Alot of talk has been made of Brand. I would love to add him here, maybe. He is only 6'8" and hasn't won anything since Duke. The Clips have just as much talent if not more and where did they go? But, his numbers are undenyable. He is thier best player and Francis is ours; would you swap? O.K. Francis is better with more star power, but they were co-roks. If you could trade Francis for Brand and A Miller would you? (Of course the clipps would never take on Francis's salary.) Losing Francis would mean alot but it would make this team interesting: PG Miller SG Cat SF Griff PF Brand C Yao or PG Miller Sg Cat SF Poesy PF Brand/Griff C Yao Miller could not guide a very talented Clipp team to winning record but so many rave about him. Brand puts up numbers but does he make his team win? Brand and Yao sounds good but could they coexsist or does Yao need a role playing PF who plays D, rebounds, and can score when needed? If you were Les would you do it?
What has Francis won? After co rookie of the yr, what did chicago mgmt do? They drafted another guy who plays the same position as Brand. The next yr he's traded to the clipps and they win more games than the rockets. This yrafter adding a talented pg in Miller, everyone heads into camp without extensions. I'll sweeten the pot. If they offered Brand and Miller, they could have Francis,Griffin and whoever else not named Ming. I think if you give Ming a pg who actuall know how o play pnr and a true pf who can score and rebound, this team would be on their way. The only drawback is that both are in the last yr of their contracts. That argument about who has won is bs. If you add the rockets record since he's been here, I'm pretty sure its under .500. Losing record is a losing.
Francis has not won, you are right. But he has gotten his team close to the playoffs twice and was hurt another year. I don't think Brand has had the fortune of a winning NBA season yet. Plus Francis is a starting all-star. Don't get me wrong I like Brand but I don't think he helps his team as much as Francis. He just puts up great numbers and is a good guy. The Clipps would have to do a sign and trade and would not take on Francis's max contrat anyway.
Sorry leebigez, your argument is very obviously flawed. Francis has 2 winning seasnos under his belt. There's no denying that. Brand has NO winning seasons in the same amount of years, and the same goes to Andre Miller. I don't this is a factor though. I think that Brand is a winner, and so is Francis. As for Miller, the jury is out on him. If he loses on another team, he'll definitely lose a LOT of credibility. As for the original argument, it is flawed as well. If the Clippers wouldn't take on Francs contract, that means they wouldn't sign Brand OR Miller to extensions, because they'd make exacty the same. Either way, they have to take on 1 or 2 MAX (or close) contracts. Aside from that, the numbers are way off, you cannot trade those players salary wise. To be completely honest, right now, I'd trade Francis for Brand and a draft pick or Keyon Dooling or Marco Jaric. Brand is as much a franchise player as Steve Francis is.
Does anybody realize that The Clippers are owned by Donald Sterling, quite possibly the cheapest person in human existence?? This guy is the Scrooge McDuck of pro sports. There is absolutely no possible way on God's green earth he will take on Steve's Max contract. Come on, let's be realistic here...Steve isn't going anywhere for at least another year when his BYC status is up...deal with it...
I know I'll get flamed, but if it's a Clipps only trade, I'd rather have Odom and Jaric. IMO, Andre Miller is headed to the Utah Jazz where he will blend right into Sloan's system and surprise many of his (Millers') detractors. As a consequence, the Rox still may not be able to crack the playoffs. As far as Brand, I just don't see him as a good fit next to Yao in RT's system. Yao was in the high post how often this season...and made how many low post entry passes to Taylor, Griffin, Posey, Rice, Francis or (when still here) Kenny Thomas? Not many that I can recall. If you can't get the ball to a 7'5" player, would you do better low post passing to a 6'8" player?
(a)Why should you think that Francis is worth Miller and Brand? (b)TheClippers dont pay big contracts and you should know that already ! (c) the only reason they might even entertain such a foolhardy venture is that they might move Francis for three other low contracts from a third Team.
I would do the deal. Only because when dealing with equally talented players always go for the taller one. Brand is taller then Steve. I would take Brand. DD PS. Not to mention that Brand is MUCH smarter then Steve.....
Yeah I heard Brand got his masters from Duke in those 2 years. What the F are you talking about? These Steve bashers make me laugh like ****. Lets trade him for future considerations. Brand is not brightest star in the sky at all. I mean the Clippers are loaded with talent (Yes more than the Rockets) and they won shiit. They sucked horribly. Steve is in the top 3 PG's in the league. Kidd and Marbury at the top of my list. So go ahead and bash him all you want. Hes still our best player until Yao develops, starter on the all star team, 22 pts 6 boards 6 ass. Stop the hating. You morons in here are looking for Francis to become "John Stockton" you guys need a traditional PG....get over it its not going to happen in todays league...Kidd is the exception. One who passes and keeps his turnovers down. Ill tell you right now...if Steve passed all the time and wasnt aggressive we would be in the hunt for a top 3 pick. Stop bashing him and thank your lucky stars hes on our team. Hell no you trade Steve for Brand. Who would run point for us? Moochie? In today's league Steve gives us a bigger advantage at the point than Brand does at PF...because the league is loaded with great PF's. Get over the Steve bashing...hes our best player and one of the top 10-12 in the league. Cut out the BS.
