Yeepp, I'll miss ole Stevie aswell. He indeed, always gave 100% effort. A lot of heart, a lot of desire, and not to mention a splendid personality. Just all around good guy, that has a lot of fun doing what he does for a living, and just puts his heart into everything he does on the court. If only he had some brains, and well, defensive capabilities, we wouldn't be trading him for T-mac. His carefree, spirited enthusiasm and heart were thoroughly enjoyed in his rookie year as a rocket, and his sophomore.. then his third year.. Unfortunately, at one point in this league you have got to evolve, mature and get mentally serious. And when you fail to on numerous occassions. Changes will be made, for the sake of the team. I too will miss the friendship displayed between Yao and Steve. But yes, when such opportune moments like this where a player of T-mac talents and stature is present, you just have to move on to new and better things. Personally, I hope the best for Stevie. Sometimes, a player needs a move like this, into new surroundings a new environment. For them to improve and blossom. And I hope that's the case for Steve. In the meantime.. Bring on T-mac!!
I like Francis and think he made a lot of progress last year to fit into Van Gundys system, however trading him would be fine for someone that can make the team better. Will T-Mac do that? Are the rumors that he comes late to practices not true, we all know he likes to discuss team items in the media and settle problems that way. Will that go over well with Van Gundy, or does he change to please the new super star, or does it get worked out in the media? Seems to me we are breaking up a team we know is getting better for one that may well put us back to the rebuilding stage. Will this be a return to the Pippen era. except we will have lost players to start with? People have wanted Cato gone since he got here, he played his best ball for Van Gundy and will be missed when he is gone. Then the same people that want him gone will be blaming the team for letting him go.
Watching Francis play has been my most frustrating sports experience; it even tops the Oilers collapse against Buffalo and UH losing in the final second to NCState. He is IMO the consumate anti-basketball hero: he murders the game. Highlight reel theatrics instead of sound fundamentals. A dipsey doodle pass for a turnover when a "solid" pass would have produced an assist, a double clutch shot for a miss when a simple lay up would have scored, a behind the back turnover at a critical moment in a game. Oh I will miss him, like a sharp stick in the eye. He is a mirage, a fantasy, like a hollywood celeb who gets credit for heroic acts he never really performed. The day he is offically gone will be one of my happiest sports moments of all time. Trading him for TMac would be a steal, I would trade him for a Tarpley comeback and change.
Now I know you're lying ... Yao rarely called for the ball this past season, and he certainly didn't do much of that his rookie year .. Have patience, Yao will get there bro. As for you saying that Yao and Steve only act like friends for publicity all I have to say is
Sorry I forgot to add T-Mac SHOULD be called upon to get the ball to Yao consistently .. With his size that makes for an easy entry pass which we havn't seen in a long time due to a lack of size in Mobley.
Is there some sort of emoticon to say that you are completely out of your mind? Let's try x infinity Francis is an imperfect player, but to compare him to the greatest sporting tragedies in Houston sports history is too stupid to even think about. The Buffalo loss haunts me like the Kennedy assassination, so I might a bit overboard, myself. Anyway, put the bottle of hyperbole pills down for a second. The Rockets have been as successful as they have been because of Steve Francis. If you think he held this team back from anything but a lower seed in the lottery, you are as delusional as Les Alexander was about the talent of this team. Yao was not ready to carry the team on his back his rookie year and there was simply nobody else worth a damn for every other year Steve has been with the team. That he managed to squeeze out three 40 + win seasons with the lousy frontline (Yao excluded, obviously) talent around him speaks to something more than the false praise of basketball pundits. Look, for every dumb pass, or outbreak of dribbleitis, Francis has been one of the best all around players in the game. In 2002-2003 nobody not named Kobe hit more big, end of game shots than Steve Francis. You can look it up. He's been the best rebounding guard since he came into the league. Last year he made solid improvements in playmaking and defense, even if he slumped shooting the ball. The point I'm making is that Steve deserves better fans than he has in Houston. Of course, Houston fans turned on Hakeem Olajuwon, so the Steve bashing is not surprising. Even though I want to pick up McGrady, I will miss Steve if he is traded. He played hard and with passion.
Tracy Mcgreedy will leave after next year, and we r again a lottery team...woohooo we barely made to playoff, and now we kill 3 of our 5 starters then we will hear Tmac ask for a trade after a losing season
wow. okay, it's very clear some of you people do not actually WATCH the rockets before you post. steve singlehandedly carried us in the denver game to clinch playoffs and in every single game of the playoffs, especially the one we won, and he sent us into an OT loss because of turnovers. the rockets beat themselves because they were a rookie team in the playoffs, against the favorites for the championship. steve is an amazing player, and a great guy and it sucks to lose him, with that said, I'm for the tmac trade. with steve + yao, I think we COULD have won a championship. with steve + tmac, I think we WILL win a championship. tmac is taller and longer (as amazing on defense as offense) than kobe, and is essentially the same player. yao is not shaq, but will be amazing in his own right, and he was the only player who managed to handle shaq in the playoffs holding his own, and keeping him to around 15/10, rather than 27/13 vs all these other teams. yao and tmac are going to be amazing together, but I'm going to be a huge orlando fan as well...steve + emeka + cato. amazing.
At worst, we are the 7th seed again. No one in the west can guard McGrady outside of Kobe. No one can guard Yao outside of Shaq and maybe Duncan. We will have a go-to player on the floor for 48 minutes whether it be McGrady or Ming. Not many teams, even in the talented west, can boast that. We will also have a post-up presence for 48 minutes with Yao or McGrady and almost every possession will be to our advantage. At worst....we will stay in the 7th spot.....who is gonna keep us out?
I still cannot believe that anybody is crying over losing a "starter" like Cato. Fercrissakes, there's guys on this board that would rather have a hobbled Mcdyess at the PF instead of Cato. Let's all face it: Cato is a decent backup center, but he is not, I repeat NOT a starting caliber Power Forward.
Well, I'm all for T-mac, but I hope it doesn't cost Cat because we will need to trade him for a PG or another PF/C. You know what amazes me, is that Francis played less organized ball in high school than a lot of us and he still made it to the NBA. He's raw talent that still needs a little more cooking time. I hope he ends up with a good coach who can get him to reach his full potential. BTW, this trade isn't a done deal, are we all gonna feel stupid talking like this if it doesn't happen?
When you start to get all sentimental over Stevie just stop and remember all the times you screamed at the TV over some stupid stupid turnover, some blown fast break, some goofy outside attempt without ever trying to get the ball inside. He's a good kid, can jump over the moon and rebounds like no other point guard but really, he has provided a lot more frustration than satisfaction. If your girlfriend gave you more frustration than satisfaction you'd dump her too.
I guess this pretty much sums up the attitude of the people advocating the trade for T-Mac. It also says just a bit about their character. I, for one, would not dump my girlfriend just because she gives me more frustration than satisfaction, especially since I've been with her for years. The memories of what were, combined with the promises of what could be, should be enough for any decent person to stick it out with their significant other. These are the same people who would dump their girlfriends for supermodels. The supermodels might be better-looking than your girlfriend, but so what? They share none of the same memories or experiences with you, hold no allegiance to you, and provide no guarantee that the relationship will work out. I think it's high time that we started treating Steve like our girlfriend, homophobia be damned.
If we lose Steve, I will definitely miss the guy. Same goes for Mobes and Cato if the rumors end up being true. But Steve I will especially miss. I really feel that this year was a tough one for him to adjust to but I do think he tried his best to fit in for the sake of the team. Outside of playing hard every night, he's been a model superstar and seems to be a genuinely good guy. If he does leave the Rockets I would not be suprised to see him put up MVP like numbers in the future. I think he still has a ton of game left in him, it was just a tough adjustment this year.
If the trade goes through, I will be gleaming from ear to ear. I will be sorry to miss Cat. But if we get Howard in the trade too and pick up Brent Barry in free agency, check this lineup out: PG: Barry SG: McGrady SF: JJ PF: J. Howard C: Yao Nice lineup...
