Francis: "I've still got to play for him, God knows how long"

i did not know that!!! that's awesome!! have you read it?? great freaking book. i heard Jim Collins speak once, and was very impressed. the concepts in that book really ring true with me.

 

That's the thing...

Francis will do better on another team, just like Marbury did, and Kidd did. He'll find a nitch. But, the honeymoon will wear off and he'll have to produce anywere he goes.

And yes, the Rockets will take a step back as well. We'll suffer a bit from his loss. But, that's ok. We have to move on and rebuild the PG spot.

 

I believe it was in an article in the Chronicle where it was mentioned...maybe it was not at the beginning of the season, but a month or two ago.

 

Just curious. Has there ever any All-star starter elect who got traded before the ASG? That'd be very embarrasing, don't you think?

 

I dont think we'll see a trade for SF this season maybe next if we dont make it to the playoffs again. I think Steve is just blowing off some gas becuase of the suspention.

 

Stevie Francis is this you?

 

Hi!

This message comes from Europe. In fact it comes from Slovenia - where Boki comes from.
I've been fan of Rockets since early 90's - the Dream era.
Here's what I have to say about this situation and what Rockets are today:
There's nothing wrong with this disagreement between JVG and SF. I think that they will both handle it very well and will easily coexist in this team for a while. It' s quite up to the fans who of theese two will be blamed for the Rockets failures which are about to come.
I think this team has talent (which is ovarrated too), but it does not have a leadership and respect. In fact this is the problem of a whole NBA organisation this days. There are too many "Superstars" before they even deserve to be called a Star. That's the difference of the NBA from previous decade. The teams were REALLY LED by stars who earned this title with their charisma and respect.
SF is not to blamed for what he is, because he was called a superstar before he earned it. It came from strong desire of fans for this team to have a superstar again. There is too much pressure on SF. On the other hand, he isn't very smart too.
Rudy T let the situation roll out of his hands by letting SF and the whole team too much free space and sloppy discipline.
I think that any of you who have anything against JVG are wrong. JVG is saviour of this team. He can and will build a team which will be a playoff contender again. His relation and good leadership can easily be seen in the case of Cuttino Mobley. He was really boneheaded player until recently. Now he dropped his altitude and is working really hard for this team. That's one arguement, if no one of you can't see the W/L ratio.
If one of them had to go, I think it will be Steve. Hopfull he will adapt, otherwise - he's gone.

Regards,
Houston22

 

Exactly.

Unfortunately, problems always appear bigger when incompetent men are working on them...


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If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you. - Paul B Bryant, former football coach

 

Good post Houston22.
This part I totally agree on. SF is under too much pressure. I always felt Steve didn't deserve a Max contract, but he would have whinned and ask to be traded if he didn't get one when the time came. I'm sure the Rox org. knew this too, but didn't want to seem like a bad Organization, especially with the Pippen fiasco and Olajuwon situation a few years previously. Steve said he would accept the responsiblity of the contract and he knew what came with it.

So far he has yet to live up to the contract and I can't recall anytime he's said, "We lost because of my bad play." or "I really stunk it up today, the loss rests squarely on my shoulders, I've got to improve on (insert random fundamental skill here)." Instead you hear crap like, "They hide behind that zone." or "They know they can't beat us straight up." Steve isn't worth the 12 mil/year the Rox pay for him, maybe he's worth 8, but he definitely needs someone else to control the ball and keep down his turnovers for him, because after 4-5 years he STILL doesn't have that little skill down yet.

 

Severe Rockets Fan, doesn't that remind you of giving the keys of your new Porsche to your 18 year old kid?

What was that movie called? Risky Business? Heh...

 

For an outside, neutral perspective...


There's a weekly show on Raptors tv called Full Court Press, and they discuss things relating to the Raps, and then move on the league wide events and issues, often having media members from other cities on call for the discussion.

Today they discussed the Frwncis situation, and the 4 people were pretty much in line with each other:

As soon as the hostess brought up the issue, Doug Smith o the Toronto Star said : That's what's wrong with the NBA, right there. the guy blew off his team so he could go to the SuperBowl. Ridiculous."

TV analyst, former coach, (and one of my favorite NBA voices) Jack Armstrong said that there was no way to defend this, that this is what makes Francis clearly not a leader, franchise player, or real star. He said any coach in the league would have done at least what Van Gundy did. He discussed the fact that under Rudy, there was a country club mentality, that the players were ridiculously pampered, protected, and let to pretty much do what they want, and that JVG is trying to bring the current roster in line with the rest of the league. He said that when Hakeem, thought to be one of the classiest of Rudy's Rockets came to the Raptors, the organization was quickly amazed at how unused to structure, discipline, and accountability Hakeem was...

The argument that this was Steve's first real issue, while mentioned and acknowledged, was marginalized by the fact that this is also the first coach he's had who has tried to challenge and discipline him, and that Francis and JVG have had ongoing but not publicly discussed issues since before training camp that are pretty much known within the league.

The other media members on the show all concurred with these assessments.


There were joking defenses offered, saying Francis compared favourably with a former ABA star who routinely missed flights, one time refusing to take a flight Westward which left at 12 and landed at 11:59, saying " I ain't getting on no time machine."...and it was noted that Francis is extremely talented, and in some ways a hard worker. But the general conclusion was that this behaviour was ridiculous, inexcusable, and it was highly doubtfull that someone capable of this will ever evolve into a legit team leader or superstar.

 

LOL. Good reference. Steve was unfortunately the best talent at the time and was young to boot. He was the best we could do. Man, thats just pathetic to think about.
Our franchise was really in the crapper then...

 

It is clear that SF3 is playing for his salary, but not for JVG

 

Well, I am not saying Francis is anywhere near that, but talking about skipping a team flight, defying the coach, etc...

....does anyone know whereformer NBA All-Star Dunk Contest Winner Isaiah Rider is nowadays?

 

I don't think SF has ever played BB in Vancouver.

 

yes he has...he used to light them up there...while the fans booed like crazy

 

Against the Grizzlies...for the Rockets...

 

Amazing, isn't it? That's Rudy ball for ya! "Give the ball to your best player and get the hell out of the way." Sure, that's great freedom. But not at the expense of structure, a game plan or some resemblance of play calling.

This was Pips biggest gripes. Rudy under-used his players.

I can almost hear Hakeem saying in Toronto..."Wow! I never ran that play before. Oh my! That's a great play! What was that one called again? Amazing! That's a cool give-and-go play, we never ran that! Oh! The screen-and-roll, pass play! That's so easy! Man! I wish we used that one! In Houston we only ran one play: Give the ball to your best player and let him go ISO."

 

We all know Steve is sort of immature . The evidence is before he even came into the leage he refused to play for the grizz when they drafted him. A leopard never changes its spots.