James, Baker, Norris To Houston, Farewell Mo/Reece

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">League sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Bucks will send guard Mike James to Houston later Thursday for a package including Reece Gaines and two future second-round picks.

The Rockets have coveted James all season for guard depth, and trading him would relieve Milwaukee of the $7.1 million left on James' contract after this season.</div>

Link

Bringing in Mike James was obviously an act of desperation to get some depth at point guard, so any one have thoughts on this?

Personally, I think it was an okay trade but I would have rathered we did not trade the two second round picks. Mike James is a nice shooter, can stroke the three, and he's pretty athletic compared to some of our other guys like Strickland or Howard. But two second round picks? Not worth it in my opinion since this is just a patchup up Sura's injury.

 

I'm in favor of this trade. James did very good last year for the Pistons and is a good passer and three-point shooter. He was a point guard target last summer and even though we wound up signing Sura and Ward, he's still here now. Reece Gaines has been nothing but a bust, and the second-round picks would be around the 48 region, and there have rarely been good picks at that point. Most second-rounders wind up getting cut before they even don a jersey. This gives us additional depth at point guard and we won't be as vulnerable as we are now once Sura goes down.

Does this mean that we trade our TE though? Gaines's contract won't match James's.

 

Mike will do a great job in Houston. Truely a great defender and shooter.

 

I don't give half a crap about second round picks. The Rockets haven't made a good selection (outside of Yao which was a no-brainer) since Cuttino.

I actually put my hands in the air and said "yes, YES!" when I saw this trade. Mike James is 1000000x better than Reece, and will help us tremendously at the point. With minutes, this guy can PRODUCE.

Great pickup in a pinch.

 

It's a good thing that I have him on my fantasy team, as he will probably play a lot of minutes at first and will still be able to get around 20mpg once Sura returns. I'll predict stats of 8/4.5 for the rest of his season with the Rockets.

 

Good point. I forgot that Houston is the worst at making draft selections so thats why I wasn't happy to see the two second round picks for Mike James. I am now. With Mike James, Houston would have added depth at the guard spot. Plus, if McGrady ever is out, James and Sura can team up in the backcourt. It adds a lot more possibilities with the team rotations. I like it.

 

I think that this trade can only help the Rockets. The question is how much. In additional good news, we waived Rod Strickland. If Mike James can hit some open j's and make the pass to Yao quickly (something Sura doesn't really do) then we'll be fine. Does anybody know anything about the big man they shipped with James? Will he get any playing time? All I know is that he's a big body and we need one of those.

 

Yeah Zendon is a big boy. Hes very aggressive too. But Milwaukee didnt play too much at all. Im very upset with this trade for Milwaukee. I dont want to see Mike James go. Hes a great guard. Especially lately hes been having killer games. A great all around player. Use him wisely Houston.

 

Great move by Houston! They get a defensive machine in Mike James and also improve their shooting as well. James shoots 38% from behind the arc and now that he has better options on the Rockets, I see him averaging about 5 assists per game. Great back up for Sura and he will be major off the bench. He also has the experience too after wining a ring with the Pistons last season. Also, Rod Strickland will help mold this young guy into something good. So much for Houston's PG troubles! Great move by the Rockets, and this will be major not only now, but for the future!

 

Oh yeah my bad. I forgot they packaged Zendon Hamilton along with this deal. He's nothing special of a player. Just a scrub that was used to match the contracts together. From what I saw when he played in Philadelphia, I don't think Hamilton will make it into the rotation for Houston.

But good news, we didn't use the trade exception!

 

I think it's an awesome trade! we're getting alot more depth at the PG position and all we needed to trade was Reece Gaines and 2 draft picks?! wow...I can't wait to see how he does

 

It's a very good trade for Houston. We gave up some draft picks, but we picked up a solid, younger player in Mike James and a big body who can rebound (though probably not much else) in Zendon Hamilton. Reece Gaines was utterly disposable.

James is a legitimate scorer who was a defensive stopper last year for the Pistons. He'll fit in perfectly with the Rockets. It's about as good a trade as we could have hoped for.

 

Well I haven't seen much of dude, but at this point anythings better than reece gaines and rod strickland

 

Chad Ford over at ESPN.com is reporting that the Rockets have traded Mo Taylor and a first round pick for Vin Baker and Moochie Norris. Vin Baker is a slight improvement over Mo Taylor since his contract isn't quite as debilitating, but I'm thinking this trade could be bad for us. Moochie Norris is a waste of a roster spot, and we're giving up a first round pick.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Chad Ford over at ESPN.com is reporting that the Rockets have traded Mo Taylor and a first round pick for Vin Baker and Moochie Norris. Vin Baker is a slight improvement over Mo Taylor since his contract isn't quite as debilitating, but I'm thinking this trade could be bad for us. Moochie Norris is a waste of a roster spot, and we're giving up a first round pick.</div>
I'll be damned if that happens. Vin Baker is a washed up player who could log no more than 10 productive minutes, and Moochie never impressed under Van Gundy. And a first-round pick too? Although I'm not too confident with Dawson's draft day abilities, it would still be much more valuable. We've got what we wanted in James; let's keep it that way and stop trying to mess up the roster.

Btw, is Strickland waived for sure? I don't know...who would Houston start at point guard in the 48 hours that James will be unavaliable? Unless Sura gets back, Barrett? That's awful.

 

I heard on 610 sports radio in Houston that Strickland was waived....Rockets next game is Sunday so I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike James starting right off the bat. But I'd still take the hapless Barrett over Strickland any day.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Knicks also traded Vin Baker and Moochie Norris to the Rockets for Maurice Taylor and a first-round pick, Ford reports.</div>

Link

What do you guys think of this deal? Personally, I hate it. Dumping Taylor was essential, but getting Moochie and Vin, while giving up another first-round pick was really killer. Hopefully, this won't be a 2005 first, as this will feature some pretty good PF prospects in the mid 20's region.

 

OMFG! I can't believe it..we have no draft picks left! I was in favour for them trading Mo but a first round pick too? and for Vin and Moochie?! well so much for the future...

 

Kill me now. What was Dawson thinking? Why trade that first round pick? Sure we needed to dump Maurice Taylor, but we could have done that in the offseason. There was really no rush to get players like Norris or Baker. I don't think Norris and Baker both combined are worth a first round pick. I was really hoping we could draft someone like Wayne Simiens to help our forward spot but Dawson just like dashing my dreams away doesn't he. Does he really think Baker and Norris will help us? Both are just scrubs that are basically as much worth as Gaines was. Wow we really could have used some strong powerforward like Malik Rose or Mohammed that were in the trade, but no- Baker and Norris. I'm not saying we could have gotten Rose or Mohammed, but Houston should have at least attempted to get a defensive athletic powerforward that can complement Yao in the paint. Great job Dawson, you just solidifed the point guard spot, and then killed the future of the Houston Rockets. Nice.

 

Talk about the the High to Low effect. love the Mike James trade, but Vin Baker a Mooch? Vin Baker is not as good as Taylor and Moochie is not even close to as good as that first round pick would have been. I will dread the day when a PF chosen in the Rockets spot or around it goes on to be an elite NBA player.....