Alston Still Thrilled by Finals Experience

ORLANDO -- It doesn't matter how much you poke, prod, lead, bait or beg New Jersey guard Rafer Alston during a conversation, he just sticks to the high road.

Alston has every reason to be upset -- or at least frustrated -- by the way he was treated a few months ago, yet he just shrugs and smiles, still thankful to be living his dream in the NBA.

Alston rescued the Orlando Magic when he came from Houston at midseason, giving them a starting veteran point guard who guided them all the way to the NBA Finals. After Jameer Nelson was lost for the season with a shoulder injury in late January, the Magic were desperate, sinking without a ball handler, and Alston delivered big time.

Then, two weeks after the Finals, they threw him overboard. Or even worse, they sent him packing to New Jersey, the worst team in the league.

Alston returned Friday night to play against the Magic, walking into the Amway Arena for the first time since he was traded. The Magic are expected to contend again for a championship. The Nets haven't won a game.

"I was only here a short time, but it was the time of my life. It was a ride I won't forget.''
- Rafer Alston "I was only here a short time, but it was the time of my life,'' Alston told FanHouse. "It was a ride I won't forget.''

Alston, in the final years of his contract, was traded, along with Tony Battie and Courtney Lee for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson, a move made by the Nets for future salary cap purposes.

"I would have been fine being here as Jameer's backup. And I told them that after the season. We could have been a great tandem, just hell for opposing teams to handle,'' Alston said. "It's kind of funny, you're in the Finals, then bam, you're gone. But I understand the business. They got a great player in Vince Carter. How can I be upset about that?''

Alston was supposed to be the backup to Devin Harris in New Jersey, but Harris lasted only two games before he was injured, putting Alston into a starting role again. Yet the Nets are so riddled with injuries, it's tough to imagine them winning very often.

Alston is averaging 10.5 points and 5.1 assists, again proving how capable he is, even if he hasn't stayed anywhere very long. It's unlikely the Nets will re-sign him next summer, intent on landing more high-profile players with so much salary cap room. Alston likely will move to his eighth different NBA team.

"I don't dwell on the negative. I just don't. Last season happened so fast. It was so much fun, it was almost like a dream come true, playing in the NBA Finals, which is what you pretend to do when you're a kid in the park,'' he said. "It came true for me.''

The move to New Jersey actually put him back near his home. He grew up in nearby Queens, New York, where he became a playground legend -- Skip To My Lou -- before he even reached the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I never dwell on what could have been, what might have happened, those kind of things,'' he said. "I'm still in the league. And that's good to me.''