steve francis , jason kidd , kobe bryant, vince carter , or allen iverson ?

Out of those 5, I'd pick either Francis or Carter, as IMO they have the most potential out of that outstanding bunch. But I wouldn't pick either as my franchise first if we're talking about players from the entire league- that is reserved for Tim Duncan.

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4th Friday of August= Rocket Day
1999-Steve Francis
2000-Maurice Taylor

 

I'd pick Kobe for his play on both ends of the court. Also being the youngest, he would allow you the most time to build a team around him.

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"Never give a sucker an even break. Nor wisen up a chump."

 

What a difficult question. I automatically eliminate Iverson from the bunch because he simply is not a team player. Gee, I'm making a lot of progress here. How can you pick between Carter, Kidd, Bryant, and Francis without biasing your opinion simply because you are a Rockets fan? I would pick Francis. Ah, I feel much better now.

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Kobe Bryant. He is the best "2" in the league, and a great defender as well.

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Jazzkiller

 

Larry Bird

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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

 

Have Kidd, Francis, Bryant, or Carter single handedly led their respective teams to the 2nd round of the playoffs in their 3rd & 4th years? Do any of them play on a team as talent-deprived as the Sixers?

Francis and Carter are better, but atleast give Iverson his due. I would hope he has earned atleast that much by now.

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Mo money, Mo problems...

 

Comes down to Kobe, Francis, or Carter. I'd pick Kobe(by a hair over Francis) cuz Kobe is more versatile than Francis and he is much more experienced than Carter at this stage in their careers.

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president of the dan langhi fan club.

 

I'm not going to question the fact that Iverson has skills. I would pick Francis because he has the ability to make the other members of his team better. He can distribute the ball better, and doesn't turn it over as much. I'm starting to wonder if Francis played for the Sixers and took as many shots as Iverson could he have done the same thing? Make a team playoff bound with his sole effort? Would Iverson make the Rocks a playoff team instantly (given Francis was not on our team)?

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rock,

The Rockets would have made the playoffs, without a doubt, if they had Iverson last year instead of Francis.

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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

 

Actually, I think they would have been worse, but that's just my side of things. Iverson cannot get his teammates involved very well, and is not a PG. How do you plan on playing Shandon and Mobley since Iverson is already an SG?

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4th Friday of August= Rocket Day
1999-Steve Francis
2000-Maurice Taylor

 

Cat, what teamate is Iverson supposed to pass to? The offense is built around him.
George Lynch, Theo Ratliff, Eric Snow and Aaron McKie all had the best season's of their careers. All of them would be role players on any other team. They acquired Kukoc at the end of the year and he gave them nothing. Iverson carries that entire team on his back. If he wasn't so controversial, he would be the "New Jordan" of the NBA.

As for playing with Shandon and Mobley, I would love to have that problem.

I am not demeaning Francis in any way. In the very near future he will be better than Iverson. But right now Iverson is better.

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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

 

Iverson may have been better last season, although I don't think he will be for very long. The bottom line is with Francis we went 34-48, and missed the playoffs. Even in his rookie year, Francis was a damn good player. I seriously doubt Iverson, who plays the same position as Shandon and Mobley, would have made at least an 11 game difference in the Rockets and put them in the playoffs, especially with his character that could be potentially disasterous to a young team.

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4th Friday of August= Rocket Day
1999-Steve Francis
2000-Maurice Taylor

 

I don't know where you are cat, but I am near Philly. I saw almost every Sixer game last year. Iverson is unbelievable. You are like most NBA fans who don't see him on a regular basis. You base your opinion on what is written in the papers.

When Iverson is on that court, he gives it his all. Never relaxes, never half asses it. The guy is a player. I hope Francis plays like that.

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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

 

The Sixers are probably the one team last year that was less talented than the Rox (Without HAkeem, and Barkley).

Lets talk numbers...He turns the ball over much less than Francis. Averages about 4 rebounds a game (astonishing considering his height) And also divied up 5 assists per game last year. How is that being more turnover prone than Francis, and his passing abilities are being way downplayed. Now he takes a ton of shots, but who else on that team is going to????

Iverson indeed carried that team to a decent record. What close to 50 wins. He had no body to pass to. His choices were Geiger the brick layer, Lynch the one man who has less offensive talent than Cato, Snow, who didnt hit a 3 pointer until like half way through the season, McKie who is a 12th man on any number of squads, and Theo Ratliff, a poor mans Mutumbo. Kukoc gave that team next to nothing.

There is NO questioning Iverson talent and abilities to carry that team. Consider only that he stands about 4-9 inches shorter than whos d-ing him up. That sixers squad is talentless. I have no question in my mind that if the Rox had Iverson last year, they would of made the playoffs.


Would I choose him though. Probably not. He isnt a team player and has no respect for his team mates or coaching staff.


Right Now, my choice would be Kobe. Based on the fact that he is the youngest of the rest. Yet still has much more experience than Francis, and Carter, and more playoff experience than Kidd. Not to mention his overall game, and defensive prowess is superior to all of them right now.

Then Carter.

Then Francis.

Then Kidd.

Then Iverson.

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"I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink

 

Bob, I have a couple of friends who are big time Sixers fans who really support the opinion that character-wise Iverson is a mess, and that his actions do warrant a trade. They like him as a player, but maintain his off the court actions are not good at all for the team. Perhaps they were wrong, but I'm doing more than reading the paper.

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4th Friday of August= Rocket Day
1999-Steve Francis
2000-Maurice Taylor

 

I also live close to Philly and have several Sixer fan friends, not to mention I run into them all the time.

I have never, ever heard one of them claim that Iverson should probably in retrospect be traded. They'll say all day long that he is a distraction, but every single one of them Knows that short of Shaq or Duncan (no slight to Garnett) no one else could lead that team of misfits to the second round of the playoffs.

So how many complete Iverson games have you watched Cat. Cause Bob has it right. On the court Iverson is a hard working mo-fo. His attitude does not carry over. Did anyone else realize that Iverson only averages 2 fouls per game? Amazing considering the amount of mismatching going on against him.

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"I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink

 

I would have to go with Kidd. A year ago I wouldn't have, but he has worked on his jumper making him very dangerous. The reason being, out of the choices, he gets everyone else involved more. He makes the people around him better. On any given night he is just a triple double waiting to happen! Although Steve and Vince make is an extremly have choice, I would have to have him lead my team.
IMO, the most dangerouse person on the court is someone who can score and get others involved. That is a dangerouse offense. Wilt Chamberlin showed us all that even if one person scores 100 points he needs the help of others to win the game.

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Can someone tell me why I'm suppose to be in love with Kobe?! Why? He just isn't all that. I don't understand why people think his game is all that. At this point in his career he is not as good as Francis. This is not a Rocket person just pulling for the home team. This is a fact. If Kobe were playing in Cleveland in would not be getting this kind of attention. At least not yet. He just hasn't put up the numbers to deserve the praise he's getting.

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PLease Cat , don't tell me Iverson is not better that Stevie on the basketball court. Sure Iverson has his downsides, like sometimes trying to do too much, but as of now he is a better player than francis. Take Iverson off the sixers and put Stevie on the sixers, would the sixers have a playoff team? I doubt it, maybe a 40 win team. Francis in the long run may be the better player, but as of right now, no doubt Iverson is better.
As for the question, I would take Vince. I think next year will be the year, Carter concentrates on d so he will be next to Iverson the most talented scorer in the league and a good defender. I just don't think Kobe would be as good as he is without Shaq. Shaq just does too many things for Kobe. As a defender Kobe doesn't have to worry about people driving on him, cause the BIG Aristotle is there to back him up. On the offensive side Kobe can go up in the air as often as he wants. If he gets in trouble, he can just scoop it under to Shaq, which he can't miss since Shaq has such a wide body. I just think that big time clutch scorers are hard to find in the NBA. If Iverson was bigger and stronger and wasn't as much of a problem, I would take him. If I could take anyone in the NBA I would take Garnett. He can do so many things, post up, rebound, block shots, hit outside jumpers, developed 3 point range, and can play above the rim. He is only 23 and he is already in the top 3 players of the league.

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"See they pick and pick and pick. Man they picked me to death."
-Steve Francis on the Utah Jazz