Shank
07-11-2006, 08:41 AM
Two different columns, one by the Houston paper and the other by ESPN.com. Consider the Houston paper's approach and how select quotes can be pulled to make it sound like it's a done deal. Obviously, this happens all the time but when we're dealing with this long, unnecessarily drawn-out pissing match over Mike James, reading these makes you feel like no progress has been made. Please do enjoy your daily Mike James update. I know you've been curious.
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James delays decision
Rockets hope to learn choice of guard today
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson and guard Mike James, Dawson's primary free-agent target, left Las Vegas on Monday night to return to Houston with no indication where James' career will take him next.
James met with Dawson and Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson on Monday, the day James hoped to reach a decision about the offers he had received from the Rockets, Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
But after another day of discussions, James returned home to consider his options, planning to reach a decision today. Players can begin signing NBA contracts Wednesday.
"It's wide-open still," said Bill Duffy, James' agent. "It's up to Mike and Angela (James' wife). He has been all over the place, playing for various teams. It will be a family decision. It's a composite of three or four things."
With all three teams over the salary cap, none could offer more than the mid-level exception, expected to start at about $5 million. Maximum raises could net James between $23 million and $24 million in a free-agent deal (depending on the exact amount of the exception, which will determined by Wednesday).
Duffy said last week that the teams were in discussions with the Toronto Raptors about a sign-and-trade deal in which James could be paid more than the mid-level exception, but Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo seems hesitant to add any long-term salary obligations to his rebuilding plans.
If James chose the Rockets, they could offer Colangelo a trade exception worth $4.2 million in which he would not have to take back players. That would not earn James more than a four-year, full mid-level deal unless the mid-level exception is set at less than expected.
Duffy said the offers are "for the most part" comparable and added that there was some information he was seeking from the league. He would not say if any team had offered a longer deal than the others.
James averaged 20.3 points (on 46.9 percent shooting and 44.2 percent 3-point shooting) with the Raptors last season, when he had career bests in scoring, assists (5.8 per game) and rebounds (3.3).
In 27 games with the Rockets in the 2004-05 season, all but five off the bench, James averaged 12.4 points, 2.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds, but he was traded to the Raptors before training camp for Rafer Alston.
James has often said his goal is to return to Houston, where he is building a home.
"I would love to go straight from my home to the arena," James said in May. "If I can do that the rest of my career, that's what I want to do.
"This season, every part of my game got better. Now, my main focus is coming back to H-Town."
But Duffy said last week and again Monday that since James has gone through the free-agency process, each opportunity has impressed him enough to have negated the Rockets' initial lead.
Of James' initial preference to return to Houston, Duffy said: "I don't think that's a significant aspect."
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By Sam Alipour
Special to ESPN.com
The NBA's top remaining free-agent point guard should be off the market soon.
Mike James is expected to announce his next team Tuesday after meeting face-to-face Monday in Las Vegas with Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. James then returned to his offseason home in Houston to choose between the Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves, all of whom have been negotiating with James during the Vegas Summer League. It's believed that each of those teams is offering the 31-year-old a three-year deal starting at the $5 million mid-level exception.
The front-runner?
Judging by James' comments over the weekend in Los Angeles at a charity basketball game hosted by Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, it's the Mavericks.
And that's largely because of the former pass-first point guard chasing the shoot-first point guard who's coming off a breakout season in Toronto.
"The biggest 'wow' in this whole situation has been Avery Johnson," James says. "I respect him as a coach, but we have a relationship beyond the court. We've been friends for some years now. I've always respected Avery, even as a player when he had that broke jump shot. But he has a ring and he knows what it takes to win. He's been the person who has wowed me the most through this process."
James added that potential suitors must meet two requirements.
Championship contention is No. 1.
"These three teams want to win," James said. "Kevin Garnett tells me he doesn't want the playoffs, he wants to win the championship. Houston wants to get back to that point, and they've already got two superstars.
"Dallas was two games away," James continued, noting that the Mavs are closest to meeting the first prerequisite. "That's a very important factor for me."
No. 2?
"I want a team that wants to win, but also believes that I'm a significant piece," James said. "It's about trust. That's one of the main things I'm focused on. Do you really believe in me?
"These teams tell me they do. For them to say, 'Mike James, you're a significant piece,' that humbles me. With all the stuff I've been through -- everyone telling me I can't, can't, can't -- I'm humbled that these three teams believe in me."
While he stops short of requiring a spot in the starting lineup, James isn't shy about his belief that he should remain a starter.
"I was top 20 in every category besides rebounding, blocked shots and steals," James said. "There's over 400 players in the NBA, so I think I've proven what I'm capable of. All I can do is continue to work and erase all the critics minds."
And according to James, the critics have been hard at work, hounding him throughout his career. Following a stellar college career at Duquesne, James went undrafted before eventually singing with the Heat as a free agent in 2001. Over the next four seasons, James bounced between Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Houston, respectively, before the Rockets dealt him Toronto on the first day of training camp last October.
James went on to establish new career bests in minutes per game (37.0), assists (5.8) , rebounds (3.3) and points (20.3). He became just the second undrafted player in NBA history, after John Starks, to average 20 points in a season.
While some might credit the jump in production to contract-year motivation, James says it was a product of increased playing time, a lifetime of hard work and a love for the game that saved him.
"If it wasn't for the game of basketball, I know what I would have done, and it wouldn't have been nice," he said, referring to his rough childhood in Amityville, N.Y. "The only other thing I knew was the streets. Basketball was my way out, so the only thing I can do to give back to the game is play with my heart."
While James continues to ponder a decision that will alter the course of his career, he already knows where he'll be when that decision is announced.
He dreams of a press conference.
"I never had the chance to wear that hat on the podium in front of the media," James said. "I told my wife, I'm going to the podium because I've never done that before. For me to just do that once, I'm awed by it. I'm thankful."
Sam Alipour is a contributor to ESPN The Magazine.
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James delays decision
Rockets hope to learn choice of guard today
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson and guard Mike James, Dawson's primary free-agent target, left Las Vegas on Monday night to return to Houston with no indication where James' career will take him next.
James met with Dawson and Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson on Monday, the day James hoped to reach a decision about the offers he had received from the Rockets, Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
But after another day of discussions, James returned home to consider his options, planning to reach a decision today. Players can begin signing NBA contracts Wednesday.
"It's wide-open still," said Bill Duffy, James' agent. "It's up to Mike and Angela (James' wife). He has been all over the place, playing for various teams. It will be a family decision. It's a composite of three or four things."
With all three teams over the salary cap, none could offer more than the mid-level exception, expected to start at about $5 million. Maximum raises could net James between $23 million and $24 million in a free-agent deal (depending on the exact amount of the exception, which will determined by Wednesday).
Duffy said last week that the teams were in discussions with the Toronto Raptors about a sign-and-trade deal in which James could be paid more than the mid-level exception, but Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo seems hesitant to add any long-term salary obligations to his rebuilding plans.
If James chose the Rockets, they could offer Colangelo a trade exception worth $4.2 million in which he would not have to take back players. That would not earn James more than a four-year, full mid-level deal unless the mid-level exception is set at less than expected.
Duffy said the offers are "for the most part" comparable and added that there was some information he was seeking from the league. He would not say if any team had offered a longer deal than the others.
James averaged 20.3 points (on 46.9 percent shooting and 44.2 percent 3-point shooting) with the Raptors last season, when he had career bests in scoring, assists (5.8 per game) and rebounds (3.3).
In 27 games with the Rockets in the 2004-05 season, all but five off the bench, James averaged 12.4 points, 2.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds, but he was traded to the Raptors before training camp for Rafer Alston.
James has often said his goal is to return to Houston, where he is building a home.
"I would love to go straight from my home to the arena," James said in May. "If I can do that the rest of my career, that's what I want to do.
"This season, every part of my game got better. Now, my main focus is coming back to H-Town."
But Duffy said last week and again Monday that since James has gone through the free-agency process, each opportunity has impressed him enough to have negated the Rockets' initial lead.
Of James' initial preference to return to Houston, Duffy said: "I don't think that's a significant aspect."
--------------
By Sam Alipour
Special to ESPN.com
The NBA's top remaining free-agent point guard should be off the market soon.
Mike James is expected to announce his next team Tuesday after meeting face-to-face Monday in Las Vegas with Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. James then returned to his offseason home in Houston to choose between the Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves, all of whom have been negotiating with James during the Vegas Summer League. It's believed that each of those teams is offering the 31-year-old a three-year deal starting at the $5 million mid-level exception.
The front-runner?
Judging by James' comments over the weekend in Los Angeles at a charity basketball game hosted by Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, it's the Mavericks.
And that's largely because of the former pass-first point guard chasing the shoot-first point guard who's coming off a breakout season in Toronto.
"The biggest 'wow' in this whole situation has been Avery Johnson," James says. "I respect him as a coach, but we have a relationship beyond the court. We've been friends for some years now. I've always respected Avery, even as a player when he had that broke jump shot. But he has a ring and he knows what it takes to win. He's been the person who has wowed me the most through this process."
James added that potential suitors must meet two requirements.
Championship contention is No. 1.
"These three teams want to win," James said. "Kevin Garnett tells me he doesn't want the playoffs, he wants to win the championship. Houston wants to get back to that point, and they've already got two superstars.
"Dallas was two games away," James continued, noting that the Mavs are closest to meeting the first prerequisite. "That's a very important factor for me."
No. 2?
"I want a team that wants to win, but also believes that I'm a significant piece," James said. "It's about trust. That's one of the main things I'm focused on. Do you really believe in me?
"These teams tell me they do. For them to say, 'Mike James, you're a significant piece,' that humbles me. With all the stuff I've been through -- everyone telling me I can't, can't, can't -- I'm humbled that these three teams believe in me."
While he stops short of requiring a spot in the starting lineup, James isn't shy about his belief that he should remain a starter.
"I was top 20 in every category besides rebounding, blocked shots and steals," James said. "There's over 400 players in the NBA, so I think I've proven what I'm capable of. All I can do is continue to work and erase all the critics minds."
And according to James, the critics have been hard at work, hounding him throughout his career. Following a stellar college career at Duquesne, James went undrafted before eventually singing with the Heat as a free agent in 2001. Over the next four seasons, James bounced between Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Houston, respectively, before the Rockets dealt him Toronto on the first day of training camp last October.
James went on to establish new career bests in minutes per game (37.0), assists (5.8) , rebounds (3.3) and points (20.3). He became just the second undrafted player in NBA history, after John Starks, to average 20 points in a season.
While some might credit the jump in production to contract-year motivation, James says it was a product of increased playing time, a lifetime of hard work and a love for the game that saved him.
"If it wasn't for the game of basketball, I know what I would have done, and it wouldn't have been nice," he said, referring to his rough childhood in Amityville, N.Y. "The only other thing I knew was the streets. Basketball was my way out, so the only thing I can do to give back to the game is play with my heart."
While James continues to ponder a decision that will alter the course of his career, he already knows where he'll be when that decision is announced.
He dreams of a press conference.
"I never had the chance to wear that hat on the podium in front of the media," James said. "I told my wife, I'm going to the podium because I've never done that before. For me to just do that once, I'm awed by it. I'm thankful."
Sam Alipour is a contributor to ESPN The Magazine.