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

that was 2000? i thought 2000 was lakers against the kings...my bad....

 

I will tell u what's hilarious..

when somebody like u go out and call out an other guy for "not knowing the facts".. please, mr. Nike, I have a lot of respect to you. but I suggest that u go back to the 04-05 wolves. they didn't have the best record in the west. they weren't in the playoffs actually. please correct your facts sir, and this same thing applies for all the other guys claiming that 04-05 Minny team went to the WCF. it was the 03-04..

trust me, I know what I am talking about..

 

do u seriously believe that a cocky player like Francis will accept his role as a "role player"? I dont think so. actually, I dont think him and JVG will be able to work out things together. I was watching "sports century" on FSN the other day and they had Francis right after he got traded. he publicly called out JVG and said that he is not a good coach and he cant coexist with him. it's either him or JVG, and the rox chose JVG (that's what he said), so I dont think Francis is willing to play for him again, and, incase he "said" he will do whatever coach wants, he is probably setting us up for a disaster to "take his revenge"..

once again, go back and get a reality check, in 04-05, Twolves didn't go to the playoffs... it's really weird how everybody just has this thing backwards..really weird..

 

04-05 minnesota team is a terrible example. Both Spree and Cassell were injured for much of the year.

 

If Francis wants to play for the Rocks, and Van Gundy tells him he's to play off the bench, and within his role, then that's the way it would have to be. It may be Rockets science, but it's not rocket science. I think getting Francis would be nice under those circumstances, if he's reasonably healthy. Otherwise, I'd pass. We're winning games.

 

Van Gundy would talk to Steve Francis before giving the go ahead on signing him up. So, what are you worried about RocketMac? Plus, Rafer plays better when challenged. Why not give Francis a go if things worked out?

 

once again, go to timberwolves.com and go to "team history", then go to 04-05 and correct your facts... they didn't go to the playoffs that year, I know what I am talking about..

and no, it's not like a fantasy league. are u kidding me? I think u dont exactly know what "chemistry" means. chemistry is not just setting up nice plays and passing behind the back to your teammates. chemistry is when all your players feel comfortable with each other. it's when all your players like each other and dont have problems with others. kinda like our team; they are all like one family. they have strong ties between each other. they congratulate each other after wins and they car about each other. but if u look at Swift and Derek Anderson, u can tell that they weren't comfortable with the rest of our guys.

a perfect example of a team that is missing chemistry is NY.. they have one of the best backcourts in the NBA talent-wise in Starbury and Franchise. they have good shooters like Crawford and QRich, they got above average post presence in Curry, they have a good young bench in Nate, Lee and others. why aren't they winning? because they have NO chemistry. if u think Franchise would help us, why didn't he help the knicks?? everybody in NYer (esp. Mr. Vecsey) was thinking "oh, Knicks will turn into an eastern conference power house with Francis" and "Starbury and Francis will play well together".. look what happened now.. they are on their way to another Lottery trip..

chemistry is UNDERRATED, not overrated my friend.. and the NBA is no fantasy league...

 

So it was 03-04 when they went to the conference finals. So what? It still kind if negates your point since they had the same crew.

 

u are right, it's not a tangible thing. u cant judge until u see the team play. but I believe in "if it aint broke, dont fix it", and I think we are in a pretty good shape right now. I know that Rafer is sucking bad right now, but I would rather keep him than take the risk of breaking the team apart by bringing in Franchise..

now if we can trade Rafer for another low risk player (like Jaric, yeah NikeStard ), I dont have a problem with that..

 

francis is a role player now. stop characterizing him by how he played for us 2-3 years ago. francis is not the only problem in ny. he's not the main prob that that team is losing. a lot of other things havta do w/that.

i dont get how you'd take a jaric over francis ... he'll give us better chemistry ... ? um. i uno. i havent seen jaric do much of anything in his career. and i dont think we need to trade rafe. especially not for jaric.

 

They also have the worst coach/GM in the league. Plus, Marbury was not a winner wherever he was. Neither was Crawford. QRich is good when hot, but extremely streaky. Curry is unreliable. David Lee is good. Nate Robinson is nothing but a little punk. I don't really think you can hold it against Francis that that team isn't winning big.

I agree that chemistry is important, but another important question is how he would fit into our game plan. I think he might not be right guy to play the majority of minutes with T-Mac and Yao on the court, but he could be the primary offensive option when T-Mac and/or Yao are out. He would give us another dimension. If you can get a player who is that talented - without screwing up our chemistry - for the minimum, I think you have to do it.

So, my test would be this (assuming Francis does get a buyout in NY and does want to come back to Houston):

1) Would JVG want it? Would he think it would make us a better team and is he confident he can keep Francis under control?
2) Are we sure there aren't any burned bridges from the past with the organization (I don't think there really is any bad blood with anyone on the team or management)
3) Ask T-Mac if he is ok with it
4) Ask Yao if he is ok with it
5) Can JVG make sure that the way Francis will be used is discussed with him beforehand (e.g., backup for both guard positions, still playing about 30 minutes a game, but not no. 1 or no. 2 option)?

If the answer to 1-5 is yes, I'd cut Sura and do it.

Minutes (when everyone is healthy, which will not be the case too often):

PG: Alston (24), Francis (20), Head (4)
SG: T-Mac (22), Head (16), Francis (10)
SF: Battier (32), T-Mac (16)
PF: Hayes (16), Howard (16), Wells (16 - yup, doesn't Wells play in the post all the time anyway?)
C: Yao (38), Mutombo (10)

Spot minutes: Novak, Spanoulis, Lucas, Snyder

It would be an adjustment to try to fit him in...but I think it could work if everyone's expectations are aligned.

 

finally, I found somebody who has some common sense..

thank u, Sir Jackie Chiles.

I would be glad to have him on this team if he passes your test.. but I guarantee u he wont. and that's partly because of the stubborness of our great coach JVG.. but once again, if your 5 standards are met, I will be more than happy to have him on this team and I will be 100% sure that he will help the team..

 

No offense, and SJC made a good post, but he didn't say anything that wasn't said by several others that you found rediculous. All he did was include some hypothetical numbers. (which were not bad, Jackie)

 

RocketsMac,

Your posts are cracking me up. You have yet to make a valid point yet you act as if you are somehow setting the bar for excellence in this forum with your condescending tone and arrogance you write with. Please do us all a favor and check your ego at the door and donate a little something to the tipjar.

Sincerely,
Baller4life315

 

Thanks Mack and hooroo for the response. However, saying he loves and misses Houston is not the same as saying he'd be willing to swallow his pride, return to Houston for a tiny contract, and be a role player on a team led by the guy that replaced him. I could imagine saying this given the crappy teams he played for after leaving Houston, but I'd really make sure.

But if he is willing (and his knees are not shot), I'd LOVE to have the guy back.

 

No you don't. Your entire point was...pointless. The EXACT cast of Minnesota characters that you claimed lacked chemistry made it to the Western Conference Finals. Be it 03/04 or 04/05, your point was utterly without teeth.

They weren't exactly horrendous in 04/05 - winning 44 games.

As for SJC's test, most have been passed anecdotally or would presumably do so. Briefly,
1.) Rumor has it JVG wanted him last year. Check.
2.) See video Mack posted. Check.
3.) No particular reason TMac wouldn't be ok with it. Check.
4.) Yao is well documented to being very close with Francis. Check.
5.) I think 1 and 5 go hand in hand.

Yet you're convinced otherwise.

 

They were the same team. The chemistry left them in 04-05 because of:

1. a lagging injury to Cassell that caused him not to be able to play at a high level.

2. the contract squabbles involving both Cassell and Spree. They were squabbling with management and it carried over onto the floor.



Chemistry is such a delicate thing and it has a whole lot more to do with player's attitudes and frames of mind at a particular point in time than it does have to do with a player's physical skills.

You can bet that if Francis were bought out that he would want to sign and play for a contender and his attitude would be to do whatever he had to do to reestablish himself in this league. Because Francis, although he has been stupid and done a lot of stupid things during his career, loves basketball and he loves to win.

When you can sign one of the twenty most talented players in the NBa and add that talent to an already very good team and there is little to no salary risk with a minimum salary deal, it is a no brainer deal.

 

We already have Francis-lite on this team in Alston. Alston may not have Francis's athleticism but he has his chucking and poor shot selection, bad basketball IQ and dribbling around the perimeter. The Rockets sure don't need two of them. I desire much more for the Rockets.

If point guard help is what they seek, make a trade Rockets and stay away from Francis.

 

Francis would help this team out without a doubt. The player has heart like JVG said. Plus I think Yao would be excited to have his old teammate back as well as Steve.

 

Assuming we can get Stevie for the low-low, then why would anyone have a problem with it? Two of our main problems have been back-up PG play and scoring when T-Mac is resting? Steve solves both of those problems.

I actually think Stevie still wants to be a Rocket. I remember the game against NY, when Stevie came over to Worrell at the half to say hi to everyone back in Houston. How often does a guy who doesn't wanna come back do something like that? I also recall Worrell saying something about him coming back and he said something like "tell Sura to give me my number back" (paraphrasing). If he does get bought out I think he will come home.

Plus Stevie has heart....no one can deny that.