O-dawg, stra - amen brothers! What really gets under my skin are the people that have their logic totally flawed which goes something like this: (1) I believe player x needs to go, (2) let me look for signs that supports my belief that player x needs to go.
I think Steve's future with the Rockets is dependent on how he performs in the playoffs. If he has a great performance and the team goes far, his chances of staying are probably pretty good. If he has a poor performance and the team doesn't make it out of the first round, he is probably going to be traded. Thats just my opinion though.
I don't think most people, those who defend Steve, really mind if Steve get traded IF it can bring back fair value, in another word, if the trade can improve the team, go for it! The problem with so many trade proposals is that we are all fans, and fans in general are irrational when it comes to their beloved team. They can love you to death one day, but want you to die the next. That's just the way fans are, we are no exception here. Back to the thread subjest. I think you are mistaken if you think JVG can trade away Francis this Summer. IMHO, Steve's fate will be determined by what Les & CD think about JVG's performance this season. So it is important to look closely at their mindset. First, the Rockets gave the MAX contract to Francis after THREE years with the Rockets, which means CD & Les liked the way Francis had played in those years that they felt comfortable enough to appoint him as the franchise player. It doesn't matter whatever everyone else thinks about Francis' playing in those three years, but the basketball minds with the Rockets orgnization liked what they had seen from Francis TWO YEARS agao. Then we drafted Yao Ming in the draft when many "expert" believed J. Williams was a better player. I think no one would disagree with me that the move indicated the Rockets believed Yao & Francis could play together at that time. After we missed playoff last season, the common perception was Rudy was running a loose ship, we should have made the playoff if we had someone who can install a more displined system. That was proved by the hiring of JVG last summer. That move indicates the dissappointment in Rudy, not Francis, or any other players. Otherwise, we'd have traded Francis when his value was considerably higher. The hiring of JVG told us two things. First, the Rockets orgnization believed the problem they had was with the coach, not the players. JVG would solve the coaching problem, hence we'd do much better this season WITH the roster we had. The other thing is the mindset of JVG. Obviously, he DIDN'T think Francis would be a problem when he took the job, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the job known your franchise player was your biggest problem. I fully believe that during the interview, JVG had convinced CD & Les that he would do a great job with Francis & YAO & Mobley. I don't think JVG lied about his take on Francis during his job interview just to get this job, I think he truely believed he would do a much better job than Rudy. I'm not here to say JVG is better or worse than Rudy would have done, there are plenty threads about that. What I'm saying is that upon until the begining of the season, all the basketball minds in the Rockets orgnization thought Francis & Yao should have worked, this includes Les, CD, and JVG. Now, after one year, all of them changed their mind? Obviously, we know that JVG is having a different thought about Francis now, even though he won't publicaly say he mis-judged Francis when he took the job. But what's in CD & Les' mind? Do they believe Francis IS the problem for ANY coach, like some suggested here, or JVG is the problem since he failed to have Steve & Yao work together, which is what he was hired to do? So at the end of the season, what Les & CD think about JVG will decide both JVG & Francis' fate. IMO, the Rockets will not move Francis this Summer, they will give them one more year to prove their worth, respectively.
Obviosly this is a little off-topic.. But when you evaluate a coach I don't think it is fair to judge a coach only on his first season when he is clearly trying to change the way the team plays. In my opinion Rudy had taken this team as far as he could and I don't believe JVG has done that yet. I think he will take THIS team far perhaps already this year but definitely in the next years. Well he brought us to the playoffs as the no. 7 seed in a tough conference. ALL the teams ahead of us in the standings are VERY VERY good teams, so I think a no.7 is pretty good actually. Obviously we will want to do even better and I think we will be doing that very soon. I would not be so confident if Rudy was still the coach as it did seem that he had lost respect with the players and needed a break. I love Rudy but overall it was a good move to get JVG.
This is not about the evaluation of JVG from us, the fan. I was trying to put myself in Les & CD's shoes ( ) to see what's in their mind, because they are the ones who will decide the teams future.
I hope we win the championship so that you can discover that you actually AREN'T a Rockets fan because you will be upset that the win makes it unlikely that Francis will be traded. Deal with it.
Htownhero- for $20.00 that Steve is gone... noted. Excellent post Doashi. Logical and objective. I agree that this team will get at least one more season together before a shake up in the big three is made. Where ya at DaDa?
