Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 4:05 pm  |  119 responses

Rockets Trade Alston To Magic

by Ryne Nelson

Several sources are reporting a three-team trade that will send Rafer Alston to the Magic. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported the deal–one that could signal rebuilding mode in Houston:

The Rockets reached an agreement to trade point guard Rafer Alston to the Orlando Magic, an individual with knowledge of the deal said Thursday. The Rockets will receive forward Brian Cook from Orlando and guard Kyle Lowry from the Memphis Grizzlies in the trade.

[...]

Memphis will receive Orlando’s first-round pick as part of the trade.

Houston traded one of its few players who played solid ball all season. They’re going in another direction by putting the rock in Kyle Lowry’s (slippery) hands. He’s likely come off the bench if the Rockets don’t have any last minute plans still in the works.

The Magic give up some insignificant parts—Cook and a first rounder (27th as it stands now)—for Alston, who will make the team respectable at the PG again. Alston’s a better scorer and leader than either Anthony Johnson or Tyronn Lue. On top of that, Skip’s contract will barely affect Orlando’s cap situation.

The trade brings the Grizzlies a couple million more under the cap.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Comments
  • http://thedreamshake.com Tom Martin

    With Rafer, it’s quite simple. He took away shots from Yao and others, and he was the worst shooter on the team. Bring in Lowry – he’s much cheaper, is only 22 years old, and is still capable of playing at a level close to Alston’s. Morey has wanted Lowry for years, and this was our best chance to get him. Sure, we may not win a ‘Ship this year, but was our T-Mac-less team with Rafer going to win it anyway? Highly doubt it. The best we can do is re-load with Lowry and hope that he can get it done for us not just in the long run, but now as well. Check The Dream Shake for more of my thoughts. – BBN

  • I am the walrus

    Now there is a spot in the playoffs for a west team, and it will be taken by ………………. Golden State! Run ‘n’ Gun all the way!

  • marcus jones

    Witness your love for Alston is funny.
    You are in love with a guy that is on the bottom of the point guard list in the NBA. He is a poor shooter period …how often did you see him go for layups in a game ?…not many and when he did go inside most of the time he missed the lay up..he would even miss wide open lay ups. There was a guy that was pretty small also and his name was Calvin Murhpy that is now in the hall of fame. i dont see any mental toughness in a guy that that cant control himself in the off season and gets thrown in jail all the time. A true leader has to lead not only with his mouth but with his overall ability. Once again if the Rockets thought that Alstons over all talent was that good he would of never been traded. Perhaps Witness you are saying you know more then the Rockets staff. A staff that has seen him practice and play for several years now. Alstons widow ran out with the Rockets and it was time for the Rockets to move on.

  • lilblu4rmthaO

    Comin from a squad that wasnt makin tha playoffs Skip will produce with Orlando i doubt he mess up the chem he knows its Howards house he comin in

  • anjoe

    i REALLY WANT TMAC TO be TRADED FOR BARON.. before time runs out for artest and yao. now that skip to my lou’s gone

  • http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ Tariq al Haydar

    I’m really surprised that some people don’t like this trade for Orlando. I think it’s a coup for them. They had serious problems at PG, problems that would rule them out of contention in the East. Now that Skip is on board, they seem like an interesting team again. Now Rafer MAY crash and burn, and they may not make it to the ECF, but AT LEAST they’re in the mix again, right? More so than with AJ or Lue at least. Am I missing something?

  • http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Cheryl

    I don’t know if anyone’s made this comment, since I haven’t read all, but didn’t Van Gundy have Rafer his first year? I don’t think he would have co-signed if he was concerned about chemistry issues with Skip. I think this was a fantastic deal for the Magic, and has probably saved their season. Nice job, Mr. Smith.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ RV

    Where’s all these “for a team not making the playoffs” comments coming from?? Why would Houston not make the playoffs? Tmac already missed likehalf the season, houston actually has a winning record without him, like 14-6 and that was with all the will he or won’t he come back drama. Now there should be more consistency on the floor and better focus, shane is back to full strength and Artests seems to be also. Don’t forget Ron also missed like 10 games, that’s 3 guys capable of starting that missed more than 30 games combined and houston is still in the middle of the pack…

  • freezer

    I MISS JAMEER NELSON :(

  • http://nba.com tealish

    RV: I hate to be all negative, but even if the Rockets make it into the Playoffs as a lower seed… what’s the result going to be? They’ve got no one who can carry them over the top. Yao is nice, but even before Tmac declared himself done for the season, he’s no longer that guy. The Rockets really have no one to look to, to win it for them.

  • http://nba.com tealish

    with “winning” being a playoff series, of course.

  • oe

    witness you must be out your damnn mind

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ RV

    tealish, i’m not expecting a lot once in the playoffs, but i think its foolish to write off the rockets when they still have two main guys and a better, more experienced supporting cast than last year. Often times this season Tmac has been the actual problem, he’s probably solely responsible for at least 5 rocket losses…this team is where its at because of a team effort, not because tmac has been carrying them. that being said, with the right matchup, like the hornets, they could upset them in the first round. Lowry would do better on CP than rafer, Brooks can get by CP on offense, and Tyson has never figured out to stop Yao. I would feel pretty confident about the Rockets pulling it off.

  • Caleb

    Well there a 9 teams in the West that should finish above .500, perhaps well above .500… and one of them will not get in. That team could easily be Houston.

    More likely Phoenix though… especially with Stoudamire out.

  • KozmicKid505

    you know what …. I’m gonna take it back for probably a rare occasion in my life! Brookes ain’t half bad.

  • marcus jones

    Now your talking KozmicKid505!!! Brooks and Lowry are a much better team then the talents of Rafer Alston…in fact you have the fastest team of quick guards in the NBA. Tony Parker did not do so bad when he went into the starting lineup for the Spurs…lots of people said no way…the guy is too small….Aaron Brooks has talent and heart and thats what counts. Ask Hall of Fame Calvin Murphy about that.

  • Rasta Rajon

    Oh My GOD, this trade is going to bring Rafer Alston’s alter-ego “skip-to-my-lou” back! He is going to have a field day tossing lobs up for Howard to fly to. His penetration skills, jumpshot ability, man the East is finally making some moves to be a great conference!

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Awards Season

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Magic Mania: Then vs. Now

← Older Comments
Advertisement