if he gets bought out $ wont be a big issue.....1st option is yao/t-mac either depending who is hot...2nd option franchise (really third, yao and mac should always shoot more) also if he is willing to come back here he may be more willing to do what is asked of him.....he already knows jvg dsnt take any $HIT (superbowl ) which is a good thing in my opinion.....you never know....one thing is for sure though i think stevie will have to play for us cheaply and have a nice heart to heart with jvg before the rockets even consider this!
I admit, Francis is definitely tempting. Even after all this time it's hard not to think of his amazing athleticism. Even though he has his fair share of warts, I think I would welcome SF back for the MLE. I can't think of anyone else we could get for the MLE that would be substantially better. Even though I rag on him a lot, I did like the way he played his last year under JVG, for the most part. Just needed to get his FG% up. Plus I still have a SF jersey. but, eh, I wouldn't be terribly dissappointed if they passed on him either.
Can't we just play him like he is being played in NY? Off the bench or even starting at the 2, he doesn't have to have big games all the time, but he can always be there to help out the team with good scoring when tmac/yao/rafer are cold. But of course, this depends on his attitude.. Do you think there will be any chemistry between francis and rafer? And do you think rafer will feel threatened if francis comes back?
as long as he doesn't commit stupid turnovers... also injuries are a big concern, we don't want guys that are fragile
God I hope this happens... Getting Steve for cheap would be amazing. It would strengthen our bench so much to have him or Rafer (hopefully Rafer) comning off the bench. And we finally wouldn't have a complete liability at the point. Steve is better than Rafer in literally EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of the game... The only place where it's even debatable is outside shooting, but Steve would make a lot of the open spot-up shots that Rafer is getting. I mean Steve has had a season where he shot 40% from 3-pt before... JVG sort of damaged his jumper, but he seems to have it back in NY. This would also mean we would no longer need Head to bring the ball up the floor or try to play point under pressure. It would improve our athleticism, and our ability to finish in the open court so much. Come home, Stevie. (<--- that face is praying)
If Franchise wants the MLE, I'm all for it. But I say let's look at our options and decide. There's a HELL of a lot worse we could do. Here's my list of people who should come before Franchise: Vince Carter, Chuck Hayes, Deke, Chauncey Billups, and C-Webb. But MLE? Well, I'm all for Franchise.
lets not forget the stat that's important. Steve WANTS TO PLAY FOR THE ROCKETS. You can't measure heart!
His physical fitness concerns me. We can't have him sitting for tendonitis treatment and missing games. We have had enough fitness problems with Bonzi.
I think some of that was more of a ploy to get out of NY. he claimed to be hurt around the trade deadline and buyout talks and then perfectly fine when crawford went out. steve has always been in great condition as far as i can remember the only time he ever didnt play was when he had a serious injury or had that migraine problem. thats totally different from the way bonzi does it
You know what would really suck, if Steve is bought out and he signs with one of the other top West teams. I don't know if there are teams willing to pay MLE or close to it for Steve, but if he is bought out, there can be a possibillities that one of the other top West teams might take a look at him. Mavs are the biggest possible suitor, since Cuban wouldn't mind risking MLE for a chance to improve his team, and they have taken on questionable players/contracts on more than one occassion. They are a team that is not afraid of taking risks. Then there is the Suns, once again, they have traditionally being more than happy to sign some one if they think the player will make a difference (Tim Thomas). Would be tempting for Steve since everyone's value goes up when joining the Suns. Spurs and Utah are not likely, no explanations needed. The Lakers, given Steve's performance two years ago, he might just a have a couple of admirers there. Do they need a 2nd scorer besides Kobe, on a lot of teams Steve's mentality might not work, but on a team where everyone else is overly passive, it might just be what they need. I'm not sure if the Rockets need him, but the potential impact that can happen to West's landscape warrants a serious look if he gets bought out. Even "We" aren't interested in him. Given his recent stretch of games right after coming off of injuries, it's apparent that he still has suffecient abillity. If he finds a right fit (and not with a situation where you have Quentine Richards, Nate Robinson, Stephon Marbury, and Jamal Crawford, also all scoring guards, all fighting for time with him) in the West, it can be very dangerous for the Rockets ourselves.
I think Steve is great, but I think with him coming here it would hurt the chemistry already established between Yao and T-Mac. E.g. Yao favoring Steve more during the game by maybe passing to him more etc...
What? FORGET IT THEN !!! Nope, still doesn't change my mind, I would be willing to think about taking Francis back, it would just depend. If he still has his health, is the biggest issue. Because once his athleticism goes, his BBall IQ is not good enough to prosper. However, the one thing Steve has that this team needs DESPERATLY is exhuberance and competitive fire.....we need an igniter on this team...and Steve could be that guy. Again, I would consider it long and hard, but not sure about the full MLE. DD
we won't get in trouble for this right? No one on the rockets tried to recruit him right? God i hope we don't pull a timberwolves.
I wouldn't have minded having SF back for a playoff run this season at the vet minimum, but signing him for the MLE during the summer would be a huge mistake. His best years are behind him and I don't think he's matured.
Talent and skill wise, no doubt he is way better than Rafer. But is he a better fit for the current Rockets team? Probably not.
