Francis "not sure" how he'd react to an extension with Rockets

I can't believe this thread is actually wasting server space.

 

I forgot about that. However, Mobley still could have re-negotiated his contract later. Believe me, the Rockets would have done whatever it took to keep him in the fold. They knew that and Francis knew that.

Let's don't worry about this now. One good thing about it is that it may force CD's hand to bring in Marc Jackson or Anthony Mason.

 

I agree.

 

Cat, I'm not arguing with you, but do you have a link to either Francis' quote saying he told Mobley that if he re-signed here he would follow suit, or Mobley saying Steve gave him such a guarantee? Or is it just supposition?

 

No Marc Jackson! We don't need another injury-prone no-defense ****** big man!

We already have Mo Taylor and Kelvin Cato for God's sake. If they think Eddie Griffin will play the 4, where does that leave Mo in a few years? A 8-9 million dollar backup. Sound familiar? It's Cato-rific! I don't wanna see Mo, Marc and Kelvin soaking up like 25 million cap dollars in a few years.

 

All of you have missed the true intent of Francis's comments. He's just flexing his Superstar muscle & letting the team know the direction he wants the team to go. He can't come outright & say it without causing a disruption in team chemistry, but his comments are really saying:

GET RID OF CATO'S OVERPAID, LAZY, SLUGGISH, NO REBOUNDING, NO SHOT, NO HANDS, NO DEFENSE PLAYING, WHINEY A** OR I'M OUT OF HERE.

.....or, he could be posturing to get the max contract when it's time.

 

Sounds like Mo Taylor! Oops, he has a jumper! Oh yah, and he doesn't whine. What does he have to whine about? Surely not injuries from banging in the post. The one time he actually jumps for a rebound, he tears his achilles.

 

Goodbye BTM.

 

Tolpatch.

If you had glanced at the enormous thread about "the bet", you would know.

Wow.
You just made me feel worse about the Rocket's current situation.

For the next 5 years, we will have two deadweight big men on our team.*

*Assuming Cato decides not to show the signs of life he showed us in that infamous 2000 presesason, and Mo never comes back to full form(As achilles tears are hell to rehabilitate)

That said, I don't think Francis' words should be taken quite so seriously.

He is(Or rather, will be) a huge free agent, and like all others, should explore his options.

Some are reading this as strictly-Rocket fans, and not Basketball/NBA fans.

 

I agree with Crisco. This offseason is way too much to handle for some people (Cat, Crispee, ). Stop overreacting people! SHEESH!!!!!!!

 

I clearly explained why I called him a troll, and it was not because I disagreed with him. It was because of his non-sensical purposely inflammatory comments. I felt I made this point very clear in my previous posts, perhaps I was wrong, and in the future I will spell out things in the most boring detail, so there is no room for misunderstanding.

 

You play favorites, too. Francis isn't head n shoulders above Mobley. And in the end, Griffin could easily be the better player.

Plus, how could you say this is posturing for the Max pay. Steve not only said money doesn't matter, but Rudy is on record saying he is a max player. Steve is getting the max. The comment is not posturing for money,....the comment by Steve is just stupid or to be taken very seriously.

Steve really can do no wrong with some of you guys, despite his history.

Do you actually believe we should wait on Francis's decision, like Vancouver did. We cannot wait that long. Rudy and CD have to cover the organization's best interest and sit him down to get a better read of his intentions and commitment. Depending on how he acts to them asking the questions, we should consider trading him before he turns us down next summer. If he turns us down, we lose trade value for him and are at his mercy.

We can bank on it being a big deal throughout the league next summer if Francis turns down a max extension. I can see some of you guys saying....dammit why did we let Stevie get away for a lopsided sign-n-trade (or worse, nothing).

Good GM's don't point themselves in that position. They should consider this a big deal considering Steve's reputation, and sit Francis down NOW and see if he has the confidence in himself to win whether or not Mo gets healthy. If not, a wise plan is to consider trading him for a young center, and go with Griffin/Mobley and a good center for the future.

 

Griffin hasn't even played a single NBA game, how could you say he could "easily" be the better player... and imho, Francis IS head and shoulders above Mobley. Francis can be top 5 in the NBA, Mobley will never get there.

I actually agree with you that it is not posturing for money because it could not be more obvious that he will get the max anyway. As I said - if he even put much thought into his statement, which I doubt, because it is not a big statement imo - I think he wants to put pressure on management to improve the team and on the players to better give their best.

Sorry, but this is really a panicky reaction. This is blowing things out of proportion at its finest. Of course they should try to find out if his first choice is to stay here long-term...but even thinking of trading him (even if you just put it as an "if he says..." scenario) just because of that little statement seems silly to me.

Good GMs don't panic.

What young center do you see out there that has a value comparable to Francis' other than Shaq (if you consider him young) and Duncan (if you consider him a center)?? Again, DON'T PANIC

 

Can we change this to a Spurs WebSite now?

 

Det,

Saying an argument is "panicky," makes no point, but dismissal of an argument.

What? I could say you are in denial and naive to the nature of the new CBA and how rejecting an extension will hurt trade value.

Does saying you are in denial or naive make your points less discussable? Dude, if you want to talk, don't say I am panicky like a naive basketball fan who is afraid to lose Francis.

as for asking what center to trade him for, obviously I am talking about the high school ones taken this year, and Kwama Brown. We could get some picks out of it, too. And don't say this is panicky. The point is that history shows trade value drops when players become free agents. If Francis rejects an extension next summer, he becomes a free agent. It is a simple point. You can argue the merits of trading Francis will mean we take risk giving up a sure thing, but waiting until it is too late would compromise the entire organization and likely the survival of this bbs. lol. The point is not to trade, but to find out his mindset. The idea of a trade is merely the reason you find out his mindset.

btw: Without a better go-to move, Francis is not head and shoulders above Mobley and is too short to be top 5 in the NBA, ever. Your turn!

 

This has been completely blown out of proportion. Talk about overreaction.

The guy wants to WIN. I don't see why everyone is so upset about his comments.

When I read that CD said that this year could be ANOTHER development year, I almost puked, for chrissakes. This is ridiculous. He is just making sure that management is QUITE aware, that unless the right moves are made to improve the team, it's a not a given that he will stay around.

I mean, c'mon, starting KT for an ENTIRE SEASON? Gimme a break, it's ridiculous, we are throwing the towel before the season even starts and from his comments, it would seem that Francis feels that way too.

He is just putting some pressure on management's shoulders to improve the team and make it competitive. Otherwise, "don't count me in as I am not in it just for money's sake!"

He is seeing the writing on the wall, and it doesn't look pretty when our damage control plan for Mo going down is starting KT. Now that the arena has been approved, it seems that the luxury tax is the teams main area of concern, and that just won't do.

If the team makes the playoffs and improves, he will obviously sign. Some people are going into panic mode way too soon for their own good.

Now get Mason over here and let's get this team into the playoffs!

 

There is nothing wrong with finding out his mindset. I just think you are panicking too much because of this - you are saying it yourself:

"If Francis rejects an extension next summer, he becomes a free agent."

First of all, he then only becomes a free agent in 2003, if I am not mistaken (once his contract is up). Secondly, you say it yourself: IF he rejects an extension NEXT SUMMER! He can't even sign before next summer. So what is the point of panicking now? Okay, there would be a BIG reason for concern if he had said something like "I will not sign an extension because I want to explore my options in the free agent market in 2003." He hasn't said anything close to that. The only thing he has said is that he wants to win and if he realizes that for whatever reason, he will not have a chance to win it all in Houston, he will have to think about it. I really can't find anything with this statement that worries me...if he had said "Right now, it doesn't look like I will stay in Houston after my contract is up." or whatever...different story. But his statement didn't even imply that, so why worry about something NOW that cannot even be resolved until NEXT YEAR...that's all I am saying.

 

I see no reason to get unset about anything him or his agent said, except for one remark that I must be the only one that noticed as nobody has even mentioned it.

If that is important to him then he might be looking to leave when he can and then take a lesser contract with LA or NY. Lets be honest here, even when we were winning championships or had three future hall of famers on the team to get mentioned by the press was only when there was nothing to say about LA, NY, even chicago or a few others. I hope that was just something he throw in at the end of the talk after he was on a roll and really meant nothing like it sounded.