March 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Rafer Alston's sudden departure from the Miami Heat took another twist Friday night, when the veteran point guard was placed on the NBA's Suspended List, and therefore suspended for the balance of the season without the possibility of a return. Alston left the team a week ago after being demoted from his starting role. His only contact with the team since has been a text message to a team trainer that he would not be reporting. He since has mentioned a recent suicide attempt by his twin sister as a contributing factor to his departure. "While we are aware, through media reports, of the personal issue that Rafer is going through, we still have not heard from him," Heat President Pat Riley ..."
March 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Despite word that personal turmoil contributed to Rafer Alston's departure from the Miami Heat last week, coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday that "our stance is the same" when it comes to the guard's indefinite suspension without pay. In breaking his silence about a departure that came a day after he was stripped of his starting role last Thursday, Alston told ESPN.com that his abrupt exit from the team came amid the emotional strain of his twin sister Racine's recent attempted suicide. Spoelstra said the Heat still has yet to hear from the veteran guard beyond a single text message last Friday informing the team's trainer of his departure. "My thoughts and prayers are with him and his ..."
March 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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For the first time since Rafer Alston left the Miami Heat without explanation, clarity is being shed on the matter. According to ESPN.com, Alston decided to leave the team in the wake of last week's benching amid the emotional strain of his twin sister Racine's attempted suicide. Alston told the website his sister had attempted to take her life just days before he was relieved of his starting job. "The way I handled it was wrong," Alston told ESPN.com. "I didn't really tell [team officials] why I was leaving." The Heat said it only received a text from Alston the morning after he was benched during last Thursday's home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, offering no details about his ..."
March 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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At the conclusion of Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat officials still weren't certain what would become of Rafer Alston, the dethroned starting point guard who is now indefinitely suspended because he did not show up at Friday's practice or Saturday's 100-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Regardless, Heat players were moving forward. "It's very important to have the locker room in good order," guard Dwyane Wade said. "Even when we were losing, it wasn't in bad order. But as we've worked our way our of our slump, you can see guys coming together even more, so we just want to keep that up." To that end, the Heat went about its business Monday as a team riding a ..."
March 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Rafter Alston's comeback with the Miami Heat apparently has come to an end. The veteran point guard was suspended indefinitely without pay Saturday after failing to make himself available to the team. Alston failed to report for practice Friday, which the team did not initially disclose, and then did not appear at Saturday's victory over the Atlanta Hawks. According to the team, as of early Sunday morning Alston had not made himself available other than by text message. His abrupt departure from the team came a day after he was demoted from his starting role in Thursday's overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Alston, who was signed Jan. 7 to add punch to a shaky rotation at point ..."
March 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat's swinging door at point guard has again swung in Carlos Arroyo's direction. Replaced as the team's starting point guard upon Rafer Alston's free-agent arrival on Jan. 8, Arroyo was back in the starting lineup Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers at AmericanAirlines Arena, his 15th start of the season and first since a Jan. 6 home loss to the Boston Celtics. Alston had started in all 25 of his appearances prior to Thursday. "It happens. It's the NBA and nothing surprises you. Just when you think you've seen it all, something else comes your way in this league and that's just the way it's gone," said Alston, who similarly had fallen to third string with the New ..."
January 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Much-traveled point guard Rafer Alston has played for five different teams in 10 seasons, including two separate stints with Toronto and Heat, so he's used to homecomings. But even Alston, who enjoyed his best statistical seasons with the Rockets from 2005 to 2009, did not recognize the up-tempo Rockets he faced in Friday's game at Toyota Center, a team without injury-prone stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Yao has been out all season with a foot injury and McGrady has been on an indefinite leave of absence since Dec. 29 after complaining about playing time to coach Rick Adelman, when he averaged 7.7 minutes in six games. McGrady played just 35 games last season before undergoing ..."
January 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The midseason adjustment is familiar. Rafer Alston did the same thing last year, going from the Houston Rockets to the Orlando Magic. "It's different and similar," Alston said Friday. "The difference is I was traded last year; I didn't lose any money. "It's similar in that you come in to a team that's primed for the playoffs and you come in and try to help them achieve, one, some regular-season success, and then some postseason success." Last season, it meant stepping in as a starter for sidelined Jameer Nelson and leading Orlando all the way to the NBA Finals. This season, after giving back part of his salary in exchange for a buyout from the New Jersey Nets earlier this week, it's moving ..."
January 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Why Rafer Alston? Why not? Has he been horrendous with his shooting this season? Without a doubt. Has he done much of note with New Jersey? Uh, have you seen the Nets' record? But put aside those questions and simply address this one: Is he a better option, does he present more possibilities than Carlos Arroyo, Mario Chalmers or Chris Quinn? And, keeping with this theme of non-stop questions: Did you notice where the Magic wound up last season when he filled in for injured Jameer Nelson? No, this is not the same Skip to My Lou who so energized the Heat in 2003-04, when he played as a backup point guard to a certain rookie by the name of Dwyane Wade. And he still can take the wrong shot at ..."
January 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Rafer Alston, one of the players at the heart of the Miami Heat's playoff revival in 2003-04, said Tuesday he is planning on a South Florida encore. Alston, who had been moved out of the New Jersey Nets' rotation, completed a buyout Tuesday with the Nets, and plans to sign Thursday with the Heat. "I'm coming," he said Tuesday night. "I can't explain in words how excited I am. I'm really excited." In order to clear room for Alston in its backcourt rotation, the Heat on Tuesday traded seldom-used point guard Chris Quinn, as well as its second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and cash to the Nets. In a bookkeeping matter, because something must be sent to the Heat in return in the Quinn ..."
June 18
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
columnist Jeff Schultz
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There is a point guard who just started for a team that reached the NBA finals - and he's available. He also comes with a contract considered Atlanta Spirit budget-friendly. Hello? The Hawks shouldn't re-sign Mike Bibby. They should trade for Orlando's Rafer Alston. He requires less of an investment than Bibby and might get them further in the playoffs. Look what he just did for the Magic? I know. The Hawks finally got good again. The last thing you want to do is blow things up. But this isn't a razing as much as it's a needed remodel. (See ajc.com photo gallery.) There's a pretty good chance that we've seen as far as this Hawks team can go. They survived a seven-game series with Miami in ..."