Alston+Jackson+Brooks+2nd round pick/s for Andre Miller 2008 1st round pick for draft rights to Joel Freeland (PF/C)+2nd round pick/s Sign either unrestricted free agents Beno Udrih or Chris Duhon as the backup PG. Miller, (Udrih/Duhon), Francis McGrady, Head, (Newley) Battier, Harris, (Green) Scola, (Landry), Novak Yao, Hayes, Freeland
I mean, I would do this in a heartbeat but why would Philly? They lose their $10 million dollar bargaining chip to take on Rafer's deal and get Aaron Brooks? I don't think that's their best option. They're not a half-bad basketball team. If they decide to deal Miller as opposed to just letting his deal expire i'm sure they would much rather make a blockbuster deal for somebody like a Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand or somebody like that rather than making a boring trade doesn't make them any better. Hell, if Aaron Brooks is really that valuable on the open market I think we should set our sights higher than Andre Miller then.
Another? If he plays well in the playoffs it will be a first. I will give Rafer his props for the great play in our 22 game win streak. He was a major factor but les not forget how much he sucked early in the season. It seems his great run only got him back to below average PG stats as opposed to pathetic. In the end he is who we thought he was and we can always hope but dreaming might work better.
Humorous to me all the Wells-haters want to now play Brooks. Wells + Brooks > BJax + his $6m expiring contract + the minutes BJax took/takes from Brooks. Andre Miller is not the Rockets' answer. His transition game is worse than Alston's and he'll make nearly $10m next year. Chris Webber and Aaron McKie come off of PHI's books after this season and they may have up to $20m of cap space. It's more likely PHI would over pay for Landry in Free Agency than they'll give Miller for Alston and Brooks. Especially since they have Miller's Bird Rights and DJ Augustin should be available where the Sixers draft. The problem isn't whether Rafer can "pass" or not. 2 total fastbreak points in 48 minutes against the Kings is pathetic. And IIRC, those 2 lone FB points came with SCOLA leading the break. No one here wants to believe/admit it's about transition. It's hard to be a great "passing" PG when you're best attibutes are standstill shooting and a floater. And you're surrounded by other standstill shooters who the defense has taken away by playing the passing lanes.
Alston will never lead the Rockets to a championship. He s too inconsistent. Last year Morey did a good job to improve a lot that 4 postion. Hope that he does that for the pg too, this year.
The problem is not the transition offense but rather the lack of running by Rafer and the rest of the team. Rafer is actually pretty good in transition, but as the playoffs get closr TRANSITION gets closed off.....team's focus more. Now you are in a half court game with only one guy capable of creating on the floor for the Rockets and this is a major problem, it makes the team far too one dimensional. We have to find a 2nd penetrating player.....and Rafer can not be trusted late in games, he just makes too many stupid plays..... This team has lost it's intensity, has gone back to tired old ways and is defering to Tmac WAY too much. Not good, not good at all. DD
bobby jackson is alright, but he is too old, and can't play for 1 quarter straight. rafer... i remember a play last night, where there was 8-9 seconds of the shot clock, and a pf (don't remember who) was coming to set a pick, but then rafer waved him off. and went one on one. both bobby and rafer had luis scola open 5-8 feet out in the sides, but nope, they decided to pass it to the opposite wing. seriously, i don't have that much faith, we'll get a good pg that we want in the offseason. i'm just hoping stevie will help us alot... this season was exiciting and horrid.
Maybe in the past. Philly have managed to become a top fastbreak team with him there. It is $10m but expiring when he's 33 next year. http://www.sportsline.com/nba/teams/report/PHI/10741677
I actually like Rafer but he is too erratic. It's not his playmaking skills that will be the downfall but his inconsistent shooting. There's been games where he makes really dumb decisions like last night but for the most part of the season he's ok. Plus in crucial situations, McGrady will have the ball or the game plan should be to dump it into Yao down the stretch and I think he does a good job of that. Either way, I would love to see Andre Miller here. I think he would be a perfect fit.
We need a PG that can create for other players off the dribble, can create for themselves, and one that can hit in the midrange game. That is what this team needs to take it to the next level. DD
The Andre Miller ship has sailed. When Philly was playing horribly, he could have been had for Rafer + a young player (Brooks?) and a pick. Then Philly turned it around, and he has been a key part of it. Philly will keep him now. It's a shame.
Also, he will be 33, I like Andre, and woudl probably roll the dice on expirings next year with him too because he is an expiring...maybe toss in a pick...but I would not give up too much for him. The Rockets really need help at the point......and it is out there, just got to be prudent in finding it. DD
ok....we're doing this again.... we need a tall strong PF and an atheletic swingman also... its just not gonna happen. Its pretty much impossible to get that kind of PG with the kind of players we already have on our team (tmac, yao) unless they just fall in our laps (ie. through the draft, one develops on our current roster). It's much more likely that we can get a really good shooter/ball handler of the short SG type to put in that position. I would much rather Morey work hard to fill the position that way than end up getting the slashing/passing threat that you seek. Its just more likely that they'll end up with a better player to me. EX. Jason Terry instead of Steve Blake Kirk Hinrich instead of Andre Miller PG is the most important position on the court and thats why tmac is ours. The fact that most of the good teams have a great penetrating PG isn't concedental but you can win without one and with guys like yao and tmac you should be able to, you really don't have much of a choice with them eating up the salary cap. DD stop dreaming, we don't have a PG driven team, it all goes through the big guy and ours his hurt.
But you don't have to have a STAR PG, just one that is a good complimentary player..... Steve Blake would be one or perhaps Luke Ridnour.... Just a guy who can create...we need a 2nd creator on the floor...desperately. DD
