Why is it short term? The kidd trade was the definition of short term thinking, they traded away their young future PG with better stats than Kidd to compete in the west THIS YEAR. At best Kidd has another couple of years in the tank before he starts becoming a liability, that's the definition of short-term thinking.
this post should be deleted on the spot... rafer is playing as good as anybody right now... but i'd take parker and AI over him... kidd is debatable, problaby more kidd when we had yao, but now we acutally need somebody to jack up shots like rafer is doing....
i'm not talking about what dallas did, i'm talking about houston. two weeks ago, two months ago, two years ago this wouldn't have been a question. rafer has a few good games and the rockets are winning (don't mean to diminish the streak) and you guys seriously wouldn't trade him for kidd straight up. its laughable. there is nothing rafer does better than kidd, absolutely nothing
You have a right to your opinion, but this is just funny. Trading A.I., Kidd, or Nash for Rafer Alston is a "backwards" move?! We are talking Hall of Famers here. Rafer is playing well right now, but these guys have had All Star careers. I agree with you on one thing, don't mess with the chemistry.
I would trade Jason Kidd's left big toe for Rafer Alston straight up. I am finding it hard to believe that anyone would not trade Kidd for Alston. Alston has 3-4 good games and all of the sudden he's a keeper? Yikes!
How well did Toronto do after they got Hakeem, arguably the best center of all time? Apples to apples my friend. Rafer for Kidd 5 years ago? Laughable, Kidd was 10x the player Rafer is. Rafer for Nash 3 years ago? Nash was 10x the player Rafer is. Rafer for AI? I'll pass, every team he plays for ends up having no chemistry, despite him clearly being 10x the scorer Rafer is. All of these people clearly have more talent than Rafer but you've got to look at it this way - they all have max contracts and they would DEFINITELY not be right for this team.
Alston is an underrated defender ... arguably better on that end than Kidd, Parker, or AI. But let's be real. He doesn't hold a candle to them on the offensive end. One play yesterday illustrated this. End of the third quarter, and he's racing to beat the clock and get a shot off. He has Battier wide open on the wing, but instead takes a 15 foot floater that's not close. Alston had perhaps his best quarter of the season offensively, and yet he finishes it off with that play.
My answer is "It depends" Chemistry is something you don't screw with and this team has it in spades. DD
the only guy i wouldnt trade Alston for is Iverson. he's a ball-stopping chemistry killer. i would take Nash though even though he's the worst defender in the league.
Alston has been fantastic as of late, but I'm afraid our 17 game winning streak has made you go INSANE! Kidd? Sure. The Mavs certainly aren't any better since he's arrived. He's old. He's slow. He can't shoot well. He can't defend. He just came out and said he didn't quit on the Nets, and that coupled with his play on the Mavs would seem to indicate that he's on a sharp decline. Fisher? Sure. Alston is playing a better all around game than him and is a tad bit younger and more durable. AI? If only considering Alston's recent play, this is debatable. AI wins in scoring, but Alston seems a better floor general and defender. Still, I'd have to go with AI, but I can see how somebody would have reservations after a 17 game winning streak. Parker? ARE F***ING NUTS?!?!?! We're talking about one of the premier point guards in the NBA - easily top 4. (I'd say it's basically indisputable that Nash, Parker, Paul and Williams are the top tier) In Parker, you're talking about a Finals MVP who has garnered some mention in the MVP race for this season. And guess what? He's still only 25 years old. Not only would I trade Alston for Parker without hesitation, I'd strongly consider trading McGrady for him. Parker is considerably younger and healthier than McGrady and he plays one of the two most important positions in the NBA. I'm not saying I definitely would trade McGrady for Parker, but I'd certainly think hard about it.
While I agree with your assertion that the original poster is talking crazy, you're talking equally crazy if you'd trade Rafer Alston for T.J. Ford. I love T.J. I was born and raised in Baytown, which is where T.J. is originally from, so I've got a serious soft spot for the guy - but that being said, he's one of the most injury prone/fragile players in the NBA. Perhaps even more so than Shaun friggin' Livingston. In fact, there has been talk of him retiring after this last injury. But even if he does come back, do you really think it wise to trade one of the more durable players on our roster for a guy who is even more injury prone than our sickingly injury prone core of Yao and McGrady? That's just not so smart.
To answer the original question, no. Maybe about 5 years ago, Kidd has too much mileage. Unless I have 1 or 2 year window of opportunity I might do it but we've also seen how a player can decline rapidly in this league.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but no, I wouldn't trade him for Kidd (although it's still possible Kidd could own me for saying this) for the mere fact that Kidd's time is clearly almost up and he's still getting a lot of money. But Tony Parker? Come on man, let's not get too carried away just yet. Let's see if Alston can bring it in the playoffs... or even in this very tough stretch of the season that's about to start.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3282/gamelog;_ylt=AutYN6LpY2cOrOLmljjUJhSkvLYF He's been very consistent since Christmas. I cannot ever remember a streak where he's been this good for this long. In the past, it was maybe 5-6 games in a row. This year it's been at least 25. Rafer starting on December 28: 15.2 ppg 194-459 from the field (42.3%) not stellar, but solid. 74-195 from 3point land (37.9%) which is quite decent. The most important thing is that his sub-30% shooting nights are now the exception rather than the norm. He used to have strings of games where he'd shoot 20%-30% or worse, after our terrible start this year they've been fairly uncommon. The one thing that Rafer is still weak at is drawing fouls, especially ones that lead to free throws. I'd like to see him improve that. However he definitely hasn't been the worst starting PG in the league this year (arguably last year too, but I know I'll get flamed for that).
Not, big trade would not happpen before the deadline. It will break the chemistry. Trading Kidd is a bet for Dalls
Now I completely understand why analysts don't give credit to Rox. ClutchFans: Alston is not as good as other starting PGs 'cos he has only been playing consistently well since two months ago. Analysts: Rockets is not as good as Spurs, Lakers... 'cos they have only been playing well since two months ago. See, same logic.
