As Clutch has said on the frontpage Swift likes Houston. Is there any chance he might pull a Francis and demand a trade to Houston or does he not like Houston that much?
I am sure Swift likes Houston a lot however he is a classier guy than Francis and most likely wouldn't pull a stunt like Francis did last year. Anyone who has followed Swift's career can attest to this. ------------------
Sky Pilot -- nice! What Francis did is not something we should want to make a habit of. What comes around goes around... ------------------ "Yes, I came from the 80s...but I didn't kill anybody. Give me a break." -Mike Tramp, former lead singer of White Lion
Are we implying that Francis has no class? He was drafted by a team that he told he would not play for. Now, I do not condone this sort of thing but it sounds like Stu Jackson had the problem. Whoa, what's that? You say Stu is unemployed now? There are rumors swirling that Swift will not play for a couple of teams and will go back to school to avoid those teams. Frankly, I don't see the difference. That team would still be getting screwed and in Swift's case they would have nothing to show for it. ------------------
Besides, Francis refused to workout for them and said flat out that he would not play for them. They already had a good young PG in Bibby, why did they draft him? Because of stupidity and lack of vision. Francis said he would play with any team as long as it was not Van, yet they drafted him anyway and then villified him through the media. They got the SG they should have drafted in Dickerson and we got the next star PG that we needed. Francis has plenty of class, alot more than Van showed by wasting a draft pick on a guy who did want to play for them. ------------------ Houston Rockets Forever!! In Rudy We Trust
I have never understood why people always use, "well, he likes Houston" to justify their trade scenarios. You think the general manager of [team] actually gives a damn what the player wants? Jerry West: "Hmmmm...we need to trade Kobe, and I hear he likes Houston. Let's trade him there for whatever crap they're offering!" I don't think so. [This message has been edited by thacabbage (edited May 30, 2000).]
A GM should care what the player wants to a certain extent. A happy player is a productive player. I think it is a longshot but it would be great to have Swift. ------------------ Houston Rockets Forever!! In Rudy We Trust
francis was in the wrong during the whole vancouver thing. but bs he has no class. he is one of the most well spoken friendly players today. he was so nice to everyone around him at the game i went to. he was wrong in demanding a trade, yes. but i wouldnt blame him. if i was playing in the NBA i would want to play the position i want to play. the grizz were going to play him at the 2, francis is a PG and he wants to play there. so its not really fair to say he has no class. besides grizz fans should stop whining what he did to him dickerson is going to be a star in his own right and scored just as much as francis last season. ------------------ --TEX
Pilot, do you know Francis personally? If you do not than that shows a lack of class on your part be stating Francis does not have class. How can you make an evaluation like that without knowing the man? Seems a bit classless on your part. ------------------ Houston Rockets Forever!! In Rudy We Trust
Sky Pilot- Francis does not in any way lack class. He did not want to play for a team that he warned not to draft him. Perhaps that was a mistake on his part, but even a bigger one by the Grizzlies who drafted him after he said he wouldn't play for them. The bottom line is after Francis came to Houston, name one thing he has done that has shown him to be a person without class. There are none. Since Francis moved to Houston, he has been a class act and a great representative for the NBA. Do you see or have you seen David Stern talking to Isaiah Rider, Dennis Rodman, etc. about representing the NBA worldwide? No. Stern and the rest of the league knows Francis is a great young player with a lot of class and dignity. He is different from the majority of young players. I have actually gotten to talk to him once, and I have seen him before games. Anyone who thinks this guy is not a class act and isn't a nice guy is full of bs. ------------------
And why exactly would the GM care if the player would be productive on his new team? The GM is trading the guy off his team, so what advantage is it to him that the traded player is happy/productive in his new environment?
Sky Pilot I'm sure is just like most of the rest of NBA fans. Everyone here knows Steve is a class act. But, after the Vancouver fiasco last year, people gave him the reputation of someone without class and therefore he has been under the microscope all year long. He has done nothing wrong. However, there will always be guys like Skypilot who won't let go of that one occurence and won't open their eyes to see the kind of person Steve really is. Rather, they have a misconception in their minds after draft night last year that they probably will never let go. It's sad and total bs, but that is the way many NBA fans think. ------------------ [This message has been edited by The Cat (edited May 30, 2000).]
Cabbage, I meant that a GM should make his own players happy but not trade someone every time they are upset. I said they should accomodate their players to a CERTAIN EXTENT, not give them every thing they want. If you treat people with respect, good things happen. That is all I am saying. ------------------ Houston Rockets Forever!! In Rudy We Trust
Dennis2112 -- Do you know Scottie Pippen? JR Rider? Karl Malone? I hope you've never said anything bad about these guys if you don't know them. Why even have a draft? If any young kid can just say "I don't want to play for you", what's the point of a draft? Why not just let everybody be a free agent when they come out of school. If they don't want to be away from their grandma or don't speak "Canadian", let them just go wherever they want. You must think this way if you won't admit what Francis did sucks. "It was Vancouver's fault"...LOL. ------------------ "Yes, I came from the 80s...but I didn't kill anybody. Give me a break." -Mike Tramp, former lead singer of White Lion
I think Steve Francis lacks class because of the Vancouver situation. Players in the draft should speak their mind on where they prefer to play but they should have no choice. If every player got his way, there would be no reason to even hold the draft. Steve Francis is going to have to have a perfect on and off the court record for a long time for me to stop labeling him as classless. ------------------
Freak- What Francis did did suck. But, just because he made one mistake doesn't make him a classless person. We have all made mistakes. My guess is you have too. And if I had to guess, if we judged each other by our one terrible mistake then we would all think of each other as classless idiots. But we don't. Why? Because we aren't. Steve made one mistake. Get over it people. Since then he has been a perfect representative to the NBA and a class act. I don't deny that what he did last summer was stupid. It was. But one mistake like that doesn't make him a classless guy. ------------------
Without taking sides in all this ....... answer honestly the following question(s). As a trained pediatric surgeon (physician) you have been given the opportunity through an agency, to apply to several hospitals for a number of available surgical positions. But only one hospital is allowed to make an offer and the decision will affect you for a full four year tenure. All the hospitals interview you. You tell them that after years of study as a surgeon you would like to work in a large, busy hospital as a surgeon. Preferably a pediatric surgeon, because you have special skills in that area, and frankly you deserve to decide where you work for the next four years. Despite this, the hospital that bids for your services is very, very small. So small it has only two surgeon positions and they are both taken. There is no pediatric surgery department. It also has a strict hiring policy of rotating their hiring. And, the next available spot for a surgeon is as liason between the surgical faculty and some research department. You don't know what that means, but man it sounds like you will not be doing showcase surgery for the next four years. You ask the agency for a reassignment. You are told only the successful hospital can do that. You ask the hospital to reconsider their bid for your services. The hospital says no, we'll take you as you are, thank you. As a last resort you ask a mentor to publicly intercede on your behalf. He eventually gets you a job at a different, but larger hospital as a pediatric surgeon for the same money. The original hospital doesn't lose out, but ends up with several suitable candidates for their liason job. The agency says fair enough, glad it all worked out. Why are you the bad guy?
Steve made one mistake so you judge his entire personality and the kind of person he is based on that? Man that's fair. Like I said, thats the typical NBA fan for you. Giving a person a bad rep after one mistake. Well like I said I'm sure you have made mistakes too so put yourself in his shoes. Would you like being called a classless guy if you knew you weren't and you made one mistake? My guess is no. ------------------
