Hell, I remember a few years ago when it was pretty much accepted that Steve was better than Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Dwayne Wade, Tony Parker, and Steve Nash. Man, how things have changed...
i still think steve can be helpful to this team as long as he doesnt try to play one-on-one basket ball. sure he can cross over those defenders but..he isnt franchise building material is he now? he needs to be a role player/2nd or 3rd option on offense if he wants to win.
The Lakers needs to fleece Isiah right now. Mihm, Cook and Farmar for Francis. Any other GM would turn it down, but I wouldn't put it pass Zeke.
There is a rule a team can't trade 2 consecutive 1st round picks. What the Knicks did was trade their 2006 pick (T Thomas) and then gave the Bulls the option of "swapping" picks in 2007. So, the Knicks will have a 2007 pick, but the Bulls can swap their pick for the Knicks most likely higher pick.
The day that trade happened must have been a beautiful day for Bulls fans.... and then the draft day 2006... and then draft day 2007. All beautiful days for a Bulls fan. They ought to start sending Isiah thank you notes.
For anybody who cares: the reason why this situation isn't working is not because they're fighting, it's that when Francis tries to play off guard he pretty much just stands around in the corner and doesn't do jack. Really, the player who has performed horribly this season (at least according to my eyes, Roland Rating, +/-, net PER, etc) is really Marbury. He's abysmal, IMO- no speed, no shot, no nothing. FWIW, if Isiah wants to sit somebody to make room for Nate Robinson (which he actually didn't, tonight at Minny he started Stephon & Crawford) it should be Marbury who sits down. Francis has been kind of a cypher this year but then again he hasn't played much due to injury and his lack of a role. Marbury has just been a complete negative (as has Curry - whole other topic).
The actual rule is you can't go 2 stragiht years without a 1st rounder. So tenchically you can trade all your first round picks every year, as long as you also pick up a 1st rounder from another team every other year (or if you make the trade on draft date after you made the pick already)
If I recall correctly, Steve did not get traded because JVG was not happy with him, if fact, IMO SF was just coming around to what JVG was expecting out of him. Its just that the Rockets had the opportunity to get T-Mac and could not turn it down. Similar to what I believe JVG implied this year about if he had the chance to get DWade, he would consider trading T-Mac. Anyway, that's how I interpreted his comments. Apologize in advance for not including all the quotes to back these statements.
It's funny that you posted this. I used to advocate trading Steve Francis for a big man and keeping Mobely as our starting 2. Mobley's stock has risen, and Francis couldn't get Travis Diener and an IOU right now.
Yes. But the rule is that you can't trade away two of your own (natural) 1st round picks in two consecutive years. So, you can trade your 1st round pick and a 1st round pick you got via trade, in two consecutive years. Pass 1st Shoot 2nd, Yeah, you and me both.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...0bYF?slug=ap-knicks-francis&prov=ap&type=lgns Knicks hope to get Francis going, as a backup November 22, 2006 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sent struggling guard Steve Francis to the bench for Wednesday's game against the Timberwolves and replaced him in the starting lineup by Jamal Crawford. Thomas and Francis met after New York's loss to Houston on Monday, and they spoke again at the morning shootaround. Francis agreed with the decision, according to Thomas, who denied that Francis might be unhappy with the Knicks and desiring a trade. "I totally get the sense from him that he's thought this through," Thomas said, adding: "He definitely sees himself fitting in in the way he thinks he can help us." Stephon Marbury has been underperforming, too, and Thomas is focused on getting both players back on track. The two combined for only 10 points and six turnovers against the Rockets, and they played sparingly in the second half. Thomas was hesitant to put a timetable on the Francis experiment, preferring to wait until injured swingman Jared Jeffries (broken wrist) returns in a few weeks and gives him a full complement of players to evaluate. Though New York took a 4-8 record into the game at Minnesota, Thomas insisted that his team was "not that far away" from finding a groove. "Maybe this is the thing that kind of puts us over the hump," he said.
Typo above, should "But" not "Buy". By the way, Nicks is killing Celtics tonight. Actually I think Isaiah Thomas is doing a good job this season.
