I guess that the we all love Stevie too much to ever think about getting him traded. He was our ray of light the last few years when the team was bad. At least for me he was the reason to be still proud about the rox even when they played bad and had a bad record. All my buddies joked about the roxs and I just laughed inside because I saw what we have in SF. Sure there is all this stuff about low b-ball IQ and so on. I just will not believe that the whole coach-staff does not see this and we all do? Are we right or do we just not see what they are seeing? I guess they have a bigger picture and do this job 24/7 and we work maybe the whole day and then talk about something we spent time on thinking surely less then they do. If we are all so great GM's and coaches and decision makers we would not be sitting in front of a computer. Sure I know thats the fun of a place like this but hey, for me this is the best season of the rox so far the last couple of years and I dont think the team will get worse. I really believe about the playoffs this year (2nd round would be great) and about big things to come. The future looks bright ahead.
I think Steve is a leader. I'm not saying he's all the way where we want our leader to be, but his career is young, and compared with other 'leaders' like Payton, at this point in their career Steve is right there. Steve has hit too clutch shots late in games to give us a chance in over time. He's modified his game to help out his teammates more, he's taken care of his health problems, he's improved his defense, he's gone above and beyond the call of duty to welcome and help our #1 pick feel at home. He works hard, he plays with heart. With Hawkins out, Steve is really the one player I see diving out of bounds for loose balls and putting it all on the line. He leads by example. Steve does make mistakes, and boneheaded plays from time to time. He's still learning. He came into the league not having been a PG before. He's learning to be leader, an NBA player, and a PG all at the same time. He's a terrific talent, and I hope people appreciate him. This team without him is way below .500, and not contender any time soon. With him we are a legitimate playoff team, and the sky's the limit for the future. I don't mind people pointing out his mistakes, because he does make them. I just hope they also appreciate the huge strides he's made in his game. I also don't think there is any doubt that he has the drive, determination, and talent to keep improvement. I think Steve's positives as PG, leader, player etc. far outweigh his negatives. I hope all those that post negative things about Steve are able to look at the big picture and see the good things too.
I have watched every single Rox game this year. Like most people, I wasn't able to watch most of Yao's CBA games, what I know about him and his skills is based purely on what I've seen this season. From what I've seen, Francis is the better player at this point in their respective careers, Yao has a lot of upside, but he isn't there yet. I htink most people on this BBS will agree that Franchise is the better player, for now.
