I have to disagree with that. Until Bonzi's meltdown with Van Gundy (and Van Gundy shared a lot of blame in that himself) Bonzi got along fine with teammates. Outside of a few rumored words I've never heard of Mike James being an all out chemistry issue. Heck, didn't Bonzi say he was willing to come off the bench and Van Gundy basically blew that off and didn't want him back?
AWSOME!!!!! We are definite contenders...look at our freaking depth...we are as deep as Dallas, Suns, Spurs....
Hmmm... http://videosearch2.nba.com/search/...&sp_n=6&sp_p=phrase&sp_s=postdate&sp_k=wmvasf Seems like March '07 alone was a good highlight month for Francis. Within a 29-day period (Feb 21-March 21), nba.com has him listed for 3 Assists of the Night, 1 Steal of the Night, 1 Dunk of the Night, and 1 Play of the Night/Top-10 Play of the Week/Top-10 Play of the Month for his game winning 3-point buzzer-beater against his hometown Wizards. Bottom line: for the money, an absolute steal. Even if 'washed up' as he's supposedly been on the Knicks, he's capable of far more than James and Alston, even out of his prime, and in comparison to their respective primes. 5 individual plays garnering nightly awards within a 30-day period? I think he has something left in the tank. Click here for a nice highlight from Francis' first quarter-season in NY in '06 for a picture-esque swat on James btw. http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp_...n=21&sp_s=postdate&sp_f=ISO-8859-1&sp_t=video
The depth is awesome though... especially when you consider how injuries can play a big part during the long regular season. And plus now we have someone (Francis) that can guard Deron Williams... And Scola on Boozer... Good night Jazz! (and everyone else for that matter...!)
Shane might not even be on this team's roster by the start of the season. I seriously doubt he has more of a claim then Francis. If, god forbid, T-Mac and Yao are out with injuries for a game who do you want as your go-to guy Steve Francis or Shane Battier?
Francis' deal with Rockets worth $6 million By Chris Broussard ESPN The Magazine (Archive) Steve Francis is going home. After three years of struggles in Orlando and New York, the former All-Star guard will return to the place of his greatest glory, the Houston Rockets. Francis was in Houston on Thursday to sign a two-year contract worth roughly $6 million with the Rockets. The club will announce the signing at a newsconference on Friday. "We're extremely pleased that he's going back to Houston," his agent, Jeff Fried, told The Associated Press. "Houston has always been home for Steve since he entered the NBA." The 30-year-old Francis was recently bought out of the remaining two years, $34 million of his previous contract by the Portland Trail Blazers. He received nearly $31 million in the deal. With money being no factor, Francis chose the Rockets over Miami, Dallas and the Clippers. The Heat are believed to have offered him more money. According to a person close to Francis, he chose Houston largely because of his familiarity with the organization and the city. He has kept a home there since joining the club in 1999, and it was the site of his best years in the NBA. As a high-flying point guard for the Rockets, Francis made three All-Star games and was regarded as one of the top players in the league. Francis' career began to decline when he clashed with coach Jeff Van Gundy, who had replaced Francis favorite Rudy Tomjanovich, in 2003. Though Van Gundy helped Francis get to the playoffs for the first and only time in his career, his deliberate style of offense rubbed Francis the wrong way, and his scoring average dropped from 21 points per game to 16.6. Francis was traded to Orlando for Tracy McGrady the following year. But while McGrady was outstanding in Houston, Francis failed to regain his form and was eventually dealt to New York to team with Stephon Marbury in the backcourt. That experiment failed as well, as Francis ended up in a reserve role behind Jamal Crawford while struggling with minor knee injuries. Finally, the Knicks traded Francis to Portland in a draft-night trade that sent Zach Randolph to New York. The Blazers had agreed to buy out Francis as a condition of the trade. Francis returns to Houston in a much different role. The top option during his five-year stint with the club, he will be no more than the third option behind McGrady and Yao Ming. Francis spoke with both players as well as new Rockets coach Rick Adelman before deciding to accept Houston's offer. Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.
Exactly! T-Mac and Yao were our offense, and if one went down we had trouble scoring. Now we have a bunch of big time scorers in Stevie, Mike James and Bonzi (assuming he's back). Scola is also a weapon.
So, in reality, the Orlando Magic traded Tracy McGrady and Juwan Howard only to end up with Trevor Ariza and Rashard Lewis' 20 mil per year contract? Very nice.
Long time rox fan here, I've been submerged for a while, but have to come out this time. What is all this excitement about? I mean, the guy was bought out. A team paid him 30million not to play. 30 million, not to play.... I don't get the OMG, we have just signed jesus reaction. I'm not a Steve hater, although I really thought he didn't fit here, even at his prime. We have seen his prime, remember? It didn't work. And now, 3 teams later, after getting paid 30 million not to play, he is supposed to contribute? I can understand the "cheap contract, nothing to lose" and the"good to have an old rocket back" reaction, but come on, don't get your hopes up too high.
That'd be awesome! 1-James 2-Francis 3-McGrady 4-Scola 5-Yao Are you kidding me? We're friggin' STACKED
I didn't think Steve would pick the Rockets over any of the other three because of playing time. I didn't think the Rockets had him high on there list because we already have five point guards. But I do think Steve will be a good fit with Adelman. I do know his family will be happy to have him home more. This has been the most productive offseason for the Rockets in years. And we all suspect there has to be at least one more deal in the works to get rid of one or more point guards.
so what are they gonna do with media day? they usually take a group picture with the big name guys, i think last year it was yao, tracy, battier, and bonzi. now you gotta get yao and t-mac by themselves then another shot with francis, james, battier, wells, and throw scola in there. how far away is preseason again? this is gonna be awesome.
Interesting I like T-Mac Enthusiasm other things stood out like him talking about assets that did not play last year etc RocketRiver
Tommorow's my birthday, but man, this is more than I ever could have hoped for in a birthday present.
