Introduced Wednesday for the first time as a Net, point guard Rafer Alston zipped quotables as deftly as the slick passes he -- as “Skip to My Lou” -- has long been renowned for throwing past defenders at the NYC playgrounds just across the river.
On playing in New Jersey:
“Oh, it’s home. Believe me. It’s not like we’re in Trenton, or Atlantic City. That’s too far to keep commuting to come to a game. It’s almost the same distance for some people, especially with traffic – you try coming from Queens to 34th St.”
On Jameer Nelson’s return cutting into his Finals minutes:
“There’s no lingering disappointments about the minutes or anything like that. Lingering disappointment about losing -- that’s it.”
On whether he could play shooting guard alongside Devin Harris:
“I think he’ll be a better 2 than I will, ha. If you look at points per game, he’ll do a better job. I’ve been a natural point guard my whole life … I would love to pass him the ball. That’s what I would love to do.”
Alston’s now on his sixth team -- not including a few non-NBA pit stops -- as his career enters an 11th season. But the soon-to-be 33-year-old (July 24th) sounded every bit the mature veteran, energized by a return to the area and the chance to help a team build success from the bottom floor.
He knows he’s entering a situation with a clear delineation, acknowledging that Devin Harris is an All-Star caliber player and the starting point guard, while Keyon Dooling -- who’s capable of playing off-guard -- also had a strong season. But Alston promises to compete and push the other two PGs while playing “at a 100 percent level” in whatever role Nets coach Lawrence Frank asks of him.
Enthused by the challenge of assisting this team to its first playoff berth in three seasons, Alston is ready to run with his young, athletic teammates citing a slew, from wings Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams to bigs Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez. And coming off three straight seasons in the playoffs (two with Houston before this year in Orlando), he’s looking forward to imparting what knowledge he can to these young charges.
“One thing I can help them out with is being held accountable and responsible not only to yourself, but to your team -- being an everyday palyer. That’s something as young players you don’t get right away. Ididn’t get that right away, but I had the opportunity to learn it from Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson in my early years. I moved on and had an opportunity to learn it from a few other guys, especially in Miami with Eddie Jones and Brian Grant.
“You bring that experience to these guys and the knowledge that you have to be held accountable and responsible to this team. Once you get that down, you’ll come out here every day and put on the performance that’s needed to win.”
For the season, that meant managing the ball for two distinct offenses, which Alston handled adroitly, compiling a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranked 10th in the NBA. He averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 assists while sliding efficiently into Orlando’s system midseason, replacing Jameer Nelson as the All-Star guard recovered from a shoulder injury.
Alston maintained that production through three rounds of the playoffs before Nelson’s surprising Finals return seemed to funk Alston’s performance as the Magic fell, 4-1, to the Lakers. He was looking forward to a return in Orlando, knowing he’d back up Nelson, but thought a trade might be coming. Alston said he was elated when he heard it he’d be headed back home (almost).
“I grew up from these parts,” Alston said. “We all grow up as New Yorkers wanting to be a Knick, but some of us don’t mind being a Net. I’m excited to be in New Jersey.”
If you doubt that final statement, chew on this:
Alston -- 7 years old at the time -- distinctly remembers rooting on the 1983-84 Nets during their First-Round upset of the defending champion 76ers.
“I can’t wait to put that uniform on. Some of my favorite players played for organization: you’ve got Pearl Washington, Kenny Anderson, you name it! Albert King, Darwin Cook. I was born in ’76 so I watched all that stuff. They had Otis Birdsong, they were rockin’-and-rollin’. I still remember when Ray (Michael Ray Richardson) came back and they beat the Sixers. I was a little kid just looking at the TV and couldn’t believe it.”
Also in the gym Wednesday was forward Yi Jianlian, who will be working out in New Jersey for another 10 days before heading back to China to prepare for the FIBA Asian Championships in August. Yi just completed a month bouncing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas working mainly with Joe Abunassar at Impact Training.
Abunassar has known Yi since before the 7-footer was drafted in 2007, and the focus was on lifting to improve upper body strength, as well as post work to improve Yi’s ability on the block. Since the season ended, Yi has put on 4-5 pounds, and been working on his hook shot (both right-handed and left).
After admittedly struggling in the second half of last season, following his return from a broken pinkie, Yi is eager to put the 2008-09 season behind him and focus on his third season. With a smaller commitment to the Chinese National Team (as opposed to last year, when he immediately jumped into Olympic practices), he wanted to be sure to use the extra time to improve his game, starting with his post play. That effort now becomes crucial in light of the Vince Carter trade.
“I have to improve or play better whether Vince is here or not here,” Yi said. “The thing is, it’s the NBA: trades happen. For me, VC was a real nice guy, nice player, always helped me and all the young players on the team, was a good team leader.”
Yi recently spoke to Yao Ming, saying the Rockets’ big man is still talking to doctors, but has yet to hear anything conclusive. And as for those thinking Yao might be done, Yi doesn’t buy it:
“A lot of people are saying a lot of stuff.”
Devin Harris and Brook Lopez recently spent a week in China at the Adidas Nations camp, and Harris said that Yi recommended a few places to go. What were they?
“A lot of people like going to the clubs, they’re very popular in Bejing. They had fun out there, Brook told me that. At that time I was in Hong Kong, so I wasn’t able to help them out. But I’d love to come back out there with them.”
