The Pacer Report By Marc F. Roberts for HOOPSWORLD.com Feb 7, 2004, 17:12 Stevie Francis a Pacer? Steve Francis has worn out his welcome in Houston. The Pacers are looking for a young, athletic point guard to lead their team. Could a trade be in the works? Francis’ recent suspension is only the latest in a long list of quarrels between he and Rocket Coach Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy suspended Francis for one game when he missed a team flight to Phoenix. Francis said that he missed the flight to tend to a family emergency. Van Gundy believed that Francis missed the flight to attend the Super Bowl in Houston. "Those two just aren't getting along," said a local witness, and they aren’t keeping their differences private either. "It's never going to be over as far as an endpoint," Francis told the Houston Chronicle. "He's going to coach the way he wants to coach, and I'm going to play the way I want to play. There's always going to be conflict. "It's not like we're going to be best friends. There are going to be days when he thinks I should have done this better, and there are going to be days when I think he should have done things better. We both understand that." Van Gundy argued with only part of Francis' assessment. "I would agree with that -- not that he'll play the way he wants to play -- but I agree with everything else.” Clearly things aren’t right in Houston, and it appears they will only get worse as Van Gundy continues to de-emphasize Francis’ role on the team in favor of center Yao Ming. Things in Indiana are a little less contentious. The Pacers have great team chemistry, one of the biggest reasons they own the NBA’s best record (37-14), and are showing no signs of slowing down. Ron Artest has been a perfect citizen and Jermaine O’Neal is no longer talking about demanding a trade. Despite this the Pacers do have some major flaws. The Pacers have five potential starters, Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest, Al Harrington, Austin Croshere, and Jonathan Bender, who all play the same positions. They also lack a true center (Foster is just 242 pounds, three less than Artest) and a scoring point guard, a key component in Rick Carlisle’s system. Francis is exactly the type of point guard Rick Carlisle covets. Think Chauncey Billups in Detroit, only better. Jamal Tinsley is the pass first, shoot second point guard that Jeff Van Gundy needs to get the ball to Yao. Could the Pacers package some of their depth, along with Tinsley, for the Rocket’s All-Star? Because of Francis’ Base-Year Contract a third team, such as Utah, would have to be included to complete the trade. A trade of Jonathan Bender, Jamal Tinsley, and Austin Croshere for Steve Francis and Bostjan Nachbar, with Kelvin Cato going to Utah works under the CBA, but would Houston agree such a deal? Removing Francis and Cato from the team’s books would put the team nearly three million dollars under the cap. That doesn’t sound like much, but if they could package Cuttino Mobley (who has also had problems with Van Gundy) and Clarence Weatherspoon to Toronto, a team that has pursued Mobley for years, that number would jump to 14.7 million under the salary cap, and thrust them to the top of the Kobe sweepstakes. Signing Bryant would give them a line-up of Jamal Tinsley, Kobe Bryant, Jonathan Bender, Austin Croshere, and Yao Ming, with Mo Taylor, Eric Piatkowski, and Jim Jackson coming off the bench. The Pacers would obviously lose some depth, but with a line-up of Francis, Reggie Miller, Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal, and Jeff Foster, not to mention Al Harrington coming off the bench, and Fred Jones, Primo Brezec, Jamison Brewer, and James Jones continuing to develop, they can afford to. The Pacers would be the unanimous favorites in the East for years to come, and more importantly, would be legitimate title contenders, even against the Western Confrence. This is agood trade for the Rockets,and it will be batter if we get Al Harrington instead of Austin Croshere this will fix our PG,SF and PF and put us under the cap. The Jeff Van Gundy - Steve Francis struggle will remains unitl one of the two go. And only one of two move will make Rockets much improved which is ...?
hoopsworld = sux. That is the worst trade in bbs history. I usually like trade talk, but... man. What a complete buffoon. JVG doesn't blow smoke like Nellie. He says exactly what he's thinking. He wants Heinrich. It's just a matter of if CD and Les can get it done.
This is a horrible trade. This even worse considering how well Steve's been playing. The media seems to think Steve doesn't like passing to Yao, when Steve's pretty much the only guy who will pass to him everytime he's open in the post. Our problems are Yao's inconsistency and developing team chemistry when Yao's on the floor. This trade would make us a lottery team for the rest of Yao's career.
Ha. Ha ha. Yeah, Indy just might bite. This trade bites for everyone but Indy. BTW - Rox are in Kobe sweeps. What, SF + TE wouldn't = KB, if Kobe wanted to come here?
What a stupid site. We get better fantasy trades posted here all the time. I've got a feeling we may see the old "lock" appearing on this thread soon.
that trade is going to make me puke. The most I'd give up for Tinsley Bender Croshere is Cato and TE and filler.
The trade is not that bad if Harington would come along, thereby giving us a pure point guard and a reliable and strong '3'. They might want Cato as well but I don't know how that will work out though. The sad thing about this "momentum gathering Trade rumours" is that it could be a distraction if it persists. I suspect something would be done because I do not see how Francis and JVG can co-exit with all that has been said and insinuated. I sense Francis is tired of all of this and will welcome an exit. Lets move on then.
This is one of the worst fantasy trades I have ever seen. It wouldn't make any difference if they replaced Bender with Harrington. It would still be terrible for the Rockets.
