Thanks for the vid. Yeah Stevie still definately has quickness and hops. I think all he needs is motivation. I'd say being reunited with his friends and family and proving he still has it is all the motivation he needs. Watch and see.
Francis' deal with Rockets worth $6 million By Chris Broussard ESPN The Magazine (Archive) Updated: July 19, 2007, 3:36 PM ET Comment Email Print Steve Francis is going home. Francis After three years of struggles in Orlando and New York, the former All-Star guard will return to the place of his greatest glory, the Houston Rockets. Francis was in Houston on Thursday to sign a two-year contract worth roughly $6 million with the Rockets. The club will announce the signing at a newsconference on Friday. "We're extremely pleased that he's going back to Houston," his agent, Jeff Fried, told The Associated Press. "Houston has always been home for Steve since he entered the NBA." The 30-year-old Francis was recently bought out of the remaining two years, $34 million of his previous contract by the Portland Trail Blazers. He received nearly $31 million in the deal. With money being no factor, Francis chose the Rockets over Miami, Dallas and the Clippers. The Heat are believed to have offered him more money. According to a person close to Francis, he chose Houston largely because of his familiarity with the organization and the city. He has kept a home there since joining the club in 1999, and it was the site of his best years in the NBA. As a high-flying point guard for the Rockets, Francis made three All-Star games and was regarded as one of the top players in the league. Francis' career began to decline when he clashed with coach Jeff Van Gundy, who had replaced Francis favorite Rudy Tomjanovich, in 2003. Though Van Gundy helped Francis get to the playoffs for the first and only time in his career, his deliberate style of offense rubbed Francis the wrong way, and his scoring average dropped from 21 points per game to 16.6. Francis was traded to Orlando for Tracy McGrady the following year. But while McGrady was outstanding in Houston, Francis failed to regain his form and was eventually dealt to New York to team with Stephon Marbury in the backcourt. That experiment failed as well, as Francis ended up in a reserve role behind Jamal Crawford while struggling with minor knee injuries. Finally, the Knicks traded Francis to Portland in a draft-night trade that sent Zach Randolph to New York. The Blazers had agreed to buy out Francis as a condition of the trade. Francis returns to Houston in a much different role. The top option during his five-year stint with the club, he will be no more than the third option behind McGrady and Yao Ming. Francis spoke with both players as well as new Rockets coach Rick Adelman before deciding to accept Houston's offer.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...LYF?slug=ap-rockets-francis&prov=ap&type=lgns Francis to return to Rockets By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer July 19, 2007 HOUSTON (AP) -- Steve Francis is returning to the Rockets. Francis has agreed to a deal with Houston, his agent Jeff Fried said Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT Before he was traded to Orlando in 2004 as part of a multiplayer deal that brought Tracy McGrady to the Rockets, Francis spent his first five NBA seasons with the Rockets. He was sent to the Knicks in early 2006 and played for them until he was traded to Portland last month in a draft-night deal. The Trail Blazers bought out his contract for a reported $30 million last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. "We're extremely pleased that he's going back to Houston," Fried said. "Houston has always been home for Steve since he entered the NBA." Fried said the buyout from Portland allowed Francis more freedom in choosing a team based on factors other than money. He would not release terms of the deal, but said other teams offered more lucrative contracts. Miami, Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers were interested in the 30-year-old guard. "When you look back at a few months ago and the status of things and fast forward to today, it's really something that probably could not have been planned or implemented any better," Fried said. Fried said Francis chose the Rockets because of his "comfort factor" with the team and because he believes he can be a "meaningful participant in the overall success" in Houston. Francis played just 44 games for the Knicks last season while dealing with injuries, averaging a career-low 11.3 points. The three-time All-Star has averaged 18.4 points and 6.1 assists in his eight-year NBA career. Francis has maintained a home in Houston since signing with the Rockets his rookie season and spent time in the city last season while recovering from a knee injury.
790 reports Alston to Indiana a possibility. Looks like Pacers have interest. What are the possibilities Alston for 1) Foster 2) Marquis Daniels 3) Alston + Sura for Troy Murphy
If SF plays to just about 2/3 of the level that he was before, he'll probably be voted to the All Star game. I'm mean, I'm sure the Chinese fans still remember him. Can you imagine the Rox sending 3 all star starters? Wow
Bottom line: Francis >> Rafer Look at the stats here. Steve Francis: Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 99-00 HOU 77 77 36.1 0.445 0.345 0.786 2.0 3.3 5.3 6.6 1.5 0.4 3.97 3.00 18.0 00-01 HOU 80 79 39.9 0.451 0.396 0.817 2.4 4.5 6.9 6.5 1.8 0.4 3.31 3.40 19.9 01-02 HOU 57 56 41.1 0.417 0.324 0.773 1.8 5.2 7.0 6.4 1.2 0.4 3.88 3.00 21.6 02-03 HOU 81 81 41.0 0.435 0.354 0.800 2.0 4.2 6.2 6.2 1.7 0.5 3.69 3.10 21.0 03-04 HOU 79 79 40.4 0.403 0.292 0.775 1.5 4.0 5.5 6.2 1.8 0.4 3.72 3.30 16.6 04-05 ORL 78 78 38.2 0.423 0.299 0.823 1.6 4.2 5.8 7.0 1.4 0.4 4.06 3.50 21.3 05-06 ORL 46 45 37.7 0.433 0.257 0.797 1.3 3.5 4.8 5.7 1.1 0.2 3.39 3.10 16.2 05-06 NYK 24 15 27.5 0.442 0.538 0.761 0.6 2.4 3.0 3.5 1.0 0.2 2.42 2.60 10.8 06-07 NYK 44 30 28.1 0.408 0.378 0.829 0.8 2.8 3.6 3.9 0.9 0.3 2.27 2.90 11.3 vs. Rafer Alston: Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 99-00 MIL 27 0 13.4 0.284 0.214 0.750 0.2 0.7 0.9 2.6 0.4 0.0 1.07 1.10 2.2 00-01 MIL 37 2 7.8 0.357 0.267 0.692 0.1 0.7 0.8 1.8 0.3 0.0 0.54 0.70 2.1 01-02 MIL 50 7 12.0 0.346 0.380 0.621 0.2 1.2 1.4 2.9 0.6 0.0 0.80 0.80 3.5 02-03 TOR 47 4 20.9 0.415 0.392 0.685 0.4 1.8 2.3 4.1 0.8 0.3 1.83 2.60 7.8 03-04 MIA 82 28 31.5 0.376 0.371 0.769 0.3 2.4 2.8 4.5 1.4 0.2 1.56 2.60 10.2 04-05 TOR 80 78 34.0 0.414 0.357 0.740 0.5 3.0 3.5 6.4 1.5 0.1 2.13 2.70 14.2 05-06 HOU 63 63 38.6 0.379 0.327 0.692 0.6 3.5 4.0 6.7 1.6 0.2 2.49 3.10 12.1 06-07 HOU 82 82 37.1 0.375 0.363 0.734 0.4 3.1 3.4 5.4 1.6 0.1 2.07 2.40 13.3 Points are higher, shooting percentage higher (in fact, Francis' 3pt % is almost as high as Rafer's 2-pt %), even assists are higher. I know we used to see Stevie doing a lot of dribbling. I am sure that's no longer an issue given his maturity. His time at Orlando was great.
I can't believe this. I thought SF was going to sign for the Heat. Well who cares now, SF is OURS! Despite the arrival of MJ, i was still skeptical about our PG abilities. Now all that skepticism is gone with the signing of SF. I am pretty sure we are gonna have a 60 wins or close to 60 wins season next year. We have upgraded our team dramatically and added so much depth to our squad. We are the team to beat! Yao, Scola, Battier, T-mac and Francis starting for us and have Bonzi, Head, MJ and Hayes come off the bench. We are unbeatable. Can't wait till the season starts.
If I am Steve, I will begin to work out hard, and get himself in shape to prove his value. If I am Steve, I will do whatever to let Rockets win!
I wonder if Stevie gets voted into the ASG again next year. We would actually have three all-stars on the Rockets team.
