James thinks he's right for Rockets
Free agent wants to return to where he now calls home
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
DALLAS - When the Rockets weigh their free-agent options, one will stand out.
He is not the perfect fit. He might not be the first choice. But he is in the books as the first to make his preference clear.
Mike James, whom the Rockets sent to Toronto before last season to get the more traditional point play of Rafer Alston and because they did not want to lose James this summer as a free agent, wants to come back. More than that, he believes the Rockets should want him as much as he wants them.
"Houston is my first choice," James said. "Seriously, Houston is home. My wife is from Houston. We just bought our house in Houston. I want to go home."
James can even argue he would be a good fit, believing his shooting range and ballhandling would be ideal to take defenders away from Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady and pressure off Alston.
"I definitely could see myself on the court with Rafer," James said. "I think I could help him out a lot. And could you see me, Rafer, Juwan (Howard), Yao and Tracy on the court together? Teams could not double off anyone.
"Everybody talks about my point-guard play, says I'm not a pass-first player. I'm not. I'm a make-the-play player. Whatever it takes to make the play, that's what I'm going to do. Whether it's scoring or passing, I'm going to make the play."
Though the Raptors were among the league's worst teams, individually, James had a career year, averaging 20.3 points and 5.8 assists. He was fourth in the NBA in 3-point shooting, making 44.2 percent.
That, however, could make him a hot commodity in an offseason short on point guards. Atlanta, in particular, has money to spend and a need for a point guard. The Rockets have a mid-level exception, likely worth about $5.4 million to start, but James will be 31 next season. This could be his last contract. He will look for more than mid-level.
The Rockets, if they are to give their mid-level to one player, rather than split it among several (perhaps in a run at younger former second-round pick Vassilis Spanoulis) would likely look for younger and bigger help than James. But he made it clear who he believes would be the right choice.
"I would love to go straight from my home to the arena," James said. "If I can do that the rest of my career, that's what I want to do.
"I'm back in the gym already. I'm back working out with John Lucas already. I know if I want something better, I can't do the same things to get different results. I have to do different things to get different results. Now I'm boxing this summer. I'm training in different ways because I want to be better.
"This season, every part of my game got better. Now, my main focus is coming back to H-Town."
