Buyouts for Francis, Webber ongoing, and may interest Rox.

Wouldn't Francis' decreased playing time come into play in any way?

 

PG: Franchise| Rafer Alston | JL III
SG: Bonzi Wells|Kirk Snyder |Luther Head
SF: Tracy McGrady |Shane Battier
PF: Chuck Hayes | Juwan Howard
CN: Yao Ming | Dikembe Mutombo

IR: Steve Novak, Scott Padgett (Waive), Vassili Spanoulis


THIS LINEUP WILL TAKE US TO THA FINALS

 

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2007/01/routs_and_milestones.html

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2007/01/the_things_that_win_games.html

 

here's what I have 2 say:

1. Steve Francis comes to this team, he will take us all the way.....TO THE LOTTERY...

Steve + Mac = cant coexist..

Franchise is a ballhoggin PG who got some hops but can shoot worth a crap.. he will take away shots from Mac and will mess up the team's chemistry.. the NBA is not like a fantasy league; u dont just put players together and get results, u gotta have chemistry going. we can go back to the 04-05 Wolves and learn from them.. they had Cassell, Sprewell, KG, a good defensive player in Hassell, adn good role players like Eddie and Olowokandi, that's not mentioning their deep bench especially the little PG with the crazy hair and the crazy 3 point shot (Troy something)..they didn't make the playoffs and they were total failures, why? because they couldn't play together. and that's what Steve would do to us if we pick him up now. he is still mad @ Houston because of that trade.. he wants his revenge..

2. I would love to have Webber on this team. he still has a lot left in the tank and he can give us instant help off the bench (or we can actually start him in place of Truck Hayes when Ming comes back). the guy is very smart and he can hit the midrange shot. he can give us some size and help us in tough matchups for Truck ... if we can sign him for the minimum or a little more (very unlikely b/c Detroit really want him), I would love to have him.. other than that, I would pass..

 

That same team also went to the conference finals.

 

Not sure what you're getting at with this.

As a comparison of similar min/g, you can take a look at Sam Cassell, Damon Stoudamire, Chris Duhon, Earl Watson, or Chucky Atkins who play about the same amount of min/g as Francis did this year.

 

Memory serves that the Rockets made it to the 1st round with JVG, Francis and Yao. The lottery is a leap. 2ndly Francis wouldn't be 1st or 2nd or maybe even third option. He would be a role player.

04-05 the TWolves did make it to the WCF. The reason that they faltered at the end was because Cassel was hurt.

 

You haven't seen Steve Francis play lately. He takes few shots in many games, and doesn't hog the ball, or even overdribble in an attempt to get isolations every play as he used to.

I'm not saying we should get him on our team, because I don't think we need him at this point. But your characterization of him is inaccurate.

 

2006-2007:
Steve Francis: 12 FGA/48 mins, 8.09 FTA/48 mins
Rafer Alston: 17.03 FGA/48 mins, 3.26 FTA/48 mins

Even if you assume 2 FTs = 1 FGA, Francis still shoots the ball at a less frequent rate than Rafer. Perhaps Tango or durvasa could chime in here, but that gap would be extended since I would assume we play at a slower pace than the Knicks.

And you suggest trading our starting PG who is playing ~75% of our mins for Marko freaking Jaric?

This is just downright hilarious.

Go back to the 04-05 Wolves. They had the best record in the West Conference, and 2nd best record in the NBA. They lost to a Lakers team with 4 HOFers in the Western Conference Finals.

Yep, "total failures".

 

........and this is his worst year in his career.

I think Francis would be a huge difference maker. Not only could he help us win a championship, but if he re-signed here, he could help carry Yao and TMac to a dynasty.

 

I posted this earlier in this thread. It's a video from earlier this year (against the Knicks) of Bill Worrell and Matt Bullard at halftime, and Steve Francis makes a cameo. He says he misses Houston. Bull asks if Steve still has his Houston Rockets jersey. Steve says it's retired, but he hopes he can get it back from Bob Sura.

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=2689824&postcount=189

 

Francis would be an excellent player off the bench if he came her for cheap. The last 1.5 years in NY he has shot well and cut down on his TOs in a more limited role.

He would not supplant Rafer as the starter, but Francis would offer a good alternative to close the game if Rafer is struggling with open shots and also provide some bench scoring punch.

So Francis isn't ideal for this team, but sure I'd try to get him here if he is bought out. I don't think Francis, or what would be his role, would much resemble what he was as a Rocket--too many anti-Francis folks are not in touch with what he has become (more limited but somewhat effective combo guard roll player).

 

If you replace Alston with Francis, the Rockets become an elite team instantly. We have one of the worst starting PGs in the NBA and we are still a solid team. Imagine what would happen if Francis, a top PG, replaces Alston

Anyways, Thomas and Francis's agent are indicating to the media that a buyout is not imminent.

 

Francis isn't close to a top NBA PG. He is maybe the 3rd best guard on his 16-22 team and he is largely obsolete for them.

I don't think he would start over Alston, he is less of a fit. But Francis could be an excellent high minute sub who occasionally closes games (when Alston and/or Head are struggling).

 

The only good quality Rafer has is that he's a cog in a good defensive rox team. He moves his feet well and his hands are active, but people can just shoot over him sometimes. I think he's putting out great effort on the defensive end.

That said, Francis was also part of a good defensive rox team. I think he can do it again and we'd be stupid not to give him a look. What do we have to lose? We could cut him any time we want!

 

Huh? The Twolves went to the WCF that year. The NBA is very much a fantasy league. You get the best talent together you will be a contender. Chemistry is little overated because most teams develop it while if they are together long enough. The only thing that matters is if all the players are effecient and are willing give up the rock.

Look at the Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento, Portland and Heat teams from this decade. Whoever has the most talent usually wins. The only exception was the Pistons and I doubt they would have won if Karla didn't break down during the playoffs. And even the Pistions are no slouches in the talent department with 4 borderline all-stars.

 

Yes, for the love of God. Getting Francis would be awesome.

 

PORTLAND?????? Since when did they become winners this decade?

 

The went to the WCF finals against the Lakers in 2000 and were one quarter from beating them.

 

People talk about team chemistry like it's a tangible thing. You don't know until they do play as a team so you can't make judgement calls on that.