Several things are abundantly clear about this deal: - Our two most glaring needs remain unfilled. Bringing Rose in to replace Francis solves absolutely nothing but bringing in a taller player who thrives with the ball, can be disruptive, but does not necessarily make his team any better. We will still lack a true PG, and Rose would probably be much worse running this offense than Steve. Secondly, PF is still not solved. Cato is a great backup C for Yao and MoT is a great 6th man, but neither is a solid starter in the West. Why deal to bring in another couple of wing players, neither of whom will run the offense any better than Steve? + Our outside shooting would improve dramatically. Other offensive problems aside, you can't deny the possibly lethal combination of shooters this would surround Yao with. Rose, MoPete, Cat, JJ, and even MoT qualify as terrific spot-up shooters. Still, who are we modeling this team after, the Mavericks? Bottomline: This deal would have to be accompanied by another to make much sense. Why does a playoff team trade its best playoff performer for a couple of decent veterans and a rookie? I've been on Francis' ass as bad as anybody, but even I don't want to see him go that badly. If, and only if, Okafur became that pick does this deal make any sense whatsoever. We would still have a gaping hole at PF, and starting a rookie PG in Steve's place would set the franchise back another 2-3 years. While I wouldn't be sad to see Steve traded, it would only be to bring in another star-caliber player (TMac, RayRay, EBrand) to replace him who might work better around Yao. If this deal goes off as reported, I will be extremely dissappointed with the future(immediate and long term) of this team.
btw- to make myself clear... not doubting Doc, or his buddy, just questioning what Steve is saying... the motive... Make any sense?
How come everybody is counting out Jimmy Jackson!!! We NEED JJ to stay on this team if we're going to go deep in the playoffs next year. Without him, we wouldn't even come close to where we're at today. I don't care if Cato, MoT, Cat, or even Francis is going to get traded, but we NEED JJ to stay on this club. He should be as untouchable as Yao. Ideal Rox lineup: Yao/????/JJ/????/????
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/basketball/article/0,1426,MCA_466_2870479,00.html He said it "You're acting like this is my last day in Houston or something." - Steve Francis, talking to photographers recording a walk to his car while leaving the Toyota Center a day after the Houston Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs.
MacBeth, what are you hearing about the Toronto GM? I know Weltman, the Nugs Asst. GM is a finalist, but I'm hoping he doesn't get the job. He's been wonderful for us, and I'm hoping we can hang on to him as long as possible.
Don't forget that another function of a GM is to try to put butts in the seats. Francis is one of a small number of players in the league capable of bringing instant excitement to a stagnant franchise.
That's an excellent point. What other teams see is a perennial all-star. Those aren't just Rockets fans voting for Steve every year. In fact, those that don't have to hear his game picked apart relentlessly every day of the season might be the ones who are actually wearing the rose-colored glasses.
I have been to a fair number of Rocket games over the last five years. Until this year, there have been a lot of stagnent games with small unexcited crowds. Steve was there for most of those games, without the effect you describe.
SF fits the 'great from afar' tag. He's a thrice (voted by fans ) member of the ASG. He is a talent. He'll be an exciting add to a team. We are underappreciative of SF, but if he is traded watch for the excitement generated in the new town. Whether it lasts or not is not germane, but he will turn the nmew town on!
I totally agree. If he is traded, the new team will be revamped. Adding SF to a team is a whole new look. In my mind it makes a team more exciting. Just knowing that they have a show stopper like SF, a prime example would be Baron Davis. If he does go, I will miss the guy. hmmm....sad to think about. and thinking about it for somereason brought back memories of watching those Charles Barkley and Steve Francis ads on tv when SF was a rookie. Those were hilarious! Bubble bath with the comics, and the watermelon heads that fall on the ground: Charles-"yes, the game can get physical". alright...time for bed.
xiki and Uprising, Just curious, do you guys (I assume) go to games? This year was great and the year before was ok. But the two years before Yao were really rough. I am a season ticket holder who lives in Austin. Not only could I not sell my tickets, I occasionally had difficulty giving them away. When I would invite a friend to go with me, the flatness of the crowd was ususally a topic of discussion between me and my guest. Not because I wanted to discuss it, but because it was so obvious. That was a much more common discussion than "Look how exciting Steve is playing". Though that was a very common discussion Steve's first year and somewhat more during his second year. By the way. I like Steve. I keep him for at least another year. If somebody offesrs us something amazing (Kobe and KG) I'd look at it, but I think he is a huge talent. He made a lot of progress last year and is looking for more. I think he is slowly catching on to the JVG way, and I want to see how it develops. Besides a center and a point guard (Iknow, I know) is what you build championships around. Just because I am arguing that he does not pack the house does not mean that I think he should be traded. I think Francis is an addition to about any team, but as a business man, I would not give up a lot for his drawing power.
Sorry, missed this before. Well, I have 1, sometimes 2 contacts in the organization itself, and 2 better ones in the Toronto basketball press, and have talked to exactly none of them in the last week or so, and am not that informed right now. But the buzz is that the Raptors aren't in love with Weltman or Babcock, the two who were on their short list, and are now expanding their search. This might mean waiting for the likes of a Hammond ( Det.) or Cooper ( Sac.) who they can't talk to until after the draft, or it might mean going for a name ( Lol..like Erving) as a frontman and surrounding him with good basketball minds. What can you tell me about Weltman, cause what I'm hearing is that he's got a good eye for talent, but little to no experience at making decisions, and there are questions as to whether he's got the persona to be The Man.
Fair enough. Please explain how SF was voted onto the ASG starting line-up three years running. China? Yao wasn't even a figment of Rox imaginings three years ago. Video games, sneakers? National press? That sounds right to me, and will help make the case for someone who is not putting fannies in seats in some other town. Would Brand or Allen or Pierce light up these posts and this town if they were heading here? You bet, yet they all ALL played in front of many empty seats in their arenas last season. We fans, we the human condition, like someone else's green grass more than our own, or some such mataphor.
I think you pretty well hit the nail on the head. Weltman has a great eye for talent (IMO), but he does report to to Kiki. Honestly, I'm surprised Toronto is worried about the experience factor. I think Weltman could be a great one if given the chance. I know the organization's pretty high on him, but they're not expecting to keep him around forever because of the eye that he has. Unfortunately, the few contacts that I used to have in the organization are almost completely gone, so I can't get you much more than that. I just know that he's respected within the team.
Well you got me on the national press, video games and such. But I have an answer for the All Star Game appearances. You do know the Rockets pay people to vote, don't you?. The currency is t-shirts. Rockets gave a free t-shirt to anyone who filled out 100 all star ballots. I saw a lot of people doing it, but all were bored children. Ushers walked up and down the aisles looking for people who would accept a stack of 100 and then check back later. This year they had a table out front with a "price sheet". I think it was ten ballots for a key chain, 50 for siomething and 100 for the fablous t-shirt. Also, point well taken about Brand et al playing in front of empty home arenas. Still, I want to restate the central argument here. As a bsuiness man, I do not trade for SF because I think his style of play will fill the arena. If I trade for SF, it is because I think he is a good talent who will lead to a winning team. Now that will fill seats.
can you imagine this lineup somehow.. francis mobley nachbar Okafur Yao I wanna see this lineup worse than anything... I would be willing to give up MoT, Cato, JJ, + TE for the 1st pick+ Grant Hill.. Grant Hill would just be sort of a bonus if he comes out good.. what do you guys think? Brand would be nice tooo........
