I can't believe that the team has to be centred on one player.. okay francis does dominate the team to a certain extent but building the team around only one allstar is stupid.. francis and ming are becoming good friends.. and have had only one season to try to build their chemistry.. also kidd would never come to houston, the rockets are rebuilding.. he wants playoff material teams..
I think we've all been more than patient with this "team". The Francis and Mobley tandem has been together four years now and has NEVER made the playoffs. I mean, this is not like the T-Wolves who keep losing in the first round every year. The Rockets can't even get in for chrissakes! Time is not the cure for this team's problems. They have no offense, they haven't played any consistent defense since the All-Star break, they can't shoot, they can't pass, they don't know how to run a 3-on-1 fast break, they keep losing track of the 24-second shot clock, and on and on and on... Do you people honestly believe that waiting yet another year is the answer? That one day suddenly a light will go off in their heads and these things will never happen again? Cuz if that's the case, then you must be hanging out with EG and Mo too often. Oh, and one other thing. Don't look now, but this brutal Western Conference the Rockets are stuck in is only gonna get more competitive in the next few years. Golden State(assuming they re-sign Arenas) will be a playoff contender next season. As will Seattle who have done a 180 since acquiring Ray Allen. Hell, they could finish ahead of Houston THIS year. Memphis has made strides and will benefit even more from a full season under Hubie(not to mention a generous lottery pick from the Rockets). Oh, and let's not forget the New Orleans Hornets are about to switch to the West. Yet another good team we have to battle for a playoff spot. So if you guys wanna play the waiting game which basically consists of sitting on your asses and praying that things magically turn around for this bunch of losers, be my guest. But after four years of living in a fantasy, I've come to my senses, as have the majority of Rockets fans and the media, and we demand nothing less than a brand new coaching staff and significant changes on the roster before entering the downtown arena.
but m.j. was also consistently taking his teams to the playoffs by his 2nd year. great players can at least get their freaking team to the playoffs. in four years francis hasnt been able to do it. that shows that he lacks the leadership, mental toughness and ability to get it done. in four years francis has seemed to regress as a point guard. face it, he is a crappy at his position and at this point i dont expect to see any improvement. i dont think that he can play at the two b/c of his poor defense. id take mobley over him at shooting guard any day. at this point, i would love to see francis and his out of control playground one-on one game to get out of town, but i dont think it will happen. the rockets have committed to heavily to him moneywise and verbally (designating him the franchise player). after all the talk, it would look pretty bad for the organization to ship out the guy who they said was going to take them to the top. we are stuck w/ him.
agree...i dont like francis anymore, but im sure we could do better than that on the open market. that is a worse trade proposal than the one sending mo-t, cato and eddie to toronto for antonio davis and 1st rnd. pice.
Thanks Gater! Thanks again. However while you say this doesn’t make Francis untrable—I say he is all but untradeable until the offseason of 04 unless we are under the direst of circumstances this offseason or next season (which wouldn’t be good for us at all). Here is why: We can’t get full market value for him because much of our compensation would have to be shipped just to the middle man team doing nothing more than taking on salary. Makes much more sense that if he is going to be traded, we just wait until the summer of 2004 where the middle man is cut out and all compensation in picks/players comes our way. What this all means? You will not see a blockbuster trade for the Rockets at least until summer of 2004. There will be a another full year of a Francis-Yao or Yao-Francis lead team before there will be consideration for a major trade. Any trade until then will be relatively modest with the principal piece being Griffin, Mobley, Mo, Cato, Posey, Rice or Boki. So to end people—forget about Francis dreamcasting at least until next year is assured of a failure. Right now our best hope for team improvement is relatively small offseason tinkering plus that Yao and Francis (especially Francis) show better leadership next year.
I think the system needs to change more than anything.If this team ran the triangle type offense, it would take most of the decision making out of Francis hands and place it on almost everyone. Get players who can move,react and read instead of players who would dribble and stop motion of the ball like Cat. This type of offense could still use Ming because of his good passing skills. Ths backside action away from the ball could help free guys like Posey and maybe Nachbar in the future. Since the triangle form a box, court balance would be pretty good and Francis wouldn't be caught under the free throw line. I think with the subtraction of a few players and the addtion of others, along with the dismissal of this coaching staff, this team could be very,very good. They have talent, but the system doesn't fit the team.
Man, you guys are really hard on Stevie....To say that he is to blame is really unfair. It will take some tweaking but it'll get done in the offseason. The Rockets aren't dumb...They know that they have spent a lot of money for one-dimensional players. Let's hope some other team out there will take back-up players that make starter $$$$ Mo-Scores-can't rebound or play defense Moochie-(what does he do well??) EG- can't score (hopefull not the next Robert Horry) Cat-undersized 2 and is to out-of control Cato-plays great defense sometimes but can't score Posey-should be a bench player but we'll give him starter $$ too!! Rice- Why did we trade for him? Good at being injured Franchise and Yao will stay because they are multi-dimensional...... the rest are open to trade....please...I hope...
I have been saying this from the start, that EG sucks. We can trade for him because i think teams around the league have a perception of EG as Poential, but we know he sucks. trade him. i wouldnt trade Francis.
What if francis is playing poorly just so that he increases his chances of being traded. Maybe he feels his glory threatend by Yao. I dunno, its just a thought
Yeah, an incredibly, horrendously, ineffably stupid thought... I swear, the posts on the BBS get worse everyday. Please tell me that was a joke or something.
how bout a Mobley for Crawford swap? That way we can move Steve to the 2 and have Jamal runnin the point. Sounds promising!! But then again so did this season........
Of all the post I've read so far, this seems to be the best one. There were other really good ones too, but I haven't read them all. Now, I'm all for a roster shakeup. Even the posters who suggest the Rockets trade Francis have some good ideas (and some are just whacked of course). But, I still think building the team AROUND Yao-Francis is the way to go. There are many things Steve has to learn and I don't think he knows (yet) what it takes to be a team leader, but believe it or not he has improved this season. Yao, while he's hit a rookie wall or whatever you want to call it, will only get better. The thing is, when Francis was signed last year to his new contract (which doesn't go into effect until next season) I, like many HOU fans, was excited about it and was glad Steve didn't test the FA waters. How quickly we forget though after a bad stretch. And it's funny how many times "Trade Francis' or "Francis bashing" threads are started when the team is not playing well, but he's quickly praised when they're winning. Either be on one side of the fence or the other, but to go back and forth between "he's great now b/c the won, but not great this time b/c the lost" is a joke. Having Yao and Francis together for years can definitely be something special. But, that can only happen if you get players who truly accept a supporting role. Mobley is not a supporting player. He needs the touches that a #1 or #2 player gets. Mo Taylor fits in the same mold; so does Rice. I really like(d) Eddie Griffin's potential, but will he really ever be able to play the 'four' in the tough West -- even with YEARS of gained experience? I suggest we trade Cat, Eddie, and Mo Taylor for a true PF who can score, but doesn't have to, and doesn't mind doing the dirty work down low. A defensive, rebounding PF with offensive skills that can protect Yao would be huge. I also wouldn't mind seeing Moochie and Rice pack their bags. A roster shakeup is needed, but I don't think trading Francis is the way to go. Then again, I don't how many times this has to be said -- and it's been said A LOT -- but I'll try to reiterate: FRANCIS IS NOT GOING TO BE TRADED. There are two players on the Rockets team that will probably be Rockets their entire careers -- Francis and Yao. So this and other threads like it are basically meaningless.
Steve Francis - Yao Ming = These players will stay I dont care what you say these players they will remain rockets for along time. Mobley and Griffin are in doubt! The rockets this year will get rid of Jason Collier. I think hes leaving on Free Agency. The Rockets thou will either sign a good PF on exception to help join the rockets, If they tie Phx for the 8th spot and make it to the first round. If they dont make it to the playoffs i got a felling Mobley will be gone and so will Griffin. They could get a Odom and Richardson probably for those 2. Add another Rocket like Rice. Who knows. But i know how the rockets are so valued on Griffin so theyll probably just keep the same damn team and hope for maturity with age. This team could make the playoffs no doubt in 2 years guarntee, the owner knows that. 4 Million dollar exception they could get a play like Rodney Rogers type who is a dirty contributor they would probably do great!
[QUOTEexperience? I suggest we trade Cat, Eddie, and Mo Taylor for a true PF who can score, but doesn't have to, and doesn't mind doing the dirty work down low. A defensive, rebounding PF with offensive skills that can protect Yao would be huge. [/B][/QUOTE] Elton Brand -G'day-
Francis is Francis, win or lose, past, present, or future. I have watched him for four years. The things I didn't like about his play in the beginning are the same things I don't like about his play now. Many talk about his progress, but I don't see significant change. He won't be traded but I wish he could be. He is not the only problem on this team but he one of them. He is by far the best athlete on the team, but with all his abilities his brain seems disconnected from his body during most games. And I will beat the Francis worshippers to the obvious next post, " Hey Solid, during most of your posts, your brain seems disconnected from your body." Comeback, "yeah, but I only require the use of a portion of my brain to respond to most of you." I have others.
*lol* This is actually a good post solid. "francis worshipers" can't be any worse than "Yao worshipers", though, man. *shutters* Hell no, they can't be any worse. I agree, Francis to this day still makes the same bone-headed mistakes that he did as a rook', but now b/c we have Yao which in turn brought a lot of newbie fans, Francis' mistakes are being magnified. I do think Francis has gotten better, though. Tunrovers and shot attempts being down are two signs of that.
