If anybody needs to shut thier mouth it's the people compaining about Stevie. Stevie is amember of the team, your just a fan, Rudy has made it clear that Stevie is the leader he has the right to put his two cents in on the matter. It's not like he's gonna quit if we pick Ming, he just believes there are better options, which a lot of players and coaches in the NBA don't believe he's worth the risk. Most teams would draft Williams or trade the pick. We need a center immediately-- not in four or five years.
he didn't sign with Vancouver B/C 1) he didn't want to play there )2) he didn't want to move to shooting gaurd. when he played with CHarles and Hakeem he complained about having to feed the post. Face it people, Francis is not a team player.
the worst possible scenerio, aside from china not letting Ming come here or our whole team getting injured is.... Ming is awful for three years... we trade him eventually..for something decent.... but in those three years. i realistically cant see us missing the playoffs all three years, even if ming is awful... taylor, griffin, francis, mobley, thomas, cato, rice, norris is a playoff team if they play healthy and to their potential... and even if ming is a bust, and francis sees us eventually making the playoffs, hell see a progression, and he will be content... thats the worst possible scenerio.
If Francis wants to win now I sure wish he would stop worrying about what management does and worry more about rehabing and improving his own weaknesses. Rudy and CD know a whole lot more on what's best for the team then Francis does. This isn't Steve's team, it's Rudy and CD's team. They make the personel decisions. They're the ones that have been with this organization for decades. They're the ones that helped win 2 championships for the city of Houston. Steve hasn't done squat yet to make any trade requests. If Rudy/CD want Ming, and Steve/Cat want Odom, then I'm siding with Rudy and CD.
francis at this point is a young HIGHLY COMPETITIVE athlete who has seen his share of dissapointment and simply wants instant gratification. i have no doubt that once we get ming(hopefully) and rudy sets the two of them together in practice, he'll have a change of heart. secondly, francis has never, not once said he does not want ming. this is a rumor. personally, i doubt he's very excited about it but so what? he's not controlling the team, publically or privately, and he has never run his mouth off about it. the only time he has whined on tv was the 99' draft and that has nothing to do with ming. so anyone who wants to go nuts about 1 or 2 throwaway interviews, go right ahead.
ive had it with these francis and mobley bashers. these guys are the players we should be building our team around. who gives a crap what they say on tv over a 2 second interview. so what francis doesnt want a tall asian that cant bang down low on the team next year. theres lots of peeps who dont want ming. is our best player and leader not allowed to have an opinion. also how can u be angry that he left the grizz? they were obviously going nowhere and franics knew it. that doesnt make him spoiled. i mean come on if u were a 20 year old african american would u where would u rather play vancouver (who havent ever done jack in the nba and had to relocate to memphis) or houston (who had recently won 2 titles)? u guys are gettin all worked up over nothin. i cant wait till next season when francis is averagin 20 pts 5 assists and 5 rbs a game and ming aint doin crap. then you'll come back licking francis's nuts.
Damn, this is ridiculous. Francis hasn't said anything negative about Ming, yet the fact that he hasn't jumped for joy and started worshipping Ming has resulted in people all over this board calling him a punk, selfish, a pot head, and even a racist. The Rockets are a hobby for us, for Francis they are his life. The orginization, the team, and the game, those are the things this guy lives for. We all want to be succesful now in our lives and we try to do what we can and make decisions to be succesful now. So Francis is worried about the fact that the team that was said by many experts to be a model for rebuilding, is suddenly sidetracked. Steve isn't upset because the plans are being pushed back a couple of years, he doesn't want to make the playoffs next year, he wanted to make them this year and he really thought the team we had was already a playoff team. By the way, I trust Rudy and CD, but last offseason wasn't really on of their best ones. They overpaid Mo and Mooch, they traded for Rice (who I think we all knew was washed up but hoped could contribute), and they passed up a chance at grabbing Webber. What's the point I'm trying to make? That Rudy and CD are human and make mistakes too.
Good lord these overreactions are absolutely ludicrous. The tirades you children launch into because there was an interview in which Steve says 'it reamains to be seen.' Ridiculous. I cannot believe you 'fans' piling up on our best player and leader like that, for no good reason.
I disagree...I think Francis KNOWS he needs to get in the playoffs to be considered among the league greats. He simply disagrees with Rockets management on what is the best way to do that quickly. But make no mistake...I think the guy wants to win, despite the fact he has yet to learn what kind of commitment that's going to take from him, personally. Stevie seems to be a really good guy...I hope all this works out well for him.
YOU KNOW WHAT I"m SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYONE DOGGING ON STEVE AND CAT FOR THEIR OPINIONS WHO CARES what they say Don't take it seriously WE ALL KNOW THAT THEY ARE FAR FROM BEING BASKETBALL INTELLIGENT They have no idea what the hell is going on. Fortunately our management know that these guys aren't very smart when it comes to basketball If these guys would talk about their dedication to becoming better defensive players, they could be taken seriously,but they don't care enough about that aspect of their game so logic should tell us they must not be that concerned with winning THEIR Basketball IQ"S are worthless and so are their Comments.
Never be afraid to start a new thread. It really doesn't matter if they like your ideas. You have something to say do it and enjoy the moment.
I just wanted to post this paragraph one more time on this thread, because PEOPLE DEFINITELY NEED TO READ IT. I agree another 100% here. And now my 1/50th of a dollar: All I have to say regarding Francis is that I remember very well how many people were pissed at him for not wanting to call this "his" team 2 or 3 years ago. Now that he's exhibiting such behavior, he's a friggin' cancer to the team? Well, at least all these Francis-bashers make sense .
So how are you a fan by hoping our #1 pick goes to waste? i dont hope are no.1 pick goes to waist i jus think it will if we take ming.
Oskie, BigM, Nolen, and others... Thank you for recognizing over-reactions, and pointing them out when you see them. Sometimes I get discouraged when I read so many knee-jerk reactions from fans. Francis said he doesn't know about Ming. Neither do most other NBA players, teams, or fans. Francis has not said in any interview that he dislikes Ming, or will cause problems if the Rockets draft Ming. Steve wants to win NOW. His idea of how to win now, may not be the correct one, but ... 1. he's not the one making the personell decisions. He's never claimed to be or asked to be given that power. All he's done is voice his opinion. 2. "Joe Fan's" opinion on this board may not be the correct one either. Until the games are played and it's proven, different people having different opinions shouldn't be that big of a deal. Cat, and Steve's answers to questions about Ming came in response to questions. They answered questions, that's all. They didn't announce press conferences in order to voice their opinions and stir up trouble. They didn't release press statements claiming their opposition to Ming or anything of the sort. They just answered someone elses questions. The fact that Steve and Cat both have opinions, only shows me that they care about the team and winning, and their minds are focussed on that task. Good for them. I might disagree with their opinions on how to win, but I'm glad they have their minds in the right place, and are thinking about the team, and basketball, and not saying to themselves that the've had a lousy season, and just go out for R&R in the off-season, or only worry about basketball when training camp rolls around. They are actually thinking and concentrating on basketball and the team.
I don't bash Francis for his opinion. In fact I don't bash him at all. Well, I was of the mind that he and Mobes should play up the pick. Make it sound like MAN . .. IF WE TAKE J WILL OR MING WE GONNA BE ALL WORLD. It's called LEVERAGE. If people THINK your star doesn't like one player or another. Then other team may not offer up something that is the best. Instead of Odom and Magette they may just offer odom. we need to make the league think. YOU WILL PRY THIS PICK OUT OF OUR DEAD COLD HANDS!! So they would offer the world. If we trade I want to completely RAPE another team. I'm talking: They get MING OR J WILL and RICE We get Odom, Magette, #8, #12 and Next years 1st rounder U know. . . so why not talk it up. Why not think HEY if we make the world think we all for it .. it gives us more leverage. That is all i ask. . . then if you cannot say something nice. . .. . Rocket River
Rocket River, I can understand where you are coming from 100%. I certainly don't consider that Francis bashing at all. I don't know how much it weight other teams do place on what our players say interviews, but if it does hamper negotiations then I wish it wouldn't have been done, but either way it's not the end of the world, or even the end of off-season moves, and strides towards improving the team.
"You hit the nail on the head. Francis is afraid to play second fiddle on a winning team, he just wants to be the franchise!" If you think Ming will be first fiddle, then you have something coming to you. Ming is not as good as Steve.
uhhh how bout we just trade ming for odom and draft some big guys....francis is pleased with cato and yao will prolly have some injuries with his knees since he is so tall. When we drafted Hakeem and not Jordan.....i didn't think the Rockets were goin crazy....so lets take the chance while we can and get a player that has proven something in the NBA.
For all of you saying Francis wants to win now, keep this is mind, he has not progressed much in his first 3 years in the league. He still deosn't pass to anyone except Cat, he boots the ball more than Janikowski, he doesn't get assists. But you know what he is happy because he is the man. He is the center of the hi-lite shows. Ming will play next year, it's not the problem of Ming having to develop 2-3 years on the bench. He may not be an immediate 20-10 guy but he will play and be (easily) a top 5 center. As for Odem well Odem is a decent player on a poor team. Some times those guys can go to a better team (it is questionable wheter we will be a better team than the Clippers or not) and do well, but other guys can't play on good team. So Odem is not a given. Bottom line is Ming is potentially a great player. Odem is an above average player who probably ahs al-star caliber skills, but would not be characterized as great. Take Ming and worry about the prima-donnas later. THe goal is to build a championship team, not to appease 3 guys who in their career 7 years in the NBA have made the playoffs once.
