Marc Stein reported today that Francis could go to the Mavs. Terry and Francis is a pretty damn good PG rotation. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2935125
I don't see him going to DFW or any other place he would be guaranteed a starting position. Don't see him meshing with Avery either.
Why wouldn't he mesh well with Avery if according to Marc Stein they have a close relationship with each other? Granted, I still believe he's going to end up a Clipper. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2935125
Just because they have a "close relationship" doesn't mean that Avery Johnson will put up with some of the things Francis does and that their personalities will blend well business wise and on the court.
Francis has to chose the Clippers. They have made him their number 1 priority. They have his best friend and bussiness partner in mobley and cassell. LA is an incredible city. The Clippers are loaded with athlethic finishers. We saw the impact that a second string pg like Hart had on the Clippers when they made their push late last season. Francis on the Clippers can do some serious damage......
Couldn't have said it better. I believe AJ is a very good coach, but he doesn't seem to be the easiest guy for players to like. He rips into the Mavs when they don't do exactly what he wants. He's calmed down from his first season but that isn't saying much. With the Clippers, Francis will fit right in when the players revolt and quit on Dunleavy during the season. I think the Clips will go KA-BOOM! after a decent start to the season. You heard it here first.
Okay as a fan of both the clippers and the rockets these clipper jokes are getting a little old. They are trying to win now. Sterling is finally putting money in the team, The Clippers were one game away from making the playoffs last year and would have made if Dallas wouldn't have tanked their second to last game of the season against GS. Would they have been bounced out in the first round yes but they would have been in good company......
I respect you as a Rockets fan and especially as a hard luck Clippers fan. But I think Dunleavy will wear out his welcome this year and your team is mediocre at best. Two seasons ago (before it started and before people jumped on the bandwagon), I said the only thing preventing the Clips from winning would be injuries. However on Sterling, I will never change my opinion of him. I sincerely feel sorry for Clippers fans and my shots at the team are made with no malice or ridicule towards their fans. This does not apply to Mavs, Jazz or Pistons fans.
I agree that Francis would help the Clips alot and I wouldn't mind losing him to the Clips if he becomes the comeback player that we all know he can be rebounding from the Knicks. But, just as a counter to some of your points of why I still think the Rockets have a chance of getting him . . . Rashard was our number 1 priority too, but we didn't have what he wanted, money. The Clips don't have everything that Francis wants, which I'm thinking includes going deep in the playoffs with a chance at the finals. Houston will probably still be his home if he plays for the Clippers. Do they really need Francis if they already have alot of athletic finishers? That might not mesh well and make their offense a little one-dimensional. Then again Mike James and Steve Francis on the same roster also probably doesn't mesh well either. Honestly, I think Morey would pick up Francis without hesitation. It's moneyball, and Francis is a huge steal waiting to happen. However, Adelman might not want to have James and Francis on his roster. It might be one too many egos for him to handle since he's already got James and Bonzi. If Adelman doesn't want Francis, I'd understand and wouldn't blame Morey for anything since forcing a player on a coach is generally a bad idea. I'll just be annoyed at Adelman for skipping a potentially insane steal.
after my passion for the Rockets, I'm also a Clippers fan (I pledged my allegiance to Sam and Cuttino when I moved to LA- down with the Lakers!), and while I agree that the Clippers jokes get old after a while, I keep hearing fans here as well as even the players (Elton Brand) keep saying that they missed the playoffs by one game and if the Mavericks didnt tank blah blah blah... that is revisionist history right there Clips fans! the Clippers finished the season with a loss to the Hornets after they blew a game to the Kings which would have kept them in the hunt for the playoffs. they finished 2 games behind the Warriors, and with all this Mavericks tanking business, you cant have it both ways. why is it everyone is so sure that if the Mavs would have played their starters, then they would have beat the Warriors? did everyone seem to forget that the Warriors absolutely man-raped the Mavs during the regular season and then made Dirk, Avery and Cuban their b****es for the best playoff upset in NBA history? the Clips, undermanned as they were, went on a great run to finish the season and had their chance, and they blew it! the Warriors made an even beter run, and cashed in their bonus to the second round... heres hoping Elgin can do better this off-season and land some more decent talent...
I forgot to mention Elgin Baylor. How long has he been the Clippers' GM? No other franchise in the NBA would have kept him this long. He's an all-time great player and, when you consider how long he's been in one place, one of the all-time worst GMs. I know, I know, blame it all on Sterling.
love to see Avery try to coach the Matador defensive skills of Stevie........ go to the Mavs Steve just so we can see a coach choke a player this time
Baylor has seemed to be improving lately. Which makes me think someone else is making the calls and Baylor is just a figure head. Same goes for Joe Paterno...
The soonest anything will officially happen is Wednesday (maybe Tuesday, not sure) when waivers expire, but the rumors could start flying before then.
