vj23k, I would like to get the world for Francis too, but that's what it would take to get Wallace. Ben isn't just a good defensive/rebounding center, he is a player entering his prime and leading the league in rebounds and blocks. Hell Wallace averages more steals per game than Francis. I don't like Wallace just because of how good he is, it's the pair of Wallace and Griffin that gets me. No one is going to want to take the ball to the basket with those two underneath and we would get so many second chance points off what would be great rebounding and if we had Cat and Payton in the backcourt.... To bad I'm dreaming. I do think the team I listed is better than the one you did. There is would be alot of question marks concerning your team and too many too young players. If you want to talk about contending in three more years, yours is the way to go, if you want to contend next year, I would go my way.
No, Gasol has been playing PF and even center this year. Do you not remember the big deal that was made about Battier being so much better since they moved him to the 2? As a SF - 12ppg at 37%, as a SG 15 ppg at 43%. Yes, his move was initiated by Dickerson going down, but he has clearly been better and more comfortable there. Yeah, I was just thinking of this year...he has not been for his career, just an underachiever...until last year, really. He is still only an average center, though.
I wouldn't do your deal either Hottod. I don't like Wright, Battier, or Dickerson too much. If we got the #1, I'd rather take a chance on Ming or maybe Woods. Now if Gasol was brought up ... I'd be more interested.
Penny, Ben Wallace is a good defensive/rebounding big man...Steve Francis is an all-around, future perennial all-star. Wallace shares his frontcourt with guys who average 9 boards a game combined in Corliss Williamson and Clifford Robinson. Ben is bound to grab a few extra rebounds a game. In fact, the Piston's frontcourt only manages two more rebounds than the Rockets frontcourt of Kelvin Cato, Kenny Thomas, and Eddie Griffin. I don't mean to take away from Wallace, but he is not the player that Steve Francis is. Wallace is a terrible shooter(>50% from the FT line), so even if Wallace could create his own shot, he probably would not make it. IMO, neither of our teams are ready to contend for a title now... But, if we make your trade, we have maybe two, three more chances to go for it. With mine, we have close to a decade.
There is no way the team would succeed with Mobley running the point. It would be 10 times worse than the "Larry Hughes Project."
I truly can't believe some of us are ready to trade Steve Francis after one bad year. Believe it or not, we had a pretty good season last year. This year our starting 4 and 3 are lost for the season. Our best player misses about 1/4 of the season, and is still playing with migranes. Our bench players have also been hurt. Add it all up and you are going to have a bad year 10/10 times. We do not need major changes to this team again. How about letting the team mature and actually giving our team a chance with everyone healthy? The Rockets have been undergoing major roster changes the last couple of years. We need some consistency to let this team improve. Francis and Mobley will mature and lead this team. Trading them is not the answer. That will more then likely set us back a couple of years again. Lets get some front court help this offseason and deepen our bench a little bit without gutting our entire team. If you people think we aren't tanking the last few games you need a reality check. Langhi and Collier are not getting major minutes for nothing. Yeah the Sacramento and Sonics game were pretty bad. But Rudy knows we need that pick to improve our team for next season. The Rockets absolutely know they have to improve before moving into a new arena. I for one still believe in Rudy and I know the Rockets will KICK ASS next year!
I think trading Steve can get us Jermaine O'Neal. Having an All-Star big man is more important in the Western Conference than having an All-Star point guard. If we can't draft Jason Williams then maybe Juan Dixon might be a decent PG in the NBA. He's already a better shooter and defender than Steve is.
Amen R0ckets03. Francis should not and will not be traded. Neither will Mobley. The Rox future is on their shoulders and I think they'll live up to it. Our frontcourt isn't great, but by next year it should be quite solid, and hopefully our pick will help us out a bit... However... Collier, Langhi and probablyBrown need to go..
Ever heard of the 98-99 season? Yeah, Mobley ran the point that season. He has only become better since then... I'm not saying that it would be a good move at all, but that it wouldn't be nearly as bad as you make it out to be.
