EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—After being traded to the Nets along with Courtney Lee and Tony Battie on draft day, Rafer Alston could have sulked about leaving an NBA Finals squad in Orlando. But he came in saying all the right things, about it being great to play close to home and that he’d slot alongside anyone he was asked to while providing competition at point guard and dispensing advice to eager minds.

Then a strained groin sidelined Devin Harris for 10 of the first 12 games, and Alston slid in as the starter, logging major minutes on 33-year-old legs with nary a complaint.

And when Keyon Dooling’s surgically-repaired hip healed enough to earn Alston’s fellow PG significant playing time, “Skip to my Lou” stayed supportive, even as his own minutes dwindled into a pair of DNP-CDs as the calendar flipped from 2009 to 2010.

Alston will now continue his season somewhere else: the Nets requested waivers on the 11-year veteran on Tuesday, allowing him to pursue a more amenable situation as an unrestricted free agent.

“Clearly he was in a situation that was tough for him,” explained Nets coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe. “He’s been a star. He’s been a starter for most of his career, if not the whole thing, and played in the championship series last year. And he has a lot more basketball in him. To be able to set up the situation where he can potentially get to where he wants to go and out of a situation that is not good for him, I think is really good for everybody.

“Hopefully it ends up good for him. We wish him only the best, and I think it comes back to help you. If you can help a player in this type of situation, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

In 27 games (13 starts) with the Nets, Alston averaged 9.7 points, 3.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds while shooting .322 from three and .343 overall in 28.4 minutes. Alston scored 20-or-more points three times, dished out at least five assists on 15 occasions and played 40-plus minutes six times. He also registered the first triple-double of his career with a 17-10-10 performance against Orlando on November 13th.

Speaking before Tuesday’s game against the Bucks, Vandeweghe repeatedly praised Alston’s professionalism, and said that the player had “an understanding” with management as opposed to any expressed desire to be somewhere else. Alston’s enthusiasm could be infectious – teammate Jarvis Hayes had nothing but good things to say about Alston – and the outspoken guard never shied from letting a younger player know anything he thought might help.

Those qualities, along with the low cost of acquiring the on-court leadership Alston noticeably displayed last season after a midseason trade to the Magic, make him a valuable addition to any playoff-bound roster.

“Oh, my – to a playoff team?” Hayes exclaimed, rhetorically. “He can contribute immensely. He’s got great awareness, he knows how to run a team – a good leader. I don’t know who’s going to get him, but he’ll be a great asset.”

Alston, home while recovering from a recent bout with the flu, could not be reached for comment.

For more on the Nets, be sure to follow @netsbasketball on Twitter or visit our Fan Page on Facebook.

<< Back to All Access News