Would you guys want him on the Rockets? He scored 24 points, grabbed 7 boards and dished out 7 assists tonite. Maybe we should offer Steve for him?
Put Steve Francis in the Eastern Conference with a healthy Jamal Mashburn, David Wesley, PJ Brown, Elden Campbell, Jamaal Magloire, George Lynch, and others, and I bet he'd be in the playoffs too.
Steve takes slightly more shots and has slightly fewer assists than Davis per 48m. Since the Hornets are in the playoffs, I think their mindset would be - "If ain't broke, don't fix it".
Just because it's not broke doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to enhance it. That sort of mindset gets you to the first round of the playoffs every year, and no further.
Actually Hornets probably would do this if you think about it. Though Houston wouldn't. Francis is HELLA more marketable than Baron Davis ever want to be. Hornets want to move to .. so bringing a big name to their team as Francis is would all but guarantee for ticket orders to multiply... but I'd rather have Stevie. As would the Rockets.
You'd have a hard time selling your "enhance" theory to the Pheonix Suns right now. 3 things can happen when you trade: 1) a significant improvement 2) slight or marginal change in either direction 3) a significant decrease "Enhancements" are usually done by teams having opposite skills surpluses or a malcontent. Other than this, seldom are same position players swapped as the major components of a deal.
You couldn't be more wrong... The NBA loves Davis, hence the reason why he was on 99% of the 9/11 commercials. Not to mention that everyone loves to make light of the fact that Davis survived living in South Central LA, and has made it. Also, Davis is also more "camera-happy" than Francis is.
Astheticaly, at this point I enjoy Baron Davis' game more. If I were picking for a pickup game, he'd be my choice over Francis. But in the longterm I think Steve is the better choice. Steve is lightyears ahead of Davis as a pure run/jump athlete. He also has the kind of body control where I could imagine him playing something like WR in the NFL if he wanted to. Davis, has great linear speed, but from top to bottom can't match up with Steve. Baron Davis has also had knee problems in the past, and naturally seems to keep alot of weight. Generally, when when young players are a bit heavyset, by the time they hit 30, they're corpulent. I could imagine him getting a bit heavier and a.)having his effectiveness tail off at a young age, much as was the case with Sherman Douglas or b.)having a reoccurance of the knee problems because of the weight. Finally, I don't think anybody's going to make any type of 'fair value' trade for Francis until there's at least some legitimate diagnosis on his migraines. While I don't think it's going to be a problem down the road, imagine you are the GM who trades for Francis, only to have him discover that he's about to have an anyurism, and has to retire. You'd get crucified because the 'symptoms' were there before you traded for him. It's just too uncertan.
I'm not sure about lightyears ahead. Francis might be a little faster, and I emphasize the word "little". And their jumping skills seem to be about even. Steve DOES NOT have body control. I can't remember how many off balanced layups that Francis attempted, and consequently blew. Davis is a better finisher because his big frame doesn't get contorted when he's in the air. Francis always ends up having to twist his body around into a pretzel to get off a layup attempt.
The thing is, Francis and Davis are the most comparable players in the NBA. Only difference is that Davis has a better shot that Francis. And Francis has a better ability to break down defenses and get to the hole. If only Francis can develope a better shot . He gets the looks, just doesn't drain em. Now, the only reason Davis gets more assist is because he has more talent around him. Overall Davis is better by stats only, but Francis has more potential, WAY MORE.
True dat......Davis does play better defense. I don't see how Francis can't. He has the quickness. Is he just lazy?
kidrock you have to understand that there's a difference between who the NBA wants to market and who is actually marketable. I'm sure more people would choose Francis jerseys over Baron Davis. the NBA probably likes Baron more, but he is NOT as popular as Stevie. Point-in-case: all-star game.
Then it's a wash. The NBA clearly does not like Francis as much as they should, since they do very little to promote him. Francis has more star potential, but potential just means you haven't done it yet.
This isn't about star potential? It's whether or not Charlotte would trade Baron for Steve. Yes. I'm sure most people would rather go see Francis play then Baron. I feel Charlotte would make this trade for that purpose, to bring more attraction to their team when they move. You argue that the NBA likes Davis better, does that really matter? It's what the fans want, not the organization. Ya Baron might have been all over the air after 9/11, but was O'Neal? I remember seeing Ray Allen, Francis, Baron - not too many others come to mind. It's just who the NBA wants to promote, but Baron in my mind will never surpass Francis in the fan's minds
Davis has been marketed much more than Francis... So why would Cha/NO rather have Francis to draw fans?
