Not to sidestep, but this tells me the Magic want a marquee name, not a batch of good players. If that is true, the Rockets should be at the top of the list because, out of all the names thrown around (Marion, Artest, Bender, Harrington, etc), Francis' is the biggest in terms of recognition and star power.
Maybe, maybe not.... The Magic have also reporedly asked for Amare Stoudamire from the Suns. It makes me wonder why the Magic are asking this? I mean surely they know the Suns wont give up Stoudamire and the Pacers wont give up Oneal. I have a feeling the Magic are just asking for the moon now so they can "come down in price" and get what they really realistically expected anyway. Just classic negotiating. However, Jeff I like your idea the best!
IMHO.... Francis signed his rookie scale extension on 08.26.02. He became BYC for 1 year when his new salary took effect on 07.01.2003. Regardless of how you count 365 or 366 days, any date exceeding 07.01.2004 is more than 1 year past the signing date or the day his pay raise took effect. I hold the belief that all players have their next seasons' salary go into effect for on the same day (July 1st). This eliminates goofy things like holding up a trade until all players in the trade have their next seasons salary to compute the assigned player exception. I don't ever recall a trade being held up until all parties were on the same contract season. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_Sign_Steve_Francis_To_-51972-34.html
June 20, 2004, 1:14AM NBA NOTEBOOK Francis' snub not act of revenge Omission from U.S. Olympic team not Jackson's doing By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES __________________________________________________ Rockets lead McGrady suitors With the Tracy McGrady trading season officially under way, several league sources said the Rockets have emerged as the front-runner to land the NBA scoring champion and that a deal could be done by Wednesday. Though players involved could change in a variety of ways before a deal is completed, any Rockets trade for McGrady, due $14.4 million next season, would have to include the Rockets' three-time All-Star and former co-rookie of the year Steve Francis. Francis is considered a "base year" player until July 1, complicating deals involving him. But the teams could work around the difficulties of trading players in their "base year" by including other teams, or by reaching an agreement on a deal to be announced in July, a possibility that seemed to fit with Orlando Magic general manager John Weisbrod's plans. "I expect to know (by Thursday)," Weisbrod said. "I can't say that I would expect that to be public information. I have every intention of knowing where that's going when we make these (draft) decisions." McGrady's meeting with Magic owner and Amway founder Rich DeVos on Friday produced the expected results. McGrady told the Magic he still plans to opt out of his contract after next season, but he would like a large supply of household cleaning products. Because Weisbrod had vowed to deal McGrady rather than go into next season with an "I don't know," Friday's meeting started the clock on McGrady's departure. "From just the GMs who send unsolicited faxes and leave unsolicited messages, there are enough things out there that will be better than OK in a trade," Weisbrod said. "So I don't think us doing a bad deal is an option. We're not going to do a bad deal." The Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns also have been considered top contenders to land McGrady. Dallas could work its way into the talks. League sources said even with McGrady, a two-time scoring champion and twice an All-NBA first-team pick, holding an option to terminate his contract after the season, as many as 10 teams have made significant offers. _________________________________________________ Stu Jackson has heard the theory that goes around every time Steve Francis is left off one of the USA Basketball teams. While other NBA stars are cautioned not to trample each other on the way out, Francis is almost begging his way past the velvet rope and onto the Olympic team. When he gets snubbed with every invitation, the latest going to Dwyane Wade, the conspiracy theorists blame Jackson. "He's been very clear," Jackson said. "I have spoken to Steve personally. Steve has spoken to members of the committee. He has also spoken to USA Basketball, expressed strong wishes to be part of the team, which is very admirable. It's of great personal significance to him to be on the Olympic team." Jackson, now a non-voting member of the selection committee and an NBA vice president, was the Grizzlies general manager that drafted and subsequently traded Francis to the Rockets. Snubbing Francis is said to be his revenge. "I would say that it is completely untrue," Jackson said. "I hold no ill feeling toward Steve Francis at all. That was another time, another place. I've gone on since then. I've watched with great delight Steve Francis' maturation as a player and as a person. Personally, I like him a great deal. "But as far as his inclusion on the United States' Olympic team, that is a matter of him being voted on by the committee. Competition for these spots on Olympic team is very, very keen. The committee has taken great care in selecting the team that they feel will work well together, be able to play a style of play that is competitive in international basketball and whose sole mission is to compete for the gold medal." Jackson probably could ruin or make a candidate's case, but the USA Basketball selection process is very political. Turf is carefully guarded, and Jackson is not in a position to bully. "The competition for those spots, even with some players unable to play or choosing not to play, is very keen," Jackson said. "Not everybody can make it." In other words, Francis didn't make it, and it didn't take some other agenda to keep him out. ____________________________________________________ Draft lacks depth With so many mid- to late-first-round and second-round underclassmen and international players pulling out of the draft, teams picking late (the Rockets' only pick is 55th) were stuck in the wrong part of a weak draft. The Rockets had gone into draft preparations knowing Rockets owner Leslie Alexander would approve a deal to virtually buy a first-round pick to make up for the loss of this season's pick, which was sent to Utah in the Glen Rice salary-cap deal. But with last week's changes in the draft's depth, it no longer makes sense to spend much for a first-round pick who in other seasons would be selected in the second round. This week's draft has been downgraded to awful. Expect seven or eight high school players to go in the top 20. Teams such as the Boston Celtics, looking to unload picks, could be more agreeable during the draft if they choose a high school prospect early and are in the position of taking another high schooler later in the first round. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2637378
