Stop the Madness

amen

 

i agree to some degree.

 

I think there's a little difference there. How many times has Bagwell and Biggio led the Astros to the playoffs and how long have each of them been with the team? How many championships has Hakeem won and how long was he with the organization? My point is, I doubt any of those three players would have any say in what management does after finishing their third unsuccesful season with the team. It takes years of dedication to an organization with succesful results before a player should really have serious say in management decisions, and even then it should be very limited.

I think that's the reason a lot of people would be a little uneasy (some would be absolutely furious) with Steve having any say in roster moves, etc. Sure, he's our best player, but he's only been in the league three years and he really hasn't led us to any success yet. I for one would have been pissed if the Rockets traded Ming for Odom, like I'm sure Steve would have prefered.

Bottom line, Steve hasn't earned the right to have any say in management's decisions yet. Just simply "being good" doesn't give him that right. I truly don't think its that big of a deal yet, but from the quotes I've read it doesn't seem like Steve is extremely happy right now. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse that, because the minute I hear anything about an ultimatum I'll be off the Franics-Support ship very fast. But, I don't think it will ever come to that. I just hope Steve's latest comments don't turn into some three-month long negotiations. Hopefully he'll sign an extension very quickly, so the steve-haters can put a sock in it.

 

I am relatively new in this forum. But I think there are only very few Francis hates here. (Some of those are probably trolls anyway.) The vast majority would agree that Francis is a special talent and he wants and works hard to win for Houston.

That said. I guess a lot of people also think that Steve is young and immature. That might have some truth to it.

Apart from the Ming thing (I like the rhyme ), which I think is overblown, there are a few examples:

He dragged his feet to deal with his headache at Mayo Clinic and played hurt for a team that had no chance to make the playoffs. Some say it's toughness and competitiveness. I say it's brashness and stupidity. He once ignored the coach's order to call a timeout and made a winning 3 at the buzzer. Some say it's brilliance and heroic. I say it's impulsiveness and insubordinate.

All these doesn't mean that he is a bad player or a selfish person. It just means that he probably has some growing up to do, and I think he will.

Francis should look up to Rudy as his role model as how to be a classy leader. Rudy was the team captain before he got hit by the punch. He was an excellent shooter but never complained Calvin Murphy taking all the shots.

As a coach, he is always respectful to his players. He never bad-mouths them even when they suck big time. He never uses those mind games (like Phil Jackson ) to manipulate players or high-handed rule (like Riley ) to force them to perform. I hope Francis will grow up like Rudy.

 

dont forget how long it took gary payton to become not only a leader, but a positive force on the team...