Well, you can't just youtube your way to Steve Francis votes... Here's a Mike James youtube: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FIXwkkZyi9k"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FIXwkkZyi9k" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Anyone want to change their vote now?
That video is so awesome cause it shows Stevie growing up, playing in college, making mistakes along the way, getting into fights, Jeff Van Gundy yelling at him, to the T-Mac trade sending Francis to Orlando. It shows his strengths and his weaknesses. He's been 8 years in the league now. If we get him, we will get an older and wiser Steve Francis who's learned a lot since that rookie year when he dissed Vancouver. He was criticized for over dribbling and was called a ball hog. But at the same time, Francis uses the dribble to create spacing to get his shot off and that's just his game. I think his stints with Houston, Orlando and New York can only have made him into a better player. He was labeled selfish and as a cancer to his team. He needs a fresh start. When he was at Orlando, he was the starting point guard ahead of Jameer Nelson. He was fine with coach Davis but when Brian Hill took over, they clashed and Jameer was elevated to starting point guard. Well maybe Stevie was wrong how he handled it but Brian Hill has been fired so maybe Stevie was right about the Brian Hill and the Orlando offense. In New York, Francis has done just about everything Isiah Thomas has asked of him. He was called to start, he started. When he was called on to come off the bench. He did it all without saying anything. The only time he said something is when he said that Isaiah was trying to pin the tail on the Donkey when he was blamed for a loss. He has a knee tendonitis which has sidelined him. Is that an issue? Obviously yes. However, Dwayne Wade has the same type of tendonitis and has undergone surgery in the offseason to fix it. Would you guys pass up on a Dwayne Wade with tendonities? If you wouldn't then why would you pass up on a Steve Francis with tendonities. Particularly if his doctors have told him that rest would heal it and that he didn't need surgery? If it got really severe, then surgery would fix it just like it will for Dwayne Wade.
Mike James: Advertised as a "Sam Cassel-lite" for this new-look Timberwolves team, James has really been closer to "Will Avery-lite": Averaging 10.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game this season--all below his career averages--James has not only disappointed the fans and his teammates, but also himself.
i'm a big mike james fan but i'm kind of leaning toward the potential reward of what steve francis can do.
Either one would be a big improvement for us so I wouldn't complain about either move. However, that Mike James video also points out his faults. He's cocky and looks out for himself. You probably won't see him getting rough with Amare when Yao gets knocked down. Right now, I think Mike James is a better PG than Francis. He distributes better and has a more professional attitude towards the game. However, in being more professional, he's also looking out for himself. He will treat it like a business and ask for more money, whereas I think Francis is more than willing to take a smaller salary to play in Houston. One thing I'm betting on with Francis is that he will put his heart into playing for Houston as long as the fans welcome him back. I would be happy with either one, but in the long run, I think Francis is better since we already have a decent PG in Alston.
I don't know why people are talking about him losing his athleticism. I haven't watched his games with the Knicks, but from the stats, he averaged 15-18 points per night for about 3-4 stretches during the season when he actually got minutes. This was before and after the knee injury that had him on the sidelines throughout January. Simply put, I don't know whether he's losing athleticism, but he certainly can still put up the points when given the minutes. In all but one game this season where he had more than 35 minutes, his FG% was pretty damn good.
Steve Francis by a mile. He will be more mature and determined to fit into Coach 'A' and his plan of action. Coach 'A' will know how to use Steve Francis.
No, I was only saying that about Franchise out of nostalgia. I still stick with my Mike James vote. It gets rid of Juwan AND allows us to get a better playmaker. But I still would welcome Franchise with open arms; we could still possibly sign him too. But Franchise is entirely dependent on a Knicks buyout that may not happen. Mike James is actively being shopped.
Steve Francis loves Yao. Steve Francis loves Houston. Mike James loves himself. I loved Stevie when he was with us. I loved when he drove the lane with no fear. I loved when he stood up for his teammates. The guy has got a big heart and will show up every night. Steve drives the lane...dishes to Yao for the bucket. Steve crosses over his defender and takes it to the hole for a bucket. Steve finds Tracy on a backdoor cut. Ah...just dreaming.
Thats a great Francis vid. I voted James but after seeing that outburst vid I dunno. Probably just angry and frustrated.
Francis used to dribble till there was enough seconds on the clock to do he's circus shot of an ISO play. he never tried to get yao involved enough.
I think a lot of those flaws were Rudy's fault. He basically let Stevie and Cat do what they wanted for 3yrs then by the time we drafted Yao they had so many bad habits it wasn't going to go away in just one year. If Stevie is healthy I would like to have him coming off the bench in a role like Cassell played on the championship teams if he is not healthy we shouldnt even waste our time.
talented players who do a great job of making themselves look good and not their teams.......new blood please....but if I had to SF.....Mike james is a more blatant egomaniac IMO, who probably is happy just getting paid.
Sorry to say, but I will say it was a bad move. The folks that were traded away were not the best but they have never been replaced because of the cap burden we inherited. The players we got haven't really helped get any further along. So, I would have to say that at best it was a push and that makes it a bad deal since we had better cap flexibility with the personnel before MacGrady and Howard came to us. BTW, I am not sure it was JVG's trade idea.
None of those players have done much of anything.....SF is no longer an all star...Mobely has taken a bigger back seat....cato turned back into cato....as Mcgrady has remained an allstar and has a winning team....ONLY ONE TEAM WINS IT ALL....and it hasn't been any of their teams either.....EVERY GM in the league would have you piss tested RIGHT NOW!
That's more an onus on the incompetence of the organization. I've become convinced that Dawson & Les made this deal without any plan for replacing the loss of their starting PG, SG & PF. They just winged it saying "We get TMAC!". Of course, their solution to this problem was to fire the head coach. When you talk about the needs of this team, it's always those 3 positions that get prominent mention over and over and over. This whole idea of people wanting Stevie Franchise back is both funny and sad and almost pathetic. People here celebrated and cheered when he was traded to Orlando, now the same folks who called him brainless and dumb want to welcome him back with open arms. Just goes to show how bad things have become in Houston.
You guys are something else. Those of ya'll that think Mike James is more talented than Steve Francis. Come on, Steve Francis single handedly injected life back into this team after the Hakeem years. Steve Francis came in and poured his heart into this team. Continuously getting 18pts. 6 reb and 6 assits. His turnovers were a bit high, but he won more games for this team than he lost. His supporting cast included Rice, Walt Williams, Langhi, Cato, Thomas, Taylor, Norris, Griffin, Nachbar, Terrence Morris, etc. The only solid player playing next to him was Mobley! And even the years the Rockets were not in the playoffs, they were sure as heck making it so fricken interesting. Going one season with a 45 or so wins and missing the playoffs {I think that was the most wins by a team not to make the playoff in NBA history}. There were years of horrible player personel movement either in the draft, free agency, or via trades. The only 2 solid moves made by the Rockets while Steve was a Rocket were Drafting Yao and sadly for him, trading for McGrady . There was incompetence all over. Francis is one of my favorite Rockets of all times. His heart and passion for the team was so illustrated as he wore that Rockets Jersey. His Heart truly broken when he was traded was so vivid. If Francis can come back to play for the Rockets, it would be an iconic day for Rockets Baskeball. His intangibles are imeasurable hustle, rebounds, points, assists, and attitude!!!! And I think that he could easily start at shooting guard. Alston; V-Span Francis; Snyder McGrady; Wells/Novak Battier; Howard/Hayes Yao; Mutumbo I know that Battier is a SF, but he is taller than Hayes and plays as tough as Howard on defense. Rebouding wise, you have Francis and McGrady who are perhaps 2 of the better perimiter rebounding players of the last decade. So that offsets the below average rebouding of battier at PF.
The question is not who was better several years ago but who is better now. There are many indications that Stevie just does not have it any more. The last couple of seasons have not been kind to him...last year in perticular. He had several DNP's during the year and not all of them were due to medical reasons. To think that the Knicks think more of Jamal Crawford tells me a lot about how far Steve has fallen.
Please do not tell me that you hold what Isiah Thomas thinks in high regard. He has self handidly destroyed the Knicks............I say Stevie should be given another shot If he has 1/2 of what he used to be it would be an inprovement on what we already have!
