As far as getting McGrady, it would probably cost us, say, Steve and Cato and change for T-Mac and, say, Juwan Howard (if we can trade him off somewhere). Even that's tricky. It's not exactly All-Star + real center for All-Star and Mid-Level All-O-No-D guy. The Magic have been stinking it up, on a long downhill slide, ever since Shaq left. And losing McGrady might just be the final straw, the one that sends the team to another city. OK, maybe not that bad. Still, McGrady IS the franchise now. That said, could you imagine McGrady and Yao together? Hoo mama.
Playoffs eligbilities depend on the season records not one game. It is the best of 82 games. You can beat Denver by 200-5 but you might be out of the playoffs.
I love Steve because he plays hard, he works hard during the offseason, and he has improved his defense. Steve also is capable of taking over a game. We need a guy other than Yao who can pick up the slack on certain nights. I also like Steve because he's become kind of an underdog around here. There are so many bashers(I don't mean those that are opposed to STeve because of his mistakes or team fit) that an NBA all-star playing for the Houston Rockets is actually an underdog on the fan board. Anyway I like underdogs, especially one's that work and play hard. That being said if we were offered someone capable of taking over games, but was also willing to share with Yao, and was a better fit in the current Rockets system, then I would be in favor of a trade. I know there are people hoping that the Rockets don't win a series in the playoffs so that there will be no reason to keep Steve. That's the wrong attitude for a fan to have IMO. I've seen people upset when Steve nailed a clutch shot for our team, because they had been bashing the guy all game. Steve deserves a large portion of blame for what happens to this team when things don't go right. But with a lot of people it goes beyond that.
Nice post FranchiseBlade, and I haven't seen you to be offensive or pull out every criticism possible of other Rockets to defend SF. Emotion is a big part of being a fan. Lately some SF fans have been more far more offensive Yao guys that originally came here only to care about Yao's stats. Whoever it was in this thread that speculated that "those who want to trade SF probably hasn't watched the NBA for too long" apparently doesn't even know what forum he's on. For most people who want SF traded this is far from an ideal situation. We depended on him, cared about him and didn't enjoy the revelation that he must go. But the attack Yao and ***k Clyde posts in SF's behalf are insults to Steve Francis too.
this might sound crazy but the magic are willing to trade TMAC....how bout the rockets somehow sending Francis to Orlando for TMAC?....just wonderin if it could happen http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1782546
DonKnutts, Excellent topic that I came here thinking about already and was very excited to find. As for the answer: If Steve were to carry (and I mean CARRY the Rockets) to a win over the Lakers, I would say he deserves to come back next year. This is why: By carry, I am talking about Steve becoming a player good enough to lift a team on its back and beat the juggernauts of playoff basketball. However, this is a level of play I have never seen from Steve in any 4-7 game stretch of his career. Very few players have ever demonstrated that ability, and shipping out a player who rose to the occasion like that would be inexplicable. This is the minimum performance I would expect from Francis to earn a return to the team. If we win, but it is in spite of his foolish play, he's gone. If we lose, and he plays very well, he's gone. If we lose, and he shows no improvement from his regular season performance, he's gone. Most people can see the writing on the wall. I have seen his name pop up every when possible offseason movement is discussed. This is Steve's last and best chance to once-and-for-all silence his critics by proving that he deserves the confidence and trust the Rockets have shown him.
I would have to say that atleast 50% of current Rockets fans are only fans because of Yao Ming. You have to look no further than this site to see that. Steve is the one guy that connects back to the days where Rockets fans were fans because the team represented H-Town. To lose Hakeem, Rudy, and Steve in a five year period more likely than not would end my support of this team. I feel betrayed by Les Alexander and to a certain extent Clutch and his crew. No longer is loyalty an issue with this team nor with its fans for the most part. I am not saying that I hate Yao or his fans, indeed I am excited about the propects of having the big man for the next decade. However, I cannot get past the fact that many here and in Houston generally are ready to throw away Francis the same way they duid Hakeem and Rudy.
I think that vision can't be taught. Just like a running back, a pg just have to have the ability to control the game. I mean Kenny Smith had his defects, but he rarely to's the ball and would run the fast break effectively. Similar to the Parkers,Johnson,and Derek Fishers of the day. In the West, the power conference, you have to have a big player (Ming) and your pg just need to be smart. I want to know why people all of a suuden think in a time when every possession is critical, all of a sudden Francis is going to turn into the smartest pg ever. If we are to compare our loses with our wins vs the west, check our backcourt asst/to ratio or just to's in general. To make matters worse, N.O. is coming into our division which will be the toughest division in basketball. SA,Dallas,Hou,N.O,and Minny,or Memphis. Its going to be a war every yr and the Rockets need to make sure they have the soldiers to fight this war.
I agree, Why do you have to attack one player to support another player? All these Yao haters and Francis haters are morons. They are no better than one another.
Also, would these people stop calling themselves diehard Rockets fans. A diehard Rockets fan wouldn't keep attacking a Rockets player relentlessly in every single posts which are full of hatred. Everytime these people say they are die hard Rockets fan make me puke.
The problem with judging any player based on playoff performance is sample size. Teams have made some awfully stupid decision in the past based on good playoff performances. But any player can have a nice stretch - rewarding a player for a playoff performance when the rest of the season does not merit such reward is foolish. Of course, same goes if a player does poorly in the playoffs. While it might become a problem if the player always does poorly - one or two times, especially in the beginning, isn't a big deal.
Not too be argumentative, but it would be appropriate to point out that LeBron James played PG in high school and has made the direct transition to the NBA and a remarkable one at that.
For those that said no matter what he did they want him gone....What if he single handedly took the rockets to victory over the Lakers? Still trade him?
Stop the presses!!!!!!!! Wasnt it just two years ago that everyone was saying that they felt sorry for steve because he played his heart out and we couldnt seem to make the playoffs? Dont make me go back to the archives. Second of all, why are we blaming Steve for all of the teams shortcomings? His assists are up, his shot attempts are down, ect. Is it Steve's fault that Yao gets pushed off the block or Cuttino is having a bad shooting night? Someone name a player (point guard) that will get us into the NBA Finals next year. Were not going to get back to the days of Hakeem overnight. I see improvement. Last year we didnt make the playoffs. This year we did. Thats progress. Third of all, I blame Rudy and his staff. For Steve's first four years in the league, Rudy rolled the ball out onto the court and told them to go play. He never sat Steve down after mistakes, he never forced Steve to play within a system. Remember that Steve came out of college early. So this would only be his 2nd or 3rd year in the league. And this is his first year being made o play within a system. I think hes adjusted not well, but satisfactorily. Granted he needs to work on his shooting. But our entire nucleus needs to work on something. If Yao was a little more agressive and in better shape would we have won a few more games? If Mo got about 2 more rebounds per night would we have won a few more games? If Cuttino shot a little more consistently would we have won a few more games? Why dont we trade the whole team then? We always blame the failures of our team on a single player. This time last year everyone was bashing the hell out of Cuttino...... anyone remember that? It was all his fault. How long before its Yao Ming's turn. Finally..... Mark Jackson isnt that great of a pg any more either. Tell me why he turns his back to the offense as soon as he crosses half court. Tell me how many bounce passes hes thrown between Yao Ming's feet. And tell me why oh why is he trying to post his man up as a point guard and pushing 7'6" Yao out to the 3 point line. I guess thats all Steve's fault too. We wont even talk about Mark Jackson's shooting. He was in the league when Steve was in grade school so he's had a little time to work on his shooting too and hasnt taken advantage. In short, give the guy a break.
Two words. Sleepy Floyd. He was a good player who could not run the team. He was in a contract year and poured in 40 vs the Lakers in the playoffs. We signed him to a big contract and the team struggled with him at the PG for another few years. Lets hope the management does not fall into that trap again. I would much rather have a Kenny Smith who can hit the open jumper and run the offense without dumb mistakes.
Steve needs to bring his 'A' Game to every game of the Playoffs. Not only does he need to play well but he needs to be seen in one of two lights a] a great player that can make the difference by a big score without many turnovers b]being a great playmaker Point Guard and makes all the right passes at the right times. Win or loose Steve can still be on the Rockets next season if he shows either of these lights but if he is the scoring player then we will find him in another position next season, with a new starting Point Guard.
