? He was a fan favorite with us because him, Sura, Wesley, and Barry brought excitement in our team in that season. He was right there with Rafer on getting the starting job, especially when Rafer had trouble with the law and Francis being out of shape. He got his money, and now he can go to the Bahamas with his family every year now.
Steve Francis would have done the same thing he's done everywhere else. Dribbled the ball the entire possession and go 1-on-1.
I was happy we traded him for Rafer. I defended Rafer over the years taking endless abuse. I love these "eat crow" threads as all those that bashed me continue to scratch your heads. It's simple: Knucklehead. You take a stable/mediocre player over a knucklehead/mediocre player every day of the week. I've always said we need an upgrade at PG ...and Mike James is not an upgrade.
Your argument might make sense if Rafer Alston hadn't been arrested three times in recent memory. I'm sorry but if you can overlook that and still insist on claiming Mike James is the knucklehead for merely being cocky you really need to consult the Charles Barkley Basketball Dictionary, my friend. If you want your simple answer all you need to do is look at his age. He's getting older, slower, less effective, etc. He didn't know at the time when he signed his contract things would play out the way they did. No, he hasn't played particularly well but he also hasn't had consistent minutes since his year in Minnesota. That never helps. Plus, who knows? The Hornets only have two PG's on their roster and still need somebody to fill Jannero Pargo's vacant role. Who is to say he won't find his touch and play better? Sure, he's getting older/washed up but the opportunity is still available.
No more than Tracy......... With a higher assist average as well............ and rebounds......... and heart.......
One arrest turned out to be completely false and he was never charged with anything, IIRC. The last one he was found not guilty. I can't find the outcome of the first one but the charges were misdemeaners. ohhh. I know Rafer keeps finding trouble but it really hasn't been a distraction to the team in any way. Mike James, conversely, is an idiot. Just listen to ONE interview and you quickly learn why he's a knucklehead. Not because he's cocky ...but because he's an idiot. I respect cocky athletes because that's what makes them good. Mike James is just an idiot. Rafer and James are about the same age. Age has nothing to do with it. Brent Barry is older than both of them ...and more productive. Rafer is mediocre but dependable (except his shot). Mike James is not dependable ...not coachable. He's just an idiot with some talent. There's LOTS of guys with a lot more talent than we see in the NBA but you'll never even them because their idiots. Mike James got lucky and broke into the NBA but he can't hold a job. Another idiot, Stomile Swift. Lots of talent ...just an idiot. Eddie Griffin (RIP) was another troubled guy. All the talent but couldn't put it together. Mike James put it together for one season on a crappy team. Done.
No one is really debating Mike James as a good PG. The real question I think a lot of us are wondering is how you can have 3pt shooting years as follows: (2004-2008) 38%, 39%, 44%, 37%, 32%. The FG% drop-off is even more drastic: 41%, 44%, 47%, 42%, 35%. So the not caring and being a knucklehead is fine. I'm not arguing that. His stats after his career year in Toronto aren't really that unexpected: 25mpg, 10ppg, 3.6 apg, 42%FG and 37% 3pt. But last year he just sucked. He shot as bad as Rafer, and he never brought Rafer pg skills to the table. Now I wonder if last year is an aberration or if he's going to continue to really suck at shooting.
Well, if you are an idiot then you obviously aren't very professional in whatever it is that you do. Hence ...the idiot part. What makes a professional athlete is not only talent but an incredible work ethic. A good 3 pt shooter isn't born, they work at it ...and they continue to work at it. Obviously Mike James stoped taking works outs seriously (because he's a knuckhead idiot) ...and he started sucking. If you can't tell, I've never like him. Kobe is cocky ...but that F'er works hard as hell. I respect him. Mike James is cocky and he doesn't work very hard. I don't respect him.
Put your hatred aside, because your answer could be right, but it's still a stretch at best. It's just something to ponder that's all. I mean, everyone is saying that he stopped trying after his contract year, but the shooting stats just show a natural return to his previous shooting. It wasn't unexpected. The year after his contract year wasn't an anomaly. It was the following year (last season) which didn't make sense at all. Just look at the shooting trends. A better thing to think about is whether or not this is his natural progression. Can past shooter percentages combined with age predict how a career will be? Did he peak in Toronto and thus is on a shooting decline until he retires? But this isn't batting averages where things like bat speed and dealing with pitchers comes into play. It's about the ability to knock down jumpers. Will he have a bounce back shooting year this year because last year was so bad? Don't just proclaim his idiocy (which I'm not disputing) and use that as an answer-all to every Mike James stat or every question regarding Mike James. Why does he suck? He's an idiot. Why did he shoot bad last year? He's an idiot. Why did he shoot well before that? He's an idiot. Okay, okay...he's an idiot. Now let's try to think about something else here.
You know how that beautiful babe you'd love to nail is so nice to look at, but she's got a thousand skeletons in her closet. Than you have the plain Jane gal who doesn't really qualify as eye candy but she's a totally devoted, unselfish, and steady person. That's the difference between Mike James and Chuck Hayes!
If you look at his game last year, there are a couple of things (bad things) that showed which was not apparent (at least not as bad) when he was with us the first time. 1. Defense. I remember that he was a decent defenders the first time around. The only explanation of his "decline" in this department is effort. That's pretty clear. 2. Passing. He had never been a pass first PG. His court vision was suspect. But he was not totally unwilling to pass when he was first with us. Last year, I vividly remember him taking the ball, trying to shake his defender 1-on-1 without even looking up to see where his teammates were, and then jacking up poor shots. You could tell that he had made up his mind just to create for himself. He only gave up the ball when he tried for like 10 second without success in losing his defender. I think these two reasons were why, after a few games, we never saw him play much again.
krosfyah, You certainly aren't helping out your cause here. The first half of your post is spent defending a player with multiple arrests and your conclusion is something a 5th grader could have thought of: "He's just an idiot....for real...cause i said so, duh!". It's like you don't care how bad your argument sounds all you know is the guy is an idiot! I get it. Also, comparing him to complete boneheads like Eddie Griffin and Stro is absolutely ridiculous. Griffin & Stro were an NBA scout's specialty: size, potential and athleticism. All they had to do was show up. Things were much, much, MUCH easier for them. MJ had to actually work to get to the NBA. Undrafted, played overseas, signed conditional contracts and eventually made his own luck. It netted him millions of dollars and an NBA Championship. Not bad for an "idiot". Your posts about not respecting him, saying he doesn't work hard and using the "he's an idiot because i said so" premise doesn't buy you any credibility with me. I could tell you to do your homework before you speak and you'll probably just tell me to F-off....but I think i'll do it anyway.
Yea, they showed up ...and disappeared because they were knuckheads. Sound familiar? ...and then he clearly STOPPED working ...as I just one or two posts up. The reason his FG% went down is because he stopped working. The guy has talent but if you've ever listened to one of his interviews you'll very quickly understand that the guy has some screws loose. Here's one excerpt I found without much effort: "What people keep forgettin', you know, people laugh and joke because they not really payin' attention to what's in front of 'em. Because if they payin' attention to what's in front of 'em, they'd understand that every point guard that I played against in the NBA, you know what I mean, I've either outplayed them, or we've equaled each other out, throughout my career. I'm gonna win two championships in the next three years. I still don't get my credibility in this game, I still don't get my respect. My thing is people always say "Mike, you mad." My kid here from Toronto used to call me "The Angry Baller." People laugh at me, people joke with me. But my thing is this right here where I'm in the gym right now! I'm boxin', I'm gettin' a thousand jump shots up, right now, while everybody is in the club playin' around, takin' their sweet, while everybody is in the Bahamas gettin' rayed up and all that, gettin' rays, gettin' sun! Ugh." Huh? wtf is he talking about? Link: http://www.hornets247.com/blog/2008/02/28/mike-james-the-angry-baller The worked his ass off to get into the league, obviously. ...and after he signed the biggest contract of his career, he CLEARLY stopped working hard. So now he's cocky and lazy ...a bad combination.
Guards tend to decline when they hit their 30s. It was only last season the media were discussing if Kobe was going to be another statistic. Big men have longer careers hitting their prime in their 30s if injuries don't get to them first. Morey believed that about Rashard Lewis.
