Rafer Alston signs with Raptors.

[LIQUID24]

For you Heat fans out there, is this a big loss or is he easily replaceable? I'm not sure Skip To My Lou is worth $29mill.

Rafer Alston, whose transformation from a street-ball legend to a playoff point guard with Miami proved one of the season's more uplifting stories, has reached a verbal agreement with the Toronto Raptors on a six-year deal believed to be worth $29 million, league sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=1835443

 

[TerryTate]

well, crap, i didnt expect him to resign anyways, but what can you do...

 

[Fresh]

Easily replaceable. Hey, I love Rafer Alston...but getting a big is much more important than a 6th man. We can now focus in on Mark Blount, and use most of the MLE on him, or try and split it with him and Damon Jones.

This means for Wade, he has to chill out with the turnovers...as he may very well see much more time at the 1 this upcoming season.

Good luck to Skip, as I'll cheer him on 100%. He worked hard for that money after making the minimum pretty much every year, but he got overpaid. Like I said, thats my boy...but I'm glad we didn't match that offer.

 

[Fresh]

Also, with Alston out of the picture...if we can't get Blount, and with Adonal Foyle gone, I'd expect Riles to make a run at a RFA like Etan Thomas or Chris Mihm.

 

[Fresh]

Possible replacements for Skip:

Kenny Anderson
Carlos Arroyo (RFA)
Travis Best
Keyon Dooling (RFA)
Derek Fisher
Jason Hart (RFA)
Mike James (RFA)
Damon Jones
Brevin Knight
Jacque Vaughn
Shammond Williams

Well...last year there was interest in Shammond Williams and Kenny Anderson. The year Vaughn went to Orlando, we were interested. Obviously, Mike James and Travis Best have played here before, so there could be interest there. There's obvious interest between Miami & Arroyo, but I'd rather have Blount. Brevin Knight's name always came up in trade rumors with Wesley Person's and Stromile Swift's while he was in Memphis.

Of that list, outside of Arroyo who is restricted(if we go after a RFA, I want it to be Etan Thomas), Damon Jones is the most attractive to me. I wouldn't mind Shammond Williams or Keyon Dooling for the LLE.

I have no knowledge on Jason Hart's game, and Fisher would take up the whole MLE, which needs to be used on Mark Blount.

 

[Deez Nutz]

For you Heat fans out there, is this a big loss or is he easily replaceable? I'm not sure Skip To My Lou is worth $29mill.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=1835443

As a starter, he might be worth $29 million over six years. He did pretty good as a backup. That's if he starts. I'm not too knowledgeable on the Raptors lineup. I can't remember if they still have Jalen Rose or not.

 

[minus]

I don't see him doing much better as a starter.

 

[LIQUID24]

Also, with Alston out of the picture...if we can't get Blount, and with Adonal Foyle gone, I'd expect Riles to make a run at a RFA like Etan Thomas or Chris Mihm.

Speaking of Adonal Foyle, how the F did he get that contract? $41.6mill over 5 years??? What has he done to deserve that? I had to read those numbers like 10 times before it sunk in. Memet Okur got a big contract too ($50mill from Utah) and the Pistons barely used him in the playoffs. Man, some NBA GM's are really desperate...

 

[Fresh]

Speaking of Adonal Foyle, how the F did he get that contract? $41.6mill over 5 years??? What has he done to deserve that? I had to read those numbers like 10 times before it sunk in. Memet Okur got a big contract too ($50mill from Utah) and the Pistons barely used him in the playoffs. Man, some NBA GM's are really desperate...

Yeah, the deals these GM's are putting out there is disgusting. Honestly, I would give a guy like Foyle the MLE. He didn't get much minutes behind Erick Dampier, as both are true centers. The thing about Foyle is...he's a hell of a shot blocker and defender. When you've got guys who can shoot the ball like Jason Richardson, Mickael Pietrus, Nick Van Exel, and Mike Dunleavy Jr...all you really need is a hard nose defender who can block shots and clean up the glass, and that's really what Foyle is. But yeah, he was overpaid.

If Corey Maggette is only worth $45m, don't ask me how Mehmet Okur is worth $50m. Sure he's a big...but he hasn't proved his worth yet. I always liked Okur and figured he'd be a possible All-Star in the Eastern Conference, but who knows what's gonna happen to him out West. He's a good defender, good post player, and can hit the outside shot(he's money from down town sometimes). He just never got a chance to start, and I have a problem with giving guys like that huge deals.

The term "potential" is killing the NBA.

 

[Fresh]

The problems with the market:

1.) Adonal Foyle for $41.5 million over 5 years. Although not getting a chance to start, he has career averages of 5 points, 5 rebounds, and almost 2 blocks
2.) Steve Nash getting almost a maximum contract 6 months after the Suns trade Stephon Marbury(who is much better) for financial reasons
3.) Rafer Alston inked for over 6 years, with a contract totalling almost $30 million. Everybody in Miami loves Skip, and we ALL know he's a backup.
4.) Mehmet Okur going for $50m
5.) The Magic are close to inking Hedo Turkoglu for about $40m
6.) Denver offering Ginobli a 6-year deal, starting at $9m per year

You know what my problem is with that? "Experts" like David Aldridge and Chad Ford bashing the K-Mart situation, because he's demanding the maximum, when guys like ^that are getting those kind've deals.

 

[LIQUID24]

The problems with the market:

1.) Adonal Foyle for $41.5 million over 5 years. Although not getting a chance to start, he has career averages of 5 points, 5 rebounds, and almost 2 blocks
2.) Steve Nash getting almost a maximum contract 6 months after the Suns trade Stephon Marbury(who is much better) for financial reasons
3.) Rafer Alston inked for over 6 years, with a contract totalling almost $30 million. Everybody in Miami loves Skip, and we ALL know he's a backup.
4.) Mehmet Okur going for $50m
5.) The Magic are close to inking Hedo Turkoglu for about $40m
6.) Denver offering Ginobli a 6-year deal, starting at $9m per year

You know what my problem is with that? "Experts" like David Aldridge and Chad Ford bashing the K-Mart situation, because he's demanding the maximum, when guys like ^that are getting those kind've deals.

No doubt, when I first heard that K-mart wanted the maximum (last year), I thought to myself, "nah, he's definetely not worth the maximum."

But after seeing these deals lately, he IS worth the max-contract.

 

[Prime Time]

I'll be sad to see him Skip go. He is a guy I wish would have stayed around because he was our 6th man, and he made me a Heat fan in the game where he hit the 3 to tie, and the 3 to win. Simply amazing, but yeah he isn't worth that much, we can replace him. I will wish him best of luck in Toronto. BTW, I would like Fisher...man can play and bring some veteran leadership to this young team.

 

[Fresh]

After thinking and reading, I've got mixed feelings about giving the MLE to Mark Blount. He's looking for the full MLE and max years, which is 6-years. I don't want to give a player who has only been productive for half of a season a 6-year deal, especially at age 29. Being a young team(Odom, Wade, CB4, Wright, Rasual, Haslem), I don't want to have Jones & Grant coming out of their huge deals at age 35, and Blount coming out of a $5-6m a year deal at age 35.

Besides, if we used the full MLE on Blount, then we'd only have the LLE left...which would only be able to lure in a guy like Shammond Williams.

If I'm the GM, I try and split the MLE between Damon Jones & Chris Mihm, then turn around and slap the LLE on Keon Clark.

1-Wade|D.Jones
2-E.Jones|Wright
3-C.Butler|R.Butler|Beasley
4-Lamar Odom|Brian Grant|Udonis Haslem
5-Chris Mihm|Keon Clark|Chicken Wang Zhi Zhi

Mihm averaged something like 6/6 in like 16 minutes or so. He's put up good numbers in limited minutes since he was drafted in 2000. With 30-35 minutes a night, he could easily average something like 12/9(that dude is something special on the glass). He'd give us size, as well as more potential(yeah I know, sh*tty word).

If Riley can work his "big man magic" on Mihm, KEEP JONES AND GRANT! When those $12m a year deals come off the books in 3-years, we can sign a young stud with some, use the rest on a long-term deal for Wade(who has 4-years left on his deal), and pay up Caron. Caron's deal expires the same year as Jones and Grant. I know 3-years is long down the road...but we will need atleast one of those deals to come off the books in 3-years to be 100% sure that we can ink Wade long-term(assuming he's an All-Star by then). With Odom and Wade, I don't see Caron ever being an All-Star, but I think he'll be good enough to get a nice contract when he hits the market.

 

[SMadison29]

There have been a lot of teams that have seriously overpaid for average players as ChambersOwnz pointed out.

2.) Steve Nash getting almost a maximum contract 6 months after the Suns trade Stephon Marbury(who is much better) for financial reasons

I agree & disagree with you on this. I agree that Nash is nowhere near a maximum salary player & that Marbury is far better but he is not a winner. Marbury has not won anywhere & he's been on very good teams in Minnesota, New Jersey, & Phoenix. He seems to be the problem.