Francis negotiating buyout, may then sign with Philly?

If we want to squeeze a turnover prone undersized shooting guard that can't shoot and likes to get to the basket into playing point guard, we might as well just give VSpan more playing time - atleast he has defensive potential.

 

I agree that Francis would not need to be a leader here and thus could be good (especially because the guy does have fire) but I would not say he can shoot the three better. Ever since his third season he has been mostly bad from the three. Unfortunately, Rafer has been a better three shooter over the last few years.

But, yeah, if we could get him for uber cheap, then we go for it. He and Yao Ming are good friends and he can score...which means we really don't need to worry about Bonzi.

 

Francis isn't THAT bad - but he has suffered by playing under some of the most mismanaged clubs in all of professional sports. There are few worse than the Weisenbroad led Magic, Thomas led Knicks, and King led Sixers - who pissed away a once in a lifetime All Star by surrounding him with over the hill budget wastes like Webers and....who else do they have that is decent besides Iggy? Korver is completely on dimensional and streaky and everyone else either sucks or is seriously overpaid(Dalembert, Willie Green).

Seriously, I'm not saying Francis is an All-Star, but I would love to see him as a bench sparkplug type of role and occasional point guard. The culture in Houston is way different now and I think it's such that Francis could do well - plus there is a synergy between him and Yao. His stock isn't any lower at this point and they could probably pick him up for peanuts - plus he actually lives in Houston and likes it and the organization. I would gladly take Francis over some of our other bench stiffs...I'm not saying it will happen, but I wonder if the price comes down low enough, if the Rockets will consider.

If I'm Francis though, I don't sign with the 76ers. This is his one chance to actually get picked up by a contender and make a difference in the playoffs and maybe even get a title. Teams love signing those buyout veterans to go into the playoffs with - Francis needs to hold out to go into one of those roles. Then if he does well, he can turn that into an even fatter check next year playing for a Clippers type of team who is looking for pieces to fill out a contender but isn't quite ready to win it all just yet but is close.

 

See Tim Thomas.

 

...and to add - Rafer is at an all time low value wise too after his spotty shooting this year - if the conditions for picking up Francis were ever to be favorable - this would be it. We can't really trade Rafer for anything talent wise and we can't sign anyone better tha Stevie - why not? I just worry that other teams will offer a little more.

 

poor guy I feel sorry for him he's been stuck with bad teams ever seens he came in this league. he never got a chance to play with some quality team mates, Except for the rockets cuz we had Yao but of course like everyone else I rather have Tmac playing for us.

 

Hmmm, expressing my vacillations well, as well. But, yes, I believe he'd come back here in a NewTorkMinute if JVG gave his 'blessing'. Alexander would.

 

Weren't we rumored to be heavily interested in bringing him back just hours before he was traded to NY last year? If I recall, the reports were that not only did JVG want him back but he wanted to be back too. I don't see why any of that would have changed over the past year, especially with Rafer having further regressed. I'm pretty surprised we aren't mentioned as interested. I could see a package deal moving Sura and others in trade for someone else and subsequently freeing up a roster spot for Steve.

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Aside from the name, what does he bring? He doesn't bring the nostalgia that a Sam Cassell would unless you're a masochist pining for the dwellar days. He can still get to the basket for sure, but I think the negatives far outweigh the positives - the turnovers, the matador defense, the terrible/nonexistant post passing, the complete inability to run a fastbreak or handle anything resembling a full court press, the inability to hit any jumpshot/set-shot not set up by his own crossover dribble move...the list goes on. With Rafer's recent struggles, some of you are forgetting just how poor a point guard Steve Francis was. It has nothing to do with ego or selfishness - he was very unselfish. His problem has always been that he just isn't a good point guard and that is what this team needs. I know Rafer is killing us out there, but why bother even wasting our time with Steve?

 

finishing: Steve >> Rafer
creating shots: Steve > Rafer
midrange shooting: Steve > Rafer
rebound: Steve > Rafer
heart: Steve > Rafer
defense: Steve = Rafer
3 pt shooting: Steve </= Rafer
organizing offense: Steve < Rafer
passing: Steve < Rafer
fastbreak: Steve < Rafer
turnover: Steve << Rafer
love from JVG: Steve <<< Rafer

Steve isn't much of an upgrade over Rafer in terms of fitting our needs. But if we can get him cheap, I'd say give him a chance. He certainly has a lot more physical talents than Rafer.

 

This sounds like garbage for the most part but Steve will not return to Houston (unless he could miraculously convince JVG he's changed....which his track record obviously doesn't suggest).
1) We won't pay him what another team will (doubtful it''s Philly b/ he dumped AI and are in the process of trying to buy out CWebb) why take on Francis
2) He was traded for a reason. It wasn't just b/c we were aquiring TMac. Steve's career is in a serious downward spiral, he has a really bad knee and he does not fit this team at all. TMac couldn't handle Mike James he'd probably kill Francis.

 

Man...the Knicks are a mess.

I wonder what the chances are of Francis signing somewhere for the MLE. Somehow I can't see anything happening that would benefit the Knicks in the least (the way things have been going...). It's hilarious they bought out Mo Taylor...the Knicks are a sad, sad organization.

 

Stevie might actually return to Rox, but not for anything aproximating MLE.

 

This is the key thing IMO. Steve would be useless in the half court set - maybe not much owrse than Rafer, but at least Rafer balances the poor shooting with the ability to actually run the offense.

Steve would need to be a 6th man type off the bench scorer to really work.

 

Wow rose being bought out from the suns? that must be a first has anyone else been bought out twice in one season? i def do not want rose here at his age and diminishing skills. i guess he figured to have a bigger role in the offense in phoenix but he is sharing garbage time with pat burke.

webber would help shore up the front line until yao gets back but then i dont think there would be enough minutes to go around with howard/hayes/battier at the 4 spot and at the 5 with yao and deke.

francis i would love to have back for his heart and toughness (still missing from the team this year) he can be really effective for this team i believe.

i think he can be efficient with the ball a lot of his TOs came from him being the guy trying to do it all, it wont be the case now. he can penetrate and dish and finish which is huge for this team. we all know he loves houston but the question is would jvg allow him back?

 

What the hell is everyone talking about JVG having some kind of grudge against Francis?

Cabbageman already pointed out that JVG wanted Francis back last time there were trade rumors involved. The last year that Francis played with us, JVG was always praising him about how he's trying to accept his newer role, etc.

The question is not whether JVG has a grude against Francis... it's whether Francis would make this team better. Unless Rafer can propel himself into a year-long hot streak, I think Francis would help this team out.

 

It would be interesting to see a source for that.

 

Boy, this is going to get interesting.

 

I think people are forgetting that SF is a 3 time all-star with better career assist and turnover numbers than Allen Iverson and many other guards in the league. His high turnovers is common among all high scoring guards like Iverson, Ginobili, Corey Maggette, and others. Francis' numbers are way better than Bonzi Wells or even Smush Parker who is starting for the Lakers.

I think bashing him for his high turnovers is ridiculous because it comes with his attack-the-basket kind of play, which is quite common in the league. If you think his attitude will cause problems, that's another issue, but as far as what he can contribute on the floor, there's no question he'd be a boost compared to Bonzi or Snyder. He'd score more than Alston but probably give up ~1-2 more turnovers per game. Either way, I think he would be an excellent backup guard, whether at PG or SG. With Sura and Francis as backups, we'd have a backup guard combo that many teams around the league would happily start.