Bosh is not a Garnett. Bosh is very clearly a PF with superstar capabilities. Garnett is as good playing all 3 frontcourt positions, and is more than a superstar at each. But again, he is a superstar, and Toronto wouldn't trade him.
Re: Bosh. he's not Garnett yet and might never be. He could be Joe Smith. I think a Jalen Rose-Steve Francis backcourt would be enticing for the Raptors with Vince at SF. But you would know better than anyone here I guess seeing as you live there. Is Francis' reputation shot only in Houston or league wide? Re: Kings. It really depends on how they finish the year for their motivation. Maybe they feel they are better off without Webber? If they don't at least reach the Finals this year you know the Maloofs will try to move him. Steve could either start with Bibby or come off the bench for Bibby/Christie. He's taller and younger than BoJax.
I don't think Steve or the Kings would be ok with a max player coming off the bench, which is what he would do in Sacramento unless Adelman suddenly loses his mind.
I was one of the first people to start doubting Steve. On a number of occasions, I mentioned how Steve was fooling the Houston fans. He used to say the right things but he never really backed it up. But, I disagree with the majority of ya'll now. I see Steve changing. I watch him play and see a guy that is re-inventing himself. The guy is thinking pass first. He HAS COME A LONG WAY. He's got a long way to go still. The problem isn't our guards. The problem is our one-dimensional forwards. If we make a move that includes Steve, we better upgrade the 4. MO has to LEAVE. Clutch wants a Kenny kind of guard. Well, those kind of guys are out of favor and they do come cheap. If we get a top 5 type of pf like we had in OT then I am all for it. But, I would hate to see Steve go because I believe he has turned the corner.
Garnett-like. Not Garnett. No one is a carbon copy of anyone else, but he's the closest thing I've ever seen. People forget that he's born the same year as James, is playing out of position at center, and that big men usually develop much later than smalls. As far as playing 3 positions, Bosh has been playing 5 all season, is likely to play the bulk of his career at the 4, and the skill which would seperate him and Garnett as far as playing the 3, namely shooting, is in fact strongly in Bosh's favor. He is already a better outside shooter than Garnett, to say nothing of the comparison with a 19 year old KG. I don't think he will be exactly the same; but his skill set, build, athleticism, work ethic, and basketball smarts are so similar it's scary. He is a better shooter, has better fundamentals ( which inspires the Duncan comparisons) and is a better pure shot blocker than KG, while not being the same 1 on 1 defender. Then again, KG wasn't a stud on D till his 3rd or 4th season. He will probably top off about an inch shorter than KG too. I have no doubt that, short of injury, the kid's gonna be among the very best players in the league, and sooner than you'd think.
What seperates KG and Bosh from Smith is the work ethic and BB IQ. Granted Smith could have been a stud, but he never showed what KG and Bosh have early on in the league. Toronto can't afford 3 max contracts. Toronto is drooling over building around Bosh, and at best his looking forward to a Bosh/Carter base, as both are unselfish, freak athletes, and complement each other well. Bosh has been the player best affected when Strickland, the first true point the Raps have ever had, has been on the floor. That they would give up their future for a questionable star with a rep for selfish play is unlikely even without the salary implications. FInally, regarding Francis' rep; For 2 years the mopst common comment about the Rockets throughout the league has been about the difficulty in getting the Rockets' backcourt to do what everyone else sees as the obviously best thing; pass to Yao early and often. This is portrayed as the most troubling aspect of JVG's job, and the least understandable apsect of the team's makeup. That said, Francis' rep aroun the league is still negative only around that apsect; his terrible shooting this year seems to have gone largely unnoticed, and would probably been seen as an anomaly rather than a norm as it is in here. But it would also probably be attributed to his new role, and might reinforce the perception that he's not a team player.
You know what's funny about this picture? About 3 or 4 games ago....Francis did his "shhhhshhh" to the crowd after he hit a 3 pointer....but it was IN HOUSTON!!!!! I guess he has to "shush" his critics in his own home town...
I have a lot more confidence now that this team can survive without Francis than I had before the season. The positives he has brought (heart/hustle, offensive threat) have been equaled by the negatives (Superbowl, terrible shooting %, poor decision making). He’s been almost a non-factor this season and the team has still managed to win in spite of that. If they can swap him for someone that fits better and can produce more in this system I think this team could be title contenders next season.
Trade him for LESS value? I'd say plan B is probably move him to the 2, bring in a PG capable of covering for his horrendous PG skills, and make him worke like a horse towards improving his midrange J.
Although it's always a rare pleasure reading a Doc Rocket thread (and I hope all is well with the Doc) I wasn't going to post in here because Doc Rocket was pretty straight on the mark but.... Why would imroving Francis's mid-range J make him a 2? To paraphrase Doc's "it's a fact" commentary, we have a guard that needs to dribble to be effective, makes poor passing decisions, can't run/finish a fastbreak and isn't a particularly good standstill shooter...improving a mid-range J doesn't change any of this and probably doesn't even make him a better 2 than Mobley. IMHO, there's no need for a Plan B. There are enough EC teams that want to put fans in their arenas to insure a sufficient enough deal for Francis when that time arrives. I have stated before...the eventual deal will be greeted initially with about an 85% "that's all we got?...CD/JVG are rock stupid" comments to "wow, I'm really surprised by how well they play with Yao" after about game 60.
It's a shame that grandstanding attention addicts start long threads like this while legitimate, substantial ones like the following get locked and pushed off the front page...... http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74974
I agree. I was stating it asa worst case scenario. By improving his J and moving to the 2, we'd get rid of SOME of his problems, make him look better, then trade him when value comes along. You take away his PG duties, then hope he's able to stick the midrange J consistently which he CAN'T do often enough. This way you have a SG who's shooting (at that time) better than 40%, dishing it out 5 times (damn good for a SG), pulling down 5 rebounds, and scoring near 20ppg. Then he'd have value again and we keep trying to trade him. What I do know is, we won't keep this team together, no way. Doc Rocket's JVG quote clear signals that JVG knows this team is very near its limits, and he can't do anything about it now.
Best news I've heard all year. I have a bet going for $25 with a friend, that by the end of this upcoming offseason SF will not be in a Rockets uniform. I feel Martha-esque for relying on such great insider information, but hey, its $25 and I won't be going to jail.
I freely admit until this season I was all for Francis on this team and I thought it would work. I freely admit that I was one of those that felt that Francis was more of a 2 than a 1 and when he had problems at 1 it just made more sense to put him at the 2. But after viewing this season, all of those people that said he couldnt be a 2 for various reasons (cant move without the ball, not a good spot up shooter) were DEAD right and I was wrong. From what I have seen with this team and the way Francis has meshed with Yao, it has become crystal clear to me that he has to be moved for a player(s) that will better compliment Yao's game.
