the word is complementary...not complimentary....it is pretty "Easy" when you remember it. don't make me pigeon-hole you.
The only person I would consider trading Steve for would be Tim Duncan. Everyone else seems to be trading for lesser value at least long term.
Duh. I would trade him for all those players......besides Darko since he is unknown to me. But if I were the other team...I wouldn't trade my JKidd or JNeal or EBrand for Steve Francis. So yeah...
Does anyone else feel this way, remember Steve is young, signed up, highlight reel machine and two time all-star, i say right now we could Jermaine, Brand, Carter, Baron and others. For me if we traded him right now I want Power and size like Brand or O'Neal. My suspicion is if his game in 2 years time is the same but is listed as SG, we won't get a young PF in return. The question is can we win (in the West) with Eddie and MO at the 4, and can we land the 4 we need to compete in the West with Eddie and Mobes, my guess is no, sure Cats contract and scoring ability and seen as very favourable in the current contract environment, he is certainly sensational value for money. But for me at this point Eggie is a throw and that is not enough to go with Mobes to get the Elite PF we really need.
I think there are very limited PGs in the league that would suitably to have the ability and skills to overcome Steve's deficiencies if he moves to the 2, they would have to: be tall to help guard the tall 2s a great defender to make up for steve's lack of D be an amazing distributor knock down outside shots to stop doubling of Yao and Steve run the fast breaks and transition game move Without the ball (don't tell me the ball won't still be in Steve's hands alot! have an incredibly High BBall IQ Be a Leader Have no arrest record or no links to weed be a veteran Not sure there any players in the league with all these skills, and there probably aren't many with half the skills. Not sure it will be much easier to find a 2 with this skill set either, why not just get Rudy to change Mobley's role, damn he has adjusted and improved his game every season, so some patience is needed. Surely if the offensive system is the same, even with Steve at the 2 or or new super duper 1 or 2 brought in then the results will be the same. Doesn't Rudy need to decide on the structure/system before the players are picked or roles changed.
Garnet Kobe T-Mac Duncan Nowitski Carter Those are who I would trade Francis for if I could....as for players I think we have a realistic chance at: Murphy Randolph Miller Brand to name a few...but I would only part with EG and Mobley to get any of them. Rookies I would trade anyone other than Francis and Ming to get. Carmello Anthony Lebron James DD
Kidd is a tough question. On the floor it's a no-brainer in my opinion, but I have a slight doubt about how many great years he has left in him. Season ticket holders would complain too with Noggin' Jr. sitting in the front row of the new arena. I'd probably do it, but much tougher than it looks. I would absolutely love to have O'Neal or Brand, but at the cost of Francis I don't know if I could answer that right away. Depends on what other options were available to play in our backcourt. If it was Moochie and Cuttino, I'll pass. If you give up Francis you give up your best scorer - and who plays the point? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter since no one's playing it now anyway. I just don't think now is the time to give up on Francis. I say take the current Rockets, remove Yao and Steve's names from the list and fax it to every NBA team with a note attached saying that we're willing to atleast listen on any proposal.
Steve Francis + Eddie Griffin + Glen Rice (expiring contract which T-Wolves could use to free up cap room) + future 1st round pick for Kevin Garnett. If we can convince KG to DEFINITELY resign with us, I would do this in a heartbeat. I think we would have a hard time selling this to Kevin McHale though. I would surely do Francis for Kidd too. Kidd is not that old and can still give at least 3-5 MVP-type years to us. Francis is not that young either. Let's assume he finally "get it" in say 2 years, he will be 29 years old then and can also only give us a few more years. And he may even never reach that level. With him relying on athleticism more than anything, I doubt he will stay at the top level as long as the likes of Kidd, Payton and Stockton.
Clutch - how many great years left in him make you do it, would 5 be enough? The question is, does our entire roster (bar Steve and Yao) get us answer to the teams problems??
the gamble on Kidd is that can he actually teach Yao things on the court...be a second coach. If he can, then 4-5 years is so worth it. By the time Kidd slows down, with care, we should be back in under the cap and Yao would be maximized in talent. my gamble is that Kidd not only maximizes the Rockets but helps teach Yao how to do it in his absence. The O'Neal and Brand things are more fantasy bball decision about whether trading Francis for a PF and Griffin for a guard works better. Obviously, EG would be traded for a guard in that scenario. That analysis is about going with superior defense and frontcourt, which seems like a good combo. imo, it is harder to get decent role-playing PFs than guards, and you can actually get lucky with a really good guard deep in the draft...but unlikely you will find a PF once you start getting into the playoffs routinely.
i would take brand before i would take o'neal (and i wouldn't take either straight up for steve). i will say i overlooked brand's numbers before this year. i knew he was very solid, but i think the thing that caught me most off guard were his blocks, as in he gets a lot of them. jermaine, every time i watch him i come out disappointed. world championships, last years playoffs, this year's playoffs. he never seems to consistently post up and he doesn't seem to have great moves once he does. now, as i know from having him on my fantasy team, he still puts up great numbers and is a hell of an athlete, but to me i'd rather have a better bruiser like brand who i think blocks better than jermaine. i would trade neither straight up for steve b/c i don't know who runs points or how we score effectively b/c i don't think either is the pure scorer that steve is. now if other arrangements could be made, perhaps. but i still love the inside-outside threat that francis-yao provides more than an inside-inside presence the other two could provide. now trades i would do: kg timmy (screw inside-outside, kg and timmy are kg and timmy) kobe tmac probably kidd (although just like Clutch says, how much longer can he do it. i know 30 isn't old, but he's had to have put a huge amount of wear and tear on his body. i think he starts the breakdown quicker than i wanna lose steve for) maybe i'm forgetting someone else in the top 10.
Smeggy - Yes...but that begs the question of whether RT has had a (good) system in mind all along and been unable to implement it for time or personnel reasons or whether RT can not install an effective offense (The "system or the players?" argument). If it's the former, even trading Francis for Kobe, Garnett or Duncan could be a moot point if a continuance of ISO-mania is what we have as the end result. IMHO (a minority one), the Rockets can be competitive in the WC with a combined PF effort of Griffin and Taylor under the following conditions: A return of Taylor to some semblance of his pre-injury productivity. Some semblance of a low post game from Griffin. A near All Star level SF. I'm in an almost singular minority, but I feel the Small Forward postion is the key not the PF spot. Realistically, we are not getting a KG, Dirk, Kobe, Duncan, or T-Mac, etc for Francis. And Sterling will not pay Francis's max salary so forget Brand IMO (unless there is a 3rd team involved receiving Francis). To the other extreme, I would not trade Steve for any draft choice...unless there was a major vet incoming with the deal...Rox are too young as is. I'd consider Jamal Mashburn and a re-signed Kenny Anderson. I also like the Gasol idea.
Lebron James? ....hmmm.... well if we can't swing that..... what about Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley for Mike Bibby, Jim Jackson, and Keon Clarke....hehe.... heck...there's nothing to do with the season over but to ponder all the possiblities!
I'm with GATER on the SF position mainly because its the SF that has the best shot at feeding the post (Yao), I'm just not sure on who I would trade Steve for at the SF position that is posible. Dreaming... Kobe T-Mac Dirk Garnett Reality... Pierce A. Jamison Marion Mashburn Peja Shawn Marion and Jamal Mashburn are more the types of players we need out of the reality list. Another SF with the skills to complement Yao is Matt Harpring, he is on a totally different pay scale though.
None of the guys you listed. I'd trade him for any of the 5 guys named to the All NBA 1st team. I think I'd trade him for Dirk. Maybe Webber. But unless you include one of those guys in a trade involving Steve Francis, thanks but I'll pass.
