I never thought i would feel this way but i think i hate francis more than Karla!

yeah...he blames the Rockets. what did you expect?? did you think the GM for the Magic would come out in the press and assault the guy who he's likely trading for?

 

Like I said, I believe Steve's comments did help to create a snag. Yes the Orlando GM blamed Houston instead of Steve. He could have:
A. Said that it was only other offers, that was delaying things, not commented on Steve's comments at all.

B. Said that he understands Steve's reluctance at change, but that he's sure that the Magic will be able to make Steve happy there, and that the team expects to be cometitive soon.

C. Said that it was Orlando's intention all along to bring in other treams, and that they were grateful in Francis and his people for helping and being cooperative.

D. Said that he didn't really want to discuss the deals at all until they had something more definite on the table, and that this was fairly standard for such big name deals.

I don't think it was an either he must attack the Rockets or he must attack Steve situation.

 

What I'm saying, FB, is that even if the Orlando GM was pissed at Francis, he'd never come out in the media and say it.

 

I agree. I was also pointing out that he didn't have to defend Steve either. There were other options.

I'm not saying that Steve is blameless. I'm saying that the most extreme attacks on Steve(worse than quitten, worse than Malone, crybaby, whiner etc.) are based purely on people's speculation of what's going on, and not on any known facts. Steve may be behind the scenes being the biggest trouble maker in the world. But any guesses as to that kind of thing, are just guesses. But people are making their minds up based on guesses, and not on actual interviews with Steve, the GM from Orlando or anything that's out there.

Certainly Steve isn't adding anything to the smoothness of this deal, and I've said before that I believe Steve should have waited for the trade to happen, then voice his concerns behind closed doors to the Magic. He nor his agents needed to make any comments about this to the press. Steve is only hurting himself. I think he went three steps forward with a terrific playoff series, and two steps backward with this situation.

That being said, he hasn't pulled a Scottie Pippen, he isn't worse than Karl Malone, and I have yet to hear him whine or cry about it.

 

He didn't have to defend Steve..but it's in his interests to do so. Anything he can do to endear the Magic to Steve is a good thing right now.

Definitely not Scottie or Karl....agreed. Not even in the same ballpark....yet.

 

Come on, guys, that's gone too far. Hate is too strong a word to use here. To be honest, I never liked SF's plays, but I love to see his passion and fire on the court. In that sense, he IS the leader in the team, and he inspires his teammates, including Yao. Yes, it's not enough lead us to success; yes, T-Mac is a much better play, but to hate Steve because of that, that's just wrong. Be grateful, he played hard, and really loves the town and the team, how can you hate him for that? Yes, his comments might jeopardize the deal, although I don't think so. But you can only say that he's not clear about his negotiation position, and it wasn't a smart move, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person.

Just like the girl you love - "Rockets" dumped you and kicked you out for another guy, she also hooked you up with the ugly girl friend of that guy - "Magic". You complained that the girl is just too ugly, all of a sudden, every family member in "Rockets" called you stupid and cursed you. They tell you to get lost and get over with it, because you got the money. They hate you because you don't co-operate fully and that might harm their effort to get that guy. Will you be one of those family members? Chinese have an old saying, something like "If there is somethng you don't want others to do to you, don't do it to others."

Gosh, I like the deal and I like T-Mac, and I don't like Steve's ill-advised plays, but I feel for him. One guy said it here so right, that if you think SF screwed the Rockets, the Rockets actually screwed him 10 times worse. Personally, I would never like someone who treats others bad because he/she likes me more. Because one day, they can do the same thing to you for someone else.

Let's just get it over with, and hope the best for Steve, and hope the Yao-T-Mac combo blossom.

 

Yeah....the Rockets screwed Francis when they offered him a contract that made him a multi-millionaire, which included an option to trade for him. I sometimes stay up late at night crying for Steve.

Grow freaking up. It's a business. You dont have to like the move out of town. I don't blame you for not liking it. But coming to the media with talk of, i'll play for Orlando as long as they get Shaq is ridiculous...it's childish...and it's an affirmation of every criticism we've seen of Steve.

 

Exactly.

Weisbrod is desperate to save face.

 

Why do people always bring up the money issue....It's irrelevant! If he makes 14 million a year, that means he should always be happy no matter what? Put yourself in Steve's shoes...everyone would probably feel the same exact way but probably not address it publicly like Steve did. Steve's a very emotional guy who wears his heart in his sleeves. When you're an emotional guy who's very hurt and was ask how he was feeling about what's going on, how exactly do you expect him to react? Put yourself in Steve's shoes for a change. He came out as very unprofessional but cut the guy some slack. I am very disappointed in what he said but to hate him more the Karla is cross the line

I bet you won't be very happy living in the north pole all by yourself with 14 million bucks to spend.

 

Good post.

Granted, someone making $14 million should be expected to be most professional in their business dealings, but your points are valid also.

Also, Stevie has not been that unprofessional. He hasn't stated that he won't play for Orlando, just that it isn't his preference to play for a non-contender. He was upset that he felt misled about the Rocket's plans, was not notified early on, and he likes Houston (d*mn him! ). His actions are to be expected for someone who's poured his heart into this team.

What he's done is not that big a deal.

 

1) He was taking 2 other friends with him - unless he dumps them off and goes somewhere else where there's a real chance at getting a ring like Chicago or Washington.

2) If where he plays was important to him, he should have had a no-trade clause in his contract. No one made him sign the contract, but when he did he swore he'd play ANYWHERE for X dollars. That's the price of signing an NBA contract without a no-trade clause. (There are benefits to these contracts too - like when you stink you still get paid!)

 

Ask someone in poverty or in a 3rd world country and they might say 'Never feel sorry for a person making $50,000 US a year.' But that's irrevelant. Just because you have alot of money doesn't mean you don't have feelings.

 

.delete

 

If my girl pays me 14m a year, she can kick me whenever she wants - and that's the understanding we have going into the relationship.

 

That's r****ded because we don't make 14 million a year so its completely different ... Sure if someone wanted to pay us 14 million a year we'd go just about anywhere to do it, but realistically that's about 280 times what we really do make.

The difference is that he already is making that and he can make it anywhere in the NBA.

He's trying to influence where he goes and it might work for him. If he ends up in Seattle or somewhere else that he'd rather be then it's worth it for him to voice his opinion. People here are thinking too much with your heart because you want this deal to go through SO BAD, as do I. BUT that doesn't mean Francis is a complete jackass for making his opinion known.

 

yeah, well T-Mac, Shaq, or Kobe don't call shots in this league either.


nothing's a done deal yet, as i type this, i am the last standing Rockets fan who is still pulling for NO TRADE.

 

wrong.

he did not say he would only play if Shaq was there...

listen to the interview and read the media reports...he said he preferred not to go to Orlando...
quit twisted what was really said.