Before I ask the question, let it be known that I am a supporter of Francis and all he does. But if his departure leads the Rox to a ring then so be it. Who will have the final word on wheher or not Francis is traded? The fans, Cd, Van Gundy, or franchise centerpiece Yao Ming?
Les. I'd order it Les, Van Gundy, Yao, CD. CD will be the mouthpiece to get a deal done if needed, but Les is the one who will have to agree/disagree ultimately. Van Gundy and Yao could have some input. I think if it was Van Gundy's decision alone, there would be a better chance of trading Francis ... but ultimately someone will have to show Les this will be better for the basketball team and the bottom line.
I think Yao has a huge impact on Francis' future. If he makes it clear that Francis needs to stay, I doubt Les would overlook that.
That's an interesting proposition It's clear now that the whole "Steve and Yao will never get along" and "Steve will never let Yao develop" theories are BS. I certainly haven't seen any ill will between them. Suppose Yao busts out with, "Don't trade Steve or I'll......." anyways...I thought it was our buddy Tim that had the final say???
I think Les obviously has final say, but it won't be an issue until Van Gundy/Dawson tell him that we should. And, I agree Yao probably won't exercise as much influence as he could. I doubt he'd press to trade Francis but I also doubt he'd do too much to try to keep him here.
as long as it ain't "special consultant" Rudy T... nothing against Rudy, but that guy hasn't made a decent personnel decision since Chucky Brown and please don't give me the CD drafted Eddie Griffin - Rudy was behind every one of the Rox moves.
I doubt Les and CD would just trade Francis without consulting with Yao. They wont just drop some new guys next to Yao as his compliments and say "here, now win a ring." They have to ask Yao who he would prefer on "his" team.
Actually, during the draft day trade for EG, Rudy didn't know it was going down until the very end. I remember watching the draft day 'war room' and he came out surprised after the news was announced.
if they ask for yao's input i'm sure would ask that steve stay. they seem to get along really well and i get the impression that yao really likes steve. at the same time i don't expect yao to go to management and give an ultimatum or anything along those lines.
You would think so, but I'm not sure that Yao's opinion will be weighted that heavily in this organization... I think Les and JVG will make the ultimate decision.
The process would probably go: 1. Les gives the ok for CD to look around. (If he decides Steve stays, then Steve stays. End of process.) 2. CD gets the list of everything offered for Steve. 3. Van Gundy and Yao are asked their input on whether to keep him or trade him considering what's being offered. Van Gundy probably would be straight forward and give his honest opinion on whether to trade him. I doubt Yao would ever say trade Steve, but he would probably give a hint at the type of players he prefers playing with.
Yao could certainly influence this if he wanted to; until he signs his next contract, he has tremendous leverage. But I don't see him doing that, unless pressed by management for an opinion, and maybe not even then.
I dont think they would consult with Yao at all.. no team consults with their star player about making personnel decisions because players grow close over the course of a season. Even if that person is playing bad its hard to remove them from the team.. (Moochie for example) Management just has to make the decisions (w/ JVG) and figure this all out. J
Yao doesn't seem to be the type that's going to make a really solid statement either way. On the one hand, he seems to actually like Francis. But on the other, he seems very diffident to the decisions of management. I'd guess he'd say something like this: "Gosh, Steve's a great player and I really enjoy playing with him. But you're the coach and know best what would be to the team's advantage." I could imagine the media twisting that statement either way once they got ahold of it, though .
