For the whole article... http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/story/271679p-232693c.html Francis was a basket case after the Magic shipped his buddy, Cuttino Mobley, to Sacramento for Doug Christie. He wore his ex-teammate's No. 5 on an armband in his honor and had to be talked off a few ledges by coach Johnny Davis and GM John Weisbrod. But here's really why Francis was such a mess. He thought he was in control in Orlando, as he and Mobley went merrily about passing to each other. But when Grant Hill expressed his objections to management regarding the Rockets Alumni Club and put his stamp on the Christie deal, Francis found out that Hill is still the only voice that matters with team ownership.
I bet the people down there WOULD listen to Hill. If it weren't for his return, the orlando team would have been lottery bound.
Considering that Francis isn't the best player on the team, and it's his first year there, he shouldn't be surprised by this. Then again, it's just another in a long series of stupid moves by Franics. *puts on flame r****dant suit for attack from Francis only fans*
i'd take a healthy grant hill five years ago but he is not better then steve francis right now. no way.
Was 5 years ago, and still is today. Grant hill will still be able to get by on brains when his athleticism is gone. Can you say the same for Francis? DD
I was thinking the same thing DD Francis is a great athlete. He has all of the physical tools. But I would take a G. Hill and his Bball IQ over Francis and all of his physical tools probably 9 outta 10 times.
Don't need to. DD hit it on the head. I always thought Steve was one of the most overrated players in the game. I think that Hill is their best player, and by the time he's done, Dwight Howard will be ready to take over that role. That means, once again, Steve will be playing second fiddle to a (should be) dominant big man.
Hill could still be a top 5 scorer if he was given the ball as much as Kobe or T-Mac.... but he knows he has other legit options on his team, and defers as much as possible. With this trade, I expect his scoring load to increase, and for the ball to be in his hands more as crunch time approaches. Its not like they're doing amazingly well right now with Francis taking the majority of the shots... there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Both are good to me, If you look this year grant makes some horible turnovers also.I think they need each other right now,take francis off that team and they or no better then when grant is off the team.
[sarcasm]Wow, who would have ever guessed that Nuggets4 is a Francis "hata"? I thought that you had to be a Rockets fan to be considered a Francis "hata".[/sarcasm] I know that there are people here who consider me a Francis "hata" and that is fine. However, it didn't start that way. I gave Francis a mulligan or generally looked the other way for his first 3 seasons in Houston. I kept waiting for this guy to "get it". When we first traded for this kid with the Grizzlies, I was of course happy as he was (and still is) a phenomenal talent. Yet, I couldn't help but be troubled by the way he handled that whole Grizzlie affair. But I figured that he is young and like John Elway, he can grow up and become more mature and look back at that night and laugh about it. But then we heard stuff (probably half truths) about how he wanted mgmt to bring in his buddy, Terrence Morris (TMo) and another one of his buddies, Moochie Norris, got a contract that many felt was undeserved (did Francis influence CD to give Moochie such a generous extension? We'll never know for sure). Then there was the Yao-Lamar Odom stuff. We heard how Francis had never played with a true center and he didn't know if he could, but yet if the Rockets would trade the #1 pick for Lamar Odom, it would be "all over" with him, Odom, and Mobley running the fast break (which was actually said by Mobley but no doubt was thought by Steve as well). Yet, there were numerous threads in the GARM by heypartner that documented Francis' inability to run the break. At one point, we had a so-called "insider" for Francis declare that Francis would look to play elsewhere if the team did indeed draft Yao. Whether there was really any truth to that, we would never know. It is highly doubtful, considering the source, that those comments were 100% true. Yet, considering the style of Francis and how he forced the Grizzlies hand in dealing him, you couldn't help but wonder if he did truly resent the team getting a big man to build the team around. But I guess the final straw for me was his little stunt last season with Gumby regarding the Super Bowl. I understand that Gumby can be a prick (and probably is most of the time), but that is when you show what a professional you really are. I mean he is supposed to be the leader of the team, right? His actions in that incident confirmed to me he hadn't changed from that night when the Grizzlies called his name. And this guy had now been in the league for 3+ SEASONS!! This is why he was so frustrating to me as a fan to watch. He has all kinds of talent and athletic ability and he knows this. Yet, he has this mentality that his game needs no improvement, but it all starts with his attitude and what is going on inside his head. He is a very prideful individual and that can be a dangerous thing. To me, that is the only thing holding the guy back from being a truly great player - one that can be considered Hall of Fame material. He has to be able to swallow his pride and defer to Grant Hill in this situation. If he is able to handle this well, then it won't be long before guys on his team have to defer to HIM. And they will defer to him when they see signs of him playing smarter basketball. Okay, I am probably rambling here, but I just wanted to speak my peace about this. I know that I have done a poor job in my arguments and delivery on this topic in the past and all I can do is apologize and try to do better. I would love to see Steve truly succeed (whether or not people here believe it), but he has to play smarter for that to happen. In the meantime, the way he plays now is going to continue stoke the fires of controversy around here. There is only one way for it to end - for Steve to show that he has matured both on and off the court as well as leading his team deep into the playoffs. I'm pulling for him to do so, but I will continue to voice my criticisms of him until he reaches that. And I do that because I really see a "special player" in him but it is of one that is unfulfilled (so far).
Hill's numbers are very similar to Francis' numbers and that is with Grant Hill deferring to his teammates and trying to get other people involved.
grant hill is healthy and he's not better than francis right now. if you mean the grant of five years ago, well he's not on this team. Nuggets4, you still didn't explain why hill is better. the stats don't seem to bear it out. the plus/minus is a wash. what are you going on? using DaDakota logic isn't going to get it done. explain.
