It's easier to include Alston in a deal for a PF with Francis on board. As they are now Rockets still need Rafer for depth.
Mike James will have to pass more often and make better decisions in addition to scoring. Rafer could than be considered for a trade. The problem is nobody will be willing to have him in a package even with Battier/Head for a really good PF IMO.
i'm less interested in francis with the mike james trade and drafting brooks for the future. james may even be better than francis at this point, but steve is a wildcard. he's not exactly old and he still has athleticism. it's possible a reunion with either cat in LA or his old stomping grounds in houston gets him going again. if this was the very beginning of summer i imagine he'd be a rocket already but as it stands it just makes so much sense for him to go to the clippers.
Yes bring the franchise home!!!!!!! Trade for a pf and bring him home. IMO he will most likely take less money to come home...I hope. There could be a chance if the organization wants to make money off of him like jerseys more people watching games things like that.
i lodont forget steve and i believe that he can give passion to rockets! is he old? no! he is't. He is only 30....he is better than alston..head. he really don't care about money, and he only want a place to play. He can be a good weapon in rocket! Hey! why we lost in the playoff? we need a player can create a chance but not rely on yao or t-mac! get steve plz! and use alston+head to gain a good pf!
It sure would be good if Adelman would let us know what he's thinking regarding Francis. I haven't heard one word on what he thinks about Francis coming here ... anyone else? At this point, Adelman knows what he wants. He went after Mike James as a first priority. I believe he could harness Stevie too. Francis and Wells would add some significant rebounding to the team. I like Francis' heart and passion. I never did like his BB IQ, but if he can get it up to McGrady quickly, and then be someone who could be a third option, our team could be considerably better. It all depends on whether he could subjugate himself as a third option or not. He's probably exaggerated his injuries to get to just this position. If he came back here, and was a part of a championship team, it would be quite the story. I've vaccilated about whether it would be best for him to come back, but he would be a talent upgrade, and enable us to trade Alston, VSpan, Head, Snyder, Sura, Justin Reed ... it just gives us more flexibility in making a trade for that PF, and if he get's his mojo back, a more exciting team.
I am ambivalent about this. Two critical (YES, CRITICAL) factors come to my mind. Can the Rockets reshape their roster - less pgs/sgs and more bigs? What attitude would Steve Francis bring? Does he see himself being the star, the key man, the go to guy? Or is he willing to be a team player... to do ANYTHING that is required to bring a championship to Houston? Unless the two questions could be answered in a positive manner, I would say it is no big gain if he comes back ... or any big loss either if he doesn't.
Bring Francis home! Francis is only looking for veteran minimum. You dont want to lose Francis to Lakers, Clippers, or Mavs. Both Clippers and Lakers (dont need to mention the Mavs) are very good teams, you dont want them to have cheap help. Get Francis 1st and then take care of the guards glut later.
LOL ... was just thinking how if we pick up Francis, how lopsided that McGrady trade would turn out to be. In essence, we'd have traded Cato and Mobley for McGrady, Barry, James, and Alston ... now is that a deal or WHAT? McGrady/Lue/Howard/Gaines for Francis/Mobley/Cato Lue for Jon Barry Gaines for Mike James James for Alston Howard for James Francis bought out, comes to HOU sorta insane ... eh?
As long as the last laugh is not on us. If Francis comes in and screws things up (with reference to my post above on bringing the right attitude back), and in turn forces people to leave, then the Rockets will be the laughing stock of the world. On the other hand, if he comes back and becomes a contributor (and better still, a significant contributor), then the trade would be one of the biggest rip offs of the decade.
I wouldn't mind having Francis if we cleared out Alston, Head, and Lucas in a trade, but just don't see MJ and Francis being able to mesh.....unless VSpan really doesn't come back. And even then I think there is potential for problems between those two....similar personalities, big egos, etc. etc. And I really don't think Steve's agent will want him to come back here to play a secondary role to MJ. Steve's agent is looking for a playoff team that needs a point guard to play major minutes so Steve can reestablish himself and up his value in the playoffs. To me, that means, Clips, Heat, Lakers.
Why would you want to get rid of Head? Personally I would not mind if our guard situation ended up looking like this: PG: James, Francis, Brookes (actually I would not care who would start between James and Francis) SG: Bonzi, Head, Snyder Since the PG in the Adelman offense is more of a scoring option and less of a playmaker then I think Francis might actually fit this offense pretty good. Typically your big men are asked to be distributers in Adelmans offense as much as the point guards are.
No, No, No, No, No. I have a lot of respect for most folks posting on this board, but I will never understand the love affair for Steve Francis. He has always dribbled the shot clock away, played miserable defense and shot a sub-par percentage. We already signed one ball-hogging pg, why would we need another? He couldn't even cut it in NY. It would be better to not spend our MLE at all then waste it on an over-the-hill, overrated ball-hog like Steve Francis. Even in his prime, he never lived up to his potential. We need some new, young, energetic players.
I think we should not sentimentality not play a role. Everyone complained while he was here about dribbling the shot clock down, horrible defense, and selfishness. Now alot of those same people want him back? I wouldnt cry if he came back, but I will be less likely to shed a tear if he doesnt come back...
sub-par percentage? Defensively, teams stop him from having a high percentage by fouling him a lot. He's a 79.9% shooter from the line. His percentages are great if you consider that he's shooting FTs once for every two FGAs. With how Yao has developed and having TMac, the ball will be in Francis's hands less to help out with the dribbling problem if he joined Rockets. Defensively, well...he still sucks. For a third scorer, Francis should be pretty good. As a franchise player...he's bad.
I agree with that. If it doesn't work out then at least you have cheap talent and possible trade bait. Last thing I want is for him to join a team in the west and beat us. If he goes to the east then I don't mind him not coming to Houston as much.
Isn't Morey a money-ball guy? Trying to squeeze the most talent out of the dollars available? From a pure talent stand point how can no one want Francis for the LLE? There are so many PG's on the team and he's better than all of them. If the chemistry doesn't work, then just cut him or sit his ass on the bench, ala Bonzi last year. It's not going to cost anything. Worst case scenario, we trade Head, Alston, Novak, Reed for a PF. SF3 is a cancer that's just hurting the team. He gets cut/sits on the bench. The team is still better than last year because we've got the new PF who can take Howard's place, and Mike James/Brooks. James is better than Alston, losing Head hurts a little but we're gaining Bonzi. Best case scenario, Francis and James combine for 20+, 8+, 8+. Francis brings some much needed heart and passion to the team. Teams lay off Yao and Tracy because of Francis/James finishing ability. Sure James and Francis are kind of the same player but if it's for just the LLE? Come on. Sure we don't really "need" Francis, like someone doesn't need a second 4Runner (I wanted to say BMW but whatever), but when that 4runner is available for the price of a Corolla who in their right mind says no?
