The trade for James as well as the comments from Morey seem to indicate to me that Stevie will not able to come back to Rockets even if he is bought out by Knicks... We already have 9 guys in the two back court positions: TMac, Rafer, Head, Snyder, VSpan, Wells, JL3, and now James. There simply is no room left for SF3 to come back.
Guess what 8/14/2007 is? The Day Mike James is allowed to be traded in a packaged deal again. Also, just for fun, guess what July 29, 2007 is?
First of all, Head,JL3,Vspan and Snyder are all scrubs. They would be in trade fodder. Secondly, Rafer may also be traded. The last, not the least, TMac might be back to 3 if battier is traded for a real 4. (by the way, Wells may log some minutes in 3.) Then We only have SF,Wells,james and a scrub(???) for the backcourt.
I don't think our chances of getting Steve have ended at all. If V-Span doesn't decide to go to Greece we may end up trading him. JLIII is hardly a reason NOT to sign Stevie. Head isn't really a point guard and after yesterday's press conference...I wouldn't be to surprised if Rafer isn't back. If New York buys out Steve, I think we can pick him up for the vet's minimum and that we would pick him up. But again, that's only if New York buys him out.
obviously morey and rick adelman dont want or need francis now that we have mike james, who is much smarter and a better team player than francis.
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Wow. I guess that one play sums it all up. You must be right. Forget every other boneheaded thing Francis has done... that one block makes him better.
Since everyone says the Rockets are being built into the past Kings teams, if Mike James is our "Bobby Jackson", then Steve Francis could very well be our "Mike Bibby". I can see Steve having a Baron Davis-like breakout year if he gets out of New York.
Both of these guys are washed up. Did anyone else watch Mike James play last year? He was terrible, and he's never been a team player. Are we forgetting how he treated the Rockets in last years off-season?? He's a jerk and a scrub. But hey, everyones clamoring for Bonzi to come back and to sign Ron Artest. I guess Houston needs a new look or something... Anyway, if I had to choose one of the two aging washed up semi-point guards, I'd go with Francis everytime.
Why anybody would want Francis back is beyond me. He relied on speed and strength when he was here. After all the injuries, no way will he be able to contribute like he used to. Don;t you guys remember how he would dribble until the shot clock was at around :04, then try to pull off some circus shot and turn the ball over or pass out to someone for a rushed, crappy shot? It was horrible. Was worse than Van Gundy ball.
Some of you guys think Mike James is better than Steve Francis!!!!!! If Steve was on the T-wolves he be averaging 20 7 and 7
Yeah... against Utah. With Francis, it was every possession, every game. The guy has a ton of heart, but he does not play smart. And though I didn't see many Knicks games this year, I would be shocked if SF hasn't lost 3 or 4 steps by now. Meaning, his main strength as a player is gone.
I don't think it affects it at all. I do think it gives us the freedom to make other trades, though, including Rafer. I think half the team could get traded before we are through. Francis is not our savior. But, he could be a good value. I loved Steve, just didn't like his lack of BB IQ and ballhandling skills. He bled Rocket red, was a gym rat, brought passion and athleticism to the game, and he was fun to watch, except for when everyone stood around while he did ISO. The problem, is that he didn't fit Yao's BB IQ, ability to pass and play a team game, and once we got Yao, Steve didn't fit anymore. We had to choose, and choosing Yao wasn't hard. So, is he a perfect solution? No. Is he a great guy, and do I love him as a former Rocket ... yes. Would he be valuable if we got him cheap? Yes, as long as he could put the team first. I also worry about his health, especially his knees. He built his career on phenomenal athleticism. As he get's older, that will be a detriment. The problem with Steve, is that he never was able to truly learn the PG position. He kept moving from team to team during his development. I wish somehow someone like Oscar Robertson could have tutored him in the finer points, but the Rockets don't do that, to the detriment of their investments. He succeeded in spite of his lack of knowledge with heart, passion and incredible hops. How would that play out here? I have no idea. But, he is very talented, which we need more of, and if NY bought him out, and he came here cheap, he'd be worth the risk. And, you never know, he might just get it right ... or not.
