If anyone has a account at Jim Rome's website, could you upload the interview? http://www.jimrome.com/home/audio_archive_list/basketball/steve9.html
The coach aint having that.Adelman would pull bobby jackson right out the game when he saw Bobby going for self and not moving and sharing the basketball.Plus Bobby was better than steve at moving without the basketball and cutting to the hoop but if he didn't do those things he was sitting his butt on that bench mad. Steve will be on the bench pouting if he doesn't defer to yao and tracy. Tracy is a team player so is Yao as well as battier and luis scola. Francis with his ego will be on the bench if he doesn't try to fit into the team philosophy. Yao is a Dominant player right now and he needs to be treated as such.Either you play with the team or you play on the bench.
How did I twist his words? I paraphrased as best I could an exchange that stood out to me. There were several non-answers throughout the interview that were not worth mentioning. (i.e. totally glossed over the last 3 tough seasons, said he learned more about the nba) About his age: he did say he was 33, then corrected himself. Seems odd to mistate your age. Reminds me of when we tried to figure out which age from two separate sources was correct (this was about 6 years ago). He was listed as 23 during his rookie year, and another source from an old basketball tournament had a different birthdate. We eventually concluded that he had previously lied about his age to play in some tournament, and then corrected it when he entered the league. But for him to be even older than that would be surprising to me.
Actually, we have already seen Yao and Francis play. Francis took fewer shots(had lower FGAs) and had fewer FTs from penetration, when JVG asked Francis to defer to Yao. Yao's FGA and FTA went up. Steve had no problem defering to Yao.
Some people tend to age quickly. i've seen 30 year olds who look 50. hence i do believe he is only 30..
This is one thing that the grain of conventional wisdom just hasn't seemed to pick up. You are absolutely correct. Steve was never selfish and he completely changed his game for the team that year. His warts as a player stemmed from his inability to do anything that wasn't created by his own dribble, and his inabilities to run a fastbreak or take care of the ball. It was never selfishness and people can't seem to grasp that. With that said, I do somewhat worry that he feels he is Tracy's equal. In every interview, it's clear he knows this is Yao's team, but he seems to lump everyone else in together on the same rung of the totem pole after that. I don't think he really realizes it's Yao & T-Mac (in whatever order) and then everyone else after that. I hope this isnt a problem.
LOL@Oden....but seriousely, stress and other genetic factors can cause pre-mature aging. nothing unusual.
If Steve needs 4 balls then he better learn to pass 2 to Yao and 2 to Tmac. I hope MJames and ABrooks put him in his place in training camp with aggressive play on the court.
Well, that is only if TMac actually cared about the pecking order. I don't think either he or Yao care much about Steve thinking he has equal status. Hell, Mike James thought that way, too, and he is less talented than Francis. TMac has his flaws, but his ego hasn't really caused intrasquad conflict. In fact, he seems to like deferring a bit too much. In any case, Adelman is the one in charge of structuring the offense efficiently, as lomg as they all play within the team concept, it will all work out.
That is true. Out of any superstar in the league, McGrady is the one I see most receptive to our current situation of scoring overload - and that isn't necessarily out of a desire to win/sacrifice but more laziness and willingly taking the opportunity to go at half pace for the regular season. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just the way he is. I can very easily see T-Mac complacently averaging 18 ppg this year and letting Bonzi/Steve/James do his share of the heavy lifting while he waits for the 4th quarters and playoff time. But who knows? He's never been in this situation before during his career since blossoming into a mega-shot-demanding star. Who knows how he will respond if Steve challenges his position as male alpha-dog of this team? And that's what has me worried a bit.
lmao -- nice one. But I echo all the worries expressed here. I've had those worries since the first moment we got the news of the return. I like Voodoo's sentiment, but I worry a competitive/bad training camp for Stevie could result in that Knick-like daze instead of a new understanding of his role. We just have to leave it to the deft skilz of Adelman.
Note: Stress ages people. The more stressed your life is or if your personality is more subject to stress you tend to wrinkled up and grey up quicker. Failing to live up to the expectations of a Max contract, being traded away from playing with your friends, having to establish a new life in 3 cities, puttining up with all the criticism that just goes with being on Isah's Knicks; and who knows what goes on in his personal life, I'd guess a lot of demands from friends ,family and hanger's on, decisions on who to help fianacially and who to say no to, and the alloofness of never really beaing able to just trust anyone's friendliness at face value.....that's got to be pretty stressfull.
Wow... I seriously cannot believe how much people blow this kinda **** outta proportion. So many star athletes talk like this. It doesn't mean jack crap. We all know what kind of ego Mike James has/had. Did he have any problem coming off the bench for Houston? Did he have any problem being our third or even fourth scoring option? No, in fact he was a great fit for our team, and he knew it, which is why he hated being traded. Francis knows his role is going to be limited here. He just genuinely wants to be here and wants to win. If he really thought he was all that, do you think he would have taken so little money? Especially to play in a city with two established stars, and a proven ability to at least win without him? Egos are the least of our worries. Not to mention the fact that many of you are twisting his words up horribly. Buncha drama queens on this board...
