I have always loved Steve Francis because he took the torch from Hakeem and in my book he had the potential to carry us back to the title. He was the Franchise player in my book. I don't want to bash or bandwagon him. I just want to share some new perspective I am getting on the Rockets. Please consider: 1. How much scoring and defense would we really lose if we traded Steve? Could his scoring be made up and his defense? 2. Would we be a better team with a better play maker at the point who could run the team with fewer turnovers and fewer bad plays? (consider if we can replace Steve's numbers) 3. Is there enough scoring in Yao, Cuttino, Mo Taylor and JJ to pick up Steve's offensive numbers or would we need another quality scoring player (via trade)? 4. Is there enough basketball smarts without Steve that a better point guard would not be wasted on this team? 5. Is Cuttino as good a scorer and 2 guard to warrant trading Steve and leaving Cuttino as the 2 guard? 6. Would eliminating the bad plays Steve makes offset a good portion of his offense? When I think about these questions I beginto think we might improve by subtraction. I love Steve because he is athletic and when he shoots a high % he is very good offensively. But his % is too low. It was not the end of the game that hurt me, or the last second miss Steve took. It was all the bonehead plays during the game. We must face it, the announcers saw it, the league knows it and Van Gundy has told us- We shoot ourselves in the foot too much. How we stay in these games when we make so many unforced mistakes is a credit to the effort, defense and lucky forced up shots we make. I am ready to see a better point guard, either throught trade or draft. Get all you can in return, but I think it is time to let Steve get a fresh start somewhere else. He could come back and become a superstar, but we can be better right now with fewer mistakes and better decisions at the point.
I'd like to see a gunner at the point guard position. They aren't too expensive for some reason even though I think these gunners like Steve Kerr and Matt Bullard have always been integral to a strong playoff team. Look at the Spurs last year when they had Steve Kerr come in and put a dagger into the Lakers and Mavs. It's arguable this team would actually score more if a young Kenny Smith was back at the helm gunning 3s. I would not depend on Cuttino and JJ for 3 point shots in critical situations. Piatkowski was supposed to be that guy who can shoot 3s, but he can't. Rockets have always needed a consistent 3 point gunner.
I think the only options to get better are 1. Trading steve and getting a new pg. 2. Moving him to 2 and getting a new pg. IMO, #2 requires alot of effort for little potential reward. The Rockets would need to trade someone to get a new PG and to get a solid one it would take getting rid of Cat, MoT, Cato, JJ, or a combination of them. The most obvious would be Cat, but I think ,due to his defense, Mobley is a better fit for the Rocket's at the 2 than Francis. Any other trade and your talking about Mobley coming off the bench, and you would have to deal MoT, Cato, or JJ. Personally, I don't like that option because of what the Rockets lose. I've always stuck up for SF. All the degrading things people have said about his intelligence and desire always bugged me. The fact is after having waiting patiently to see how he developes it seems clear that his skills don't match what the Rockets need IF they want to be an inside out team. It also seems to me that trading him might be the best thing for Francis. Maybe he could get on with a team that his talents are accentuated instead of his weaknesses.
Rhester, terrific post! I couldn't agree with you any more. It's time for a change. I don't think Steve will accept anything less than being the spotlight of this team, and I think it's ultimately what is the problem with this team. I believe that if we moved Steve to another team we'd benefit from the following: * less turnovers * more assists * higher team FG % * more trips to the FT line by utilizing inside-out game plan * Yao averages 20+ PPG, 60% * Cuttino averages 18 PPG and becomes one of the best 2 gaurds in the NBA * Jim Jackson averages 17 PPG * Mark Jackson starts to average 10+ assists * Piatkowski rediscovers his sharp shooting skills and finds his way off the bench. * With the improved ball movement, Nachbar is discovered again and becomes our version of Manuel Ginobli (spell check?) So maybe I'm expecting too much, but I guess that could be said of my expectations with Steve running the point. I honestly don't see it happening in the near future, and frankly, I'm tired of waiting. My opinion right now is that you'd be better off with Steve riding the pine than you are with him at the point. As rhester said, try to get as much for him as you can.
While I agree that Steve's selfishness and low B-ball IQ costs us alot of games, I have to wonder how we would replace the points he provides the team? Do we have the players to step up their game to make up for the shortfall?
Light is starting to stream through, the dawn is breaking, buds are forming, the truth can't be contained any longer. How long have waited for this moment of revelation.
The following is my list of benefits: 1) Addition by subtraction! a) less turnovers. b) more efficient offense with a true starting calibur point guard. c) passing is contagious, better team play. d) Yao will truly be the franchise player. e) Van Gundy will truly become the boss because it is evident that Steve is still running the show. f) better one-on-one defending point guard. g) get a team that knows how to play basketball, players that have been part of winning teams that have winning attitudes. (higher IQ) 2) We can get rid of a bad contract along with Steve. This gives us more flexibility to broker other deals. a) cap room to go after free agents. (i.e. Kobe...) b) get numerous pieces to surround Yao. (and draft picks) c) get a true second star that complements Yao's game.
