The Magic are looking to move Steve Francis, and I hope the Rockets are at least considering bringing him back. If he could be had for what we got minus swift, tmac, and yao, then i say we go for it. He has improved his team play, and I think he still owns a home here, and it is what he calls home. He has struggled since leaving us, and I think he could re-start his career here. I say Alston, Wesley, and a future first rounder (top 10 protected this year, no limit next year) would be suficient. Lemme know what yall think.
Too much money. I don't think Steve would be very effective as a third option. He could be, but I just don't see his mindset being in the right place if that were the case. I'd rather have Mobley back-a good defender, good outside shot, can drive to the basket.
It ain't gonna happen. But then again, Jalen Rose is playing for Larry Brown again, so i guess anything's possible. Maybe Spreewell will sign with the Spurs so PJ Carlesimo can make him run extra laps every day.
I know they hate each other (JVG and Steve), but im not sold on JVG either. I LOVED steve for the rox, he is still one of my favorite players, and him and yao are still good friends. He makes a lot of money, but if we could dump anderson and alston, or possibly howard, it will even out. Its a long shot, but there dont seem to be many takers for stevie, and id love him back in the H
Almost impossible but.. you gotta smile at the prospect of having Francis + Tmac + Yao. They would just be fun to watch. And I don't think the Rockets would ever have any problems taking games off, Francis is one of the best competitors I've seen play.
get it done! i have a question... if we let go of Alston + Wesley + maybe Moochie or a pick, would it still not work salary wise?
why can't we afford him? the team's payroll is at $69.6M now. what's this salary cap stuff? the knicks' payroll is at $125.9M! so why can't rockets, or any other team, have enough room to afford expensive players? sure they could risk not making much profit in the beginning if they acquire francis, but if they start winning things will change. i'm assuming it is possible to get francis. i don't know why portland's payroll is only $58.8M when their owner is paul allen!
You would also either have to throw in Swift or Moochie's expiring contract to make the salaries match. But I like your idea. We could at least sell more tickets, especially for other teams when we travel. That is, three exciting/marketable players.
That'd be awesome. The only thing left to do would be to DUMP JVG and replace him with someone who can run a fast paced offense! Doesn't have to be the Suns, but better than 47:51 per game of slow down, drag it out bball.
Oh, hell no! Don't bring this stupid thread back! Why in the hell did we get rid of Francis in the 1st place? Think about that, Throwed247....
I can't see us giving the Magic anything they'd actually want. Dealing with the Rockets especially, they'd want a lot back for Francis to make them look good. Highly, highly unlikely that anything could be done. Another issue is that I doubt Les will want 3 max contracts on the team. And from a pure basketball standpoint, Francis still isn't a PG and is not suited for being the 3rd option on any team - he needs the ball too much to be effective. Here's John Hollinger's ESPN scouting report: Wanna guess who leads the NBA in technical fouls over the past three seasons? I'll give you a hint: It's not Rasheed Wallace. 'Sheed has been rung up 56 times, but Francis is the leader with 62. He doesn't have Wallace's histrionics, but he constantly gripes at the refs about calls when he drives to the basket. It's a problem because he'll often bark at the ref instead of running back on defense, permitting an open shot for the opponents at the other end. Francis' feisty streak serves him well at the end of games, however, as he made five game-winning shots last season. Nobody doubts that he plays hard and he's certainly among the best scoring guards in basketball. However, his decision-making leaves a lot to be desired. Francis endlessly crosses the ball over at the top of the key, stalling the offense until he makes his move, and his shot selection is less than ideal. As a passer he has a lot of work to do too, with alleyoop plays being the lone exception. A favorite is the pass over the shoulder to a trailer in transition, which is brilliant if it works but it also leads to a lot of 4-on-1 breaks going the other way. Although Orlando wants to move Francis to shooting guard to take advantage of his scoring skills and reduce his too-frequent turnovers, he'll need to learn how to score without taking 20 seconds off the shot clock in order to thrive there. Francis prefers shooting off the dribble and needs to improve at catching and shooting as he comes off a screen. Wherever he plays he's a good defender and an outstanding rebounder for a guard, and there's no question he has All-Star talent. The Magic just wish he'd harness those abilities to produce All-Star results. I'm sure that JVG wants a catch & shoot player to compliment Yao and TMac's ability to draw double teams and pass out. Steve is not that guy. I'd rather keep Alston and try to draft a SG.
