Steve isn't going anywhere next year. The Rockets pick up the fourth year option, meaning they will sign him to a big contract this summer before risking him not signing after 2002-2003. Keep the faith...Weather the storm...
Steve will stay, if he leaves I will lose all respect for the guy. He changed this team so much and dedicated himself and to me he wont want to tarnish his image like it was with the draft. He will stay.
He never said that...in fact he made it pretty clear that if he was a lottery pick, he would leave. He also made his intentions fairly clear when he said he didnt want to sgn with vancouver. If anything, I think we can take what Steve says to heart. If he says that he is looking forward to a long career with Houston...I believe him. That being said, I think Francis stays. If not, we can get used to watching the Rockets reel off 10 straight loses a lot more often next season.
I think the development of Griffen will decide if Steve will stay. If Griffen can become a Garnett-ish type player before Francis' contract ends then I think Francis will likely stay. Hopefully those 2 can be what Garnett and Marbury could have been. If Griffen ends up being a bust then my guess is Steve will leave when his contract runs out or demand a trade. This injury has really exposed just how bad this team is without Francis and how dependent they are on him.
Gentlemen, Francis is GONE after his contract is up. He prefers the East Coast to H-Town. Quality of life, where ever you find it is important. In addition, the Rockets do not have a strategy to get better in the near term while Francis tries to lead the team back from the dead. CD is failing at putting the right pieces around Steve. Walt, Rice, Cato, KT, and Moochie. We have bench players that should play 15 to 20 minutes a night starting and playing significant minutes due to injury. However, KT is not a powerful and if you let him shoot the jumper it's over.
If the Wizards want him so badly I'm ready to do this: Houston trades: Kelvin Cato $6,048,000 to Washington Houston trades: Steve Francis $3,473,520 to Washington Houston trades: Cuttino Mobley $4,413,375 to Washington Houston trades: Terence Morris $490,000 to Washington TOTAL: $14,424,895 Washington trades: Tyrone Nesby $3,260,000 to Houston Washington trades: Tyronn Lue $1,700,000 to Houston Washington trades: Brendan Haywood $978,600 to Houston Washington trades: Kwame Brown $3,697,440 to Houston Washington trades: Richard Hamilton $2,111,640 to Houston Washington trades: Courtney Alexander $1,418,355 to Houston TOTAL: $13,166,035 TRADE ACCEPTED Rockets 1. Lue/Norris/T.Brown 2. Torres/Alexander 3. Hamilton/K.Brown/Williams/Rice* 4. Thomas/Griffin/Taylor* 5. Haywood/Willis/Collier* (waive Nesby) Wizards 1. Francis/Whitney 2. Mobley/Davis 3. Jordan/Morris/Simmons 4. Laettner/Jones/Thomas 5. Cato/White
I think it is more like a 99 percent chance that Francis will stay. This is because free-agency in the NBA is dead, especially for rookies. First, the Rockets will offer him a max-deal next fall. He would have to say no and gamble $87 million or whatever on a career-ending injury over the course of two years. Additionally, any team that wants to sign him (for less money and years than the Rockets can), will have to have cap room set aside over two years, not one. This is because we will match any offer, one year or otherwise, made in the summer 2003. If Golden State matched the Marc Jackson offer because he was an "asset", believe me, "Franchise" is an infinitely larger asset. We would get him back for 2003-2004, so the team signing him will have to use its cap space in 2003 for only one year contracts, to have it free from the summer of 2004. Finally, very few teams have cap space anymore, and any one that has the 10-11 million necessary in 2003 to sign him will suck worse than the Rockets. Or will throw that money at Duncan (i.e. Orlando). . . etc. Jordan will be long gone in Washington. The 1 percent chance is if lightning strikes twice, and Francis calls the Rockets bluff (like he did in Vancover), and they flinch and do a sign and trade.
