Many people have advocated trading Francis in an effort to improve our team given the general viewpoint of our 'selfish backcourt'. Given the way our team plays without Francis, as we recently witnessed, I'm curious if people might think that we would ultimately be a better team if Francis was traded in the offseason for a player(s) of comparable value. Everyone seems to denigrate Mobley for being greedy with the ball, but I think the facts clearly show that Francis is at a bare minimum equally stingy with the ball, refusing to distribute it to Yao. I believe a decision has to be made about the offensive strategy this team wants to employ...the obvious fact, I believe is that either Francis or Mobley has to go in order to fully take advantage of Yao's presence. As is stands our offense is incredibly inefficient and remarkably inconsistent.
The problem is that we simply can't get a PG of Francis's comparable talent. The other 2 clear better PGs than Francis are either untouchable (Kidd) or too old (Payton). Anyone else is lesser value. So Francis is pretty much untouchable at this sense. As for Mobley, as his contract's so cheap comparable to his production, so it's also very difficult to get equal value for him. Forget about this. The better solution is to hope that Francis truely develops as a PG. As for summer moves, I think we should get a pure shooter with our MLE or trade Rice for 1-2 shooters. The other parts are pretty much set.
Get Brand in the offseason, and hope Boki develops into a good shooting type small forward. And if he doesn't, get a good sharpshooter who can fill the Small Forward role.
I think Francis will never develop into a true PG. In a recent interview, Bill Walton asked Francis which he preferred, "pass or shoot?" Francis picked "SHOOT." Francis is a lot like Kobe (without the ability to drop 40 pts at will). He has to get his and forget everyone else on the team. Kobe was able to win the championship because he played with the most dominant force on the planet. Yao, while a great player, is no Shaq. For the Rox to win, they will need the involvement of their role players. Unfortunately, Francis is not up to the task.
Quoted by vwiggin I don't know if you watched the entire segment, but the entire interview was considered a joke. Mobley, Franchise, or Walton didn't take it serious, I don't think they thought anyone else would think it was serious as well. The whole thing was just a plot for you to laugh at. Quoted by texandoc Why does the team have to sacrifice itself just for one player name Yao. There is no doubt that he could be a better player if the offense was to give him the ball everytime down, the court but the same could be said for Mobley. There should be no doubt that Mobley wold be a better player and an All-star if he was on a team as the main focus. My point is I don't like the concept screw over our core players, (Franchise and Mobley) for the sake of Yao, or everyone is expendalbe except Yao. I beleive that they can all coexist given the ample amount of time.
This is an interesting question. I think Cat is better at protecting the ball, and Francis is better at passing it. I think Francis is a better scorer, but Cat is a better finisher, and FT shooter. All in all, Cat is a poor man's Francis. I would like to see a little diversity out there, we need a good jump shooter at the 2, not a redundant piece. I personally think Cat should be traded as he is a carbon copy of Francis, and we can only have one of that type of player and be successful. IMHO DD
It occurred to me today that with Yao and Mobley, we have something like a poor man's Shaq and Kobe. Both are offensive minded players; one in the post, the other the perimeter, that can take advantage of the defense not being able to sag. I think a lot of Cat's layups in the Grizz game was the result of the defense not wanting to leave Yao open underneath. That happens with Kobe a lot too. In games where they're not facing Yao, Shaq really opens up the lane for Kobe. For some reason, when Yao and Steve play together, the lane seems clogged, as if maybe Steve or Yao can't get a feel of how they should space for one another.
If Mobes or Francis were to be traded I'd rather have it be Francis. The reason is because if this happens this means we don't think Francis is a PG, and Francis is 1) worth a whole lot more on the market (get a guy like J. Oneal, or Brand+), 2) it is no sure thing he is that much better of a 2 guard than Mobes, nor 3) would just switching his posititions automatically make him a better team player. Finally, IMHO--I have perceived Mobley is more willing to let Yao make the decisions with the ball than Francis is. Now if the intention is to keep Francis at the 1, I don't think trading Mobley accomplishes much either. Sure if it could have landed Ray Allen--but there really are not that many Ray Allens who would provide a substantial upgrade at the 2--Mobley is a better overall player (at a better contract BTW) than over half of the the two guards starting for other teams. Having said all this, I don't think either Francis or Mobley is going anywhere. They key IMO to the Rockets becoming a legit contender over the next few years is for Francis to continue to develop his team and game management skills. I don't think we will do any radical offseason moves (trading Francis or Mobley or EG) unless 1) their is a clear consensus by Rudy/Carrol that one of those 3 will never be the team player they thought they were, 2) a nobrainer of an advantagous to us trade offer presented. Don't count on either.
soo.....We are kind of in the sink hole that the Raptors were in when they had both TMac and Carter.....but since they have separated them, neither Orlando or Toronto has gone anywhere. I really dont know what to make of this situation with the rocks. It seems a good idea to only have one, but then in the future we might regret it. MObes is a player. He can play.
IMO, not a good example. Neither the Raptors nor Magic have had much low post presence. Look at what the Magic have been doing since they got Gooden. They've assimilated both Gooden and Giricek without batting an eye.
The ultimate, of course, is for the Nets to make the playoffs, have Dikembe healthy, make it to the Eastern Conference or NBA Finals, and get swept again. Jason Kidd realizes he a) can't win coming out of the East and b) can't win without a more dominant inside force. Sign and trade Kidd for Francis. Nets would do it if they knew they were losing Kidd anyway. Pipedream, I know... I think the consensus that either Mobley or Francis has to go is a good one. They are just too similar of players. Even if the Rockets manage to limp into the playoffs, if they trade in the offseason, you can be sure it will be Mobley before Francis, unless something huge is on the table (see scenario above). At Mobley's production/salary ratio, they are more likely to get someone to give up something good in return. Personally, I find I sway one way or the other each day. Right now, I'm swayed to say, if you can get a Brand or Kidd or J. Oneal, or a combo of really good players for Francis, then I'd get rid of him. My reasoning is, Mobley is obviously the more dedicated and better denfeder, and Francis, regardless of position, needs the ball in his hands to be effective moreso than Mobley, imo. He is the better player, for sure, but will he ever not be the dominant ballhandler that he currently is?
I don't see how you can say that. Until they let women play in the NBA, there will always be 21 balls on the court at any given time.
yeah, and sometimes 23 or 25. Cant forget the ref and occasional Spike Lee outbursts. This is the first time I have seen one of these threads that didnt get out of controll. Amazing. Cuttino is a really good bargain for his position. Any improvement we could get at the 2 by trading him away would surely cost us another player and maybe even picks. Any 2 guard better, or rather signifigantly better as to be worth trading for, is likely making the max. Cuttinos contract plus a #1 pick still dont equal that in value. We would have to trade Rice, Cuttino and maybe some little piece, in order to get a max 2 guard and an ok shooting 3. More likely the only way we trade Cuttino is to use his value/contract to get rid of a player we dont want. One with a hard to move contract. Possibly Rice, Mot T, or Cato. This is hard to do as we would have to really like what we are getting. Cuttinos good contract is much longer than Rice's bad contract. Francis IS tradable because he is a great player and he is paid the same amount as every other great player. It is not too hard to swap 2 max players. Just a little filler and its a done deal. However if we are to trade Steve for another PG we are assuming he will not develop, and the player we are getting is already developed. We are also assuming that the other team thinks he will develop more of a team game. Too many assumptions IMO. To trade steve for a less capable however "pure" PG could be easily done. I couldnt imagine a team that would not find a use for steve. We would get this "pure" PG and we would of course need a reason to downgrade at the 1 spot. Logicly we are talking about the #3 #4. So, now we are in a 3 team deal involving us getting a PG/PF combo for Steve and one of our big men. Miller/Brand for Francis/Cato would be the scenerio, however I doubt it would be a 2 team deal. The two players are most likely to come from two different teams. A guy like cato could do well for an Eastern conference team. All in all I think these may all be to risky. It would be more prudent to stand pat. Rice will be off the books at about the time that we will no longer need his vetran leadership. Hopefully by then Yao has developed into the monster we all dream about. Steve has improved, if even a little. Cuttino plays just a bit smarter. EG develops, well into a man, and Cato continues to get closer to earning his paycheck. With any extra cash we may get after Rice is off the books additional role players can be signed. also the draft can fill the holes too. Otherwise everything looks pretty decent in rocketland. besides, we still have half a season to play
If you can trade Steve for a stud big man straight up, Ok. Always trade small for big. Otherwise, in a package deal, keep him, trade Cat. Rox are obviously banking Rice's contract is going to be worth something. I don't necessarily agree with this thinking, but I'll bet they try to keep both guys, right where they are. Now if we get a good 4 for Rice + and Steve and Cat still self-destruct, no more excuses. Still too much room for excuses now.
I agree Cta and Steve have redundant skill sets. If Cuttino has to go, I'd offer him, Griffin and Rice's expiring contract for Caron Butler and Brian Grant. It works capwise. I gotta give the Francis thing a bit more thought.
We only need one. I would keep Cat. His poor decisions can be easily contained as he is not the PG. Easy reason.
