Someone the calibur of Steve Blake!! Are you kidding me? The Greek Streak is already the calibur of Steve Blake.
Sorry but VSpan is nowhere near Blake at this point. Blake is smart. Can run a team. Defends better and can shoot a hell of alot better than Spanoulis. Ridnour would be nice, but that isn't going to happen.
All we have to do is cut Sura (if he can't come back in time) or Padgett (if Sura could come back in time) and sign Francis. This would be facilitated by Francis then bring mor motivated to up the schedule on his buyout. Bonzi can walk and the MLE could be used on Francis, Snyder then steps into his role. PG Francis/Alston SG McGrady/ Head SF Battier/Wells/Snyder PF Howard/Hayes/Novak C Yao/Mutombo That's got to be the automatic favorite to win it all.
yeah, we do need to cut someone.. hmmm, lets see, could we cut a 5'10 ballhoggin r****ded midget who likes to take offbalance, ill-advised shots and loves to dribble the damn air of the ball just for the hell of it??? JL3 needs to go, even if we dont sign anyone, he should go. to the NBDL, to another team, to Europe, or maybe back to his old job (ballboy). just waive him for the hell if it..
I think a back up PG should be our priority right now (before the trade deadline). however, I would like to see the rockets get a dependable starting PG and Alston would be a solid, if not a great, back up PG. Sura would've done a great job for us; actually, if Sura comes back, I dont see us losing to anybody (with Yao healthy). any news on Sura? did he stop practicing? call me crazy, but I still believe that Sura can come back and be productive for this team. I was so pissed when JVG was like "oh, he is done". I dont know if JVG was stating facts or opinion.. oh, btw, anybody got the status of kirk Hinrich's contract? when would he be a free agent? would the Bulls trade him? and would we have anything that interests them? I would love to have Kirk on this team, he is a great shooter, a great distributer, great handles, high IQ, solid D, and has the ability to take it to the rim (he actually HITS some floaters ).. not a diss on Alston, but I really think we needs a starting PG in the future.
You know, Penny would really be a great story if he could make it back and wind up on a champhionship team. But somehow, I just don't think he's got anything left. I mean, after all, Seattle tried him out, and they didn't sign him. They're obviously going nowhere. I would think if he had been able to contribute anything, they would have signed him. But they didn't. So what should that tell us?
I am all for VSPAN - but let us be realistic. Van gundy is not going to ease up given our Winning record. Yes- I am for Chauncey billups and Jason Kidd- what I was suggesting is someone in a back up role. If you have seen him playing recently Denver got a steal. This guy is an intelligent PG.
Penny Hardaway's best case scenario at this point would to become another Derek Anderson. There's not really much to gain by signing him. The Isiah situation in NY is really starting to annoy me. Everybody knows he's going to get canned so my question is why delay the inevitable? My guess is he's been stripped of all roster transaction power so it seems the longer he's in power in NY the longer we're going to have to wait before we see what they do with Francis.
Forget Steve Francis. He has no range, and has never had a good asst/to ratio - a deadly combination for a Rockets PG. Can't play defense either. Absolutely NO midrange game. Couldn't get the ball to Yao back then and we all know he was trying. What exactly would this guy bring to the team? Penny has height, experience, and a real desire to win a championship. Plus, he would accept his role - 15 minutes off the bench. I doubt Francis would ever accept such a role. That height could be very useful getting the ball in to Yao, which is very important. You guys sit and complain about Rafer's shooting, then turn to Steve Francis? Brilliant.
^^^^ I think I'd take my chances with Francis over Penny at this time. If Penny were 5 years younger, possibly Penny then. But not at age 35-36.
And Cassell is not gettable either. Penny is gettable. But Penny hasn't been the man for how many years??? Stevie just had a recent injury. I'd still take my chances with him over a man that's played in a grand total of 41 games since the end of the 2004 season. I like Penny. I've always liked his game. But nobody has picked him up and a lottery team decided not to sign him. Just don't think he's got anything left.
You offer no reasoning whatsoever. Steve Francis would bring absolutely nothing useful to this team. His best quality, rebounding for his size, is useless. We are already the best rebounding team in the league. Forget age. We're talking about 15 minutes a game, TOPS. T-mac handles the ball half the time. I would MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH rather have Luther Head at backup PG than Steve Francis. Luther is just as good a passer, has chemistry with the team and can shoot lights out. Don't be gullible. Steve Francis was a great scorer and rebounder and that's it. But his scoring diminished when playing with Yao because he couldn't pass to Yao nor could he play his own game. He never developed his 3-pt range or a midrange game (his downfall), and now has recurring injury problems (just like Penny). His biggest strength is something we are the best in the league at. What's your reasoning?
how do you know penny has more desire to win than francis? How do you know francis won't accept a 15-20 min role off the bench considering he wasn't getting much in ny? penny hasn't played in a couple years at the pro level whereas francis has played some this year. what does rafer's shooting have to do with deciding a backup thats better than john "jackem up" lucas or vspan?
^^^^^ Well, for starters, he can still play, and he can still finish. LOL What's your argument for Penny and base it on the last couple years, not on 5 years ago?
Those of you suggesting Mo Williams or Hinrich, you would have to start with Battier or Head and include more. Those are key young cogs on their teams. Now you might be able to gets their back-ups, like Boykins or Duhon, without costing one of our own key players. TE, cash, plus some other small assets. Ridnour might be had, but I heard his contract makes it really difficult. TE, VS or JL3, and a 1st rounder, but again I have no idea about making the poison pill deal work (capalogists ?). Francis I would take way before Penny--but there are a lot better options. Penny hasn't been able to guard PGs since his knee injury, which was what like 10 years ago? Francis is OK, but we already have a younger more under controll tweener with a more consistent shot in Head, we really only need Francis if Alston or Head goes down. Boykins, Stoudamire, Atkins, A. Johnson, Duhon, Ridnour--those are much more ready to play players, realistically acquirable, and PGs that fit out needs better.
