I think you need to rethink your definition of "highly recruited free agent". Isn't Steve playing for the minimum or close to it?
whether sf was signed as a free agent or not doesn't matter. IF he didn't cheer his teammates like others, he shouldn't be on this team. we should trade him. plain and simple.
Yes, trade him. At least other teams can use him. He does not deserve seeing the ceiling. Hope they trade him to boston.
What a ridiculous post If I was RA, I would make damn sure he is not pulling that crap next game. He needs to either be a part of the team and cheer on his teammates or not come out. It is pretty ignorant to think having someone around with that kind of attitude doesn't impact the group. Think about the most miserable person you have to work with and how he/she impacts co-workers... And I did watch him a lot of the game, rewinding, etc. Hell, he was laying on the floor looking at the ceiling! Think if you layed your head on the desk in a meeting at work (even if your boss choose a peer to present and not you) That is really weak, and I hope he comes around because I like him and it looks like we are going to need him.
Highly recruited? So highly recruited that Portland paid him 30 million to NOT play for them? Are you kidding me?
will francis be last year's Bonzi. Like someone else said, I didn't see him rooting the team on once. Hell, Novak hiot the floor in celebration and he didn't even dress. Rafer was terrible but also clutch. Let's not forget, he was a good 4th quarter shooter last year
I think Mike James is perfect off the bench and for closing games, so its between rafer and steve. Maybe steve and head for lesser minutes. But if Steve can't win the spot over rafer, who was supposed to be traded, was our whole reason for getting three point guards in the offseason, is our weakest link and was not given preferential treatment at all...then it's on steve for not beating rafer out in the position that Steve had every chance to get. If he's not good enough to get it, then he doesn't deserve it. I hope he does get it though, because rafer is still our weakest link in our starting lineup.
I was thinking the exact same thing as the original poster. Stevie is a crybaby. Anyone who can't see that, or rather won't admit that they see that, is still in love with the player that left here 4 years ago. Do I still like him? Sure, I even included him in the last video I made. That doesn't mean I can't be critical of him when he pouts like a little b*tch. I think Adelman has made it very clear that Steve had his chance and blew it, mostly by not being in shape for training camp. Maybe if he would suck it up and make an effort to actually at least look like he cared, he'd earn another shot. But some people are just too self-absorbed to understand that kind of simple logic.
Heh, this is Clutchfans. Somebody is always looking for a negative. It common in all of Houston sports and it's fans. For some strange reason, there is not one time where everyone can be happy and talk about the good things. Even when we win the title this year, theres going to be a few of those guys to find something wrong with the team.
Why the hell are you posters that are saying Francis wasn't highly recruited just ignoring the fact that the Heat, Mavericks, and Clippers all made strong bids to get him? Two of those teams had a starting job waiting for him. There's a reason Steve's signing was so unexpected. We thought we had a slim chance of getting him. That said, his behavior is very immature and unprofessional right now, no matter how you try to cut it. If it doesn't change within the next couple of games, he needs to go.
Everyone knows Steve's an emotional basketball player. It's obvious how he'd feel and how he envisioned this season to be his comeback year. Having said that, he's not ready yet. He's not in shape. I remember seeing pics of him during the Tmac Softball game and he looked rather ... big. And I noticed more when he put on that Rockets uni again that his muscle tone was off. All it basically comes down to is if he's going to work hard to get into shape and earn some minutes or if he's going to give up/pout/make a demand. If he chooses to work hard, he'll get his chance. Adelman himself said "nothing's set in stone" and that he believed Francis would start at pg this season before training camp rolled around. And watching those first 8 minutes reminded me how big a hole we still have in our starting 5. We will need Francis later down the road. He knows how to make big shots and how to step up his game come playoff time. He's got heart. All those things can help us. All he has to do is continue to work harder in conditioning, learning the pg duties for the system while finding a balance in using his strength to penetrate, etc. I just hope he chooses to work hard.
Francis will have an opportunity to crack the rotation when t-mac misses a dozen or so games in the season. We should hold on to him...
im still a Francis fan 4 life ! but it made me sick to see him not caring!! sometime i paid attention to him rather than the game
I dont get it. Based on preseason Play, did Francis pound the ball more than Mike James? Did he take shots more that TMac or Yao or dominate the ball? When Rafer was playing non NBDL players, he completely sucked balls. Look at what Rafer gave us tonight. Yes the Rebounding and Assists were nice, but he is a bone head. Any player that continues to miss the same tear drop over and over is a complete bonehead. He is the weakest link. Steve was pulling a b**** move by lying down on the floor, but any person who is emotional goes through moments like that.
Steve isn't in shape. If anything, seeing Reefer crack like a nut in crunch time should let him realize he won't actually have to play that well to play his way into the lineup.
I can't believe that we have so many point guards but they all suck. Rafer, wow, horrible. Grade D (Why? he can't shoot, we all knew that but he was suppose to be consistent with running the offense. Today, he even failed the one thing he was suppose to be decent at) Mike James made some shots but he stops the motion in the offense and doesn't pass when he should. Couple of times, I saw him try to take it to the basket when there's like 3 defenders inside. Grade C (The only reason he even deserved a C was cause his shots went in and saved us early in the game. However, he makes horrible decisions, doesn't assist, and if his shots were off, he would get a D) Francis, wow horrible attitude. When James and Rafer suck, he needs to step up but he won't even get playing time with that attitude. Grade F (Francis got an F without even playing in the game) WHY CAN'T WE GET A GOOD PG. COMBINE ALL 3's salary, we should have at least 1 GOOD (not best) PG.
