Jimcs50
01-20-2005, 09:22 AM
Jan. 19, 2005, 11:18PM
Francis slow to accept change, still bitter about leaving Rockets
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
ORLANDO, FLA. - "I didn't go to that damn Super Bowl."
So much for Steve Francis putting the past behind him.
Within the first five minutes of his saying he wasn't hurt by the Rockets' decision to trade him for Tracy McGrady, you get the feeling Francis is really trying to convince himself.
"The NBA is a business, and I understand that."
The expression on his face is blank.
"I thought it was going to be special to play there my whole career."
He wears a scowl.
"I've never been in a better basketball position or team situation."
He's smiling.
"I loved playing for Rudy Tomjanovich."
He's frowning.
It is a quite typical encounter with the artist formerly known as Stevie Franchise, the one who arrived in Houston as the next superstar who would take the torch from Hakeem Olajuwon but left five years later having never quite been able to rekindle the flame.
Here is Francis jawing at referee Olandis Poole after an obvious and unnecessary carry on a crossover dribble move results in a first-half turnover on Tuesday night. :rolleyes And there is Francis taking the ball straight to the basket against Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess of the defending champion Detroit Pistons for a critical fourth-quarter basket in a comeback win. :smokin
There is Francis causing a stir last year on Super Bowl Sunday by not travelling with his teammates to a game in Phoenix, and here is Francis in the role of leader of the new-look Magic's bid to become championship contenders.
The only thing that has changed is the uniform, which now says "Magic" across the front, as Francis has reached another crossroad in a career as frustrating as it is fabulous.
"I'm young and strong, and I can do the things this team needs me to do for a lot of years," Francis said one afternoon. :smokin
"Look at me, I'm old and getting beat up," he said the very next night. :rolleyes
He is 27 going on ... what exactly? Part point guard, part shooting guard, part Peter Pan, he can fly like something right out of a children's fantasy and, just the same, never grow up.
Here is Francis saying he is his own man in the dog-eat-dog world of professional sports, and there is Francis saying he'll no longer have a reason to get out of bed each day after the Magic traded his buddy Cuttino Mobley to the Kings on Jan. 10.
Magic general manager John Weisbrod said one of the reasons he broke up the Steve & Cuttino Show was to make Francis a better player by making him stand on his own.
Francis sniffs.
"My feelings haven't changed," he said. "I'm still wondering why Cuttino was traded. That's how I feel.:(
"Most people want to be comfortable where they work, right? So staying in a comfort zone is ideal for anybody, whatever you do for a living."
On Van Gundy
In one breath, Francis says he had no trouble trying to fit into coach Jeff Van Gundy's offense last season with the Rockets. Then in the next, he'll say how he feels so much better in Orlando because he doesn't have to play "robotic."
"Do you watch us play this season?" Francis asked. "Do you see how we get up and down the court, always running and pushing the ball?
"I can play my game here. I'm not constricted. I always said it's nothing against Jeff. That's just the way that his offense is. In practice, we barely scrimmaged up and down. We never ran."
Francis was a three-time All-Star with the Rockets but carried the image of potential unfulfilled. He often found the burden of expectations in Houston grating yet reacted angrily at news of the trade and had to be talked into reporting to Orlando by the Magic and his agent.
"It wasn't about being traded," Francis said. "I had just bought a $4 million house in Houston. I just loved that city so much.
"And ever since Hakeem left, I sold tickets to make the Toyota Center. Not trying to be conceited, but I sold the tickets that helped build that arena. Now I'm gone."
"Actually, the first time the trade really hit me was when I turned on the TV in the exhibition season and saw the Rockets and Sacramento in China," Francis said. "I said, 'Damn, you're supposed to be there.' I wanted to be there with Yao (Ming) in his country.
"I wouldn't say I feel betrayed. Just a casualty of the business decision by the owner of the Rockets and the coach and the organization. They traded the only guy to bring them championships for a couple of million dollars. Well, I didn't win bring any championships like Hakeem, didn't win a playoff series."
Which, of course, was part of the rub. The Rockets reached the playoffs only one time — last season — with Francis.
"One missed rebound by Yao at the end of Game 1, and I kicked the ball out of bounds at the end of Game 4," he said. "Those two plays, those two games. If they're different, we beat the Lakers, hands down." :depressed
Last week at Detroit, the ball came to him in a breakaway situation. Rather than go straight to the open basket, Francis tossed the ball ahead of him, caught it on a bounce and rammed it home as if part of a slam-dunk contest. :rolleyes Pistons coach Larry Brown was apoplectic. Few had ever seen such a maneuver in a game situation.
"Not many people in this league could even process it, let alone do it," said Magic coach Johnny Davis. "That's not to say I like it in that situation. It will come with time to Steve, when he learns that the easy way to do it is usually the best way to do it."
Among an elite group
He is currently one of only four players in the league — along with Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James — to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. :smokin They love Francis' flamboyance on the Magic. That is, when they aren't covering their eyes and cringing at his flamboyance. :rolleyes
"And I'm going to that Super Bowl this year, baby," Francis said. "Ain't nobody can stop me." :rolleyes
Some things change. Some get traded to Orlando.
Francis slow to accept change, still bitter about leaving Rockets
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
ORLANDO, FLA. - "I didn't go to that damn Super Bowl."
So much for Steve Francis putting the past behind him.
Within the first five minutes of his saying he wasn't hurt by the Rockets' decision to trade him for Tracy McGrady, you get the feeling Francis is really trying to convince himself.
"The NBA is a business, and I understand that."
The expression on his face is blank.
"I thought it was going to be special to play there my whole career."
He wears a scowl.
"I've never been in a better basketball position or team situation."
He's smiling.
"I loved playing for Rudy Tomjanovich."
He's frowning.
It is a quite typical encounter with the artist formerly known as Stevie Franchise, the one who arrived in Houston as the next superstar who would take the torch from Hakeem Olajuwon but left five years later having never quite been able to rekindle the flame.
Here is Francis jawing at referee Olandis Poole after an obvious and unnecessary carry on a crossover dribble move results in a first-half turnover on Tuesday night. :rolleyes And there is Francis taking the ball straight to the basket against Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess of the defending champion Detroit Pistons for a critical fourth-quarter basket in a comeback win. :smokin
There is Francis causing a stir last year on Super Bowl Sunday by not travelling with his teammates to a game in Phoenix, and here is Francis in the role of leader of the new-look Magic's bid to become championship contenders.
The only thing that has changed is the uniform, which now says "Magic" across the front, as Francis has reached another crossroad in a career as frustrating as it is fabulous.
"I'm young and strong, and I can do the things this team needs me to do for a lot of years," Francis said one afternoon. :smokin
"Look at me, I'm old and getting beat up," he said the very next night. :rolleyes
He is 27 going on ... what exactly? Part point guard, part shooting guard, part Peter Pan, he can fly like something right out of a children's fantasy and, just the same, never grow up.
Here is Francis saying he is his own man in the dog-eat-dog world of professional sports, and there is Francis saying he'll no longer have a reason to get out of bed each day after the Magic traded his buddy Cuttino Mobley to the Kings on Jan. 10.
Magic general manager John Weisbrod said one of the reasons he broke up the Steve & Cuttino Show was to make Francis a better player by making him stand on his own.
Francis sniffs.
"My feelings haven't changed," he said. "I'm still wondering why Cuttino was traded. That's how I feel.:(
"Most people want to be comfortable where they work, right? So staying in a comfort zone is ideal for anybody, whatever you do for a living."
On Van Gundy
In one breath, Francis says he had no trouble trying to fit into coach Jeff Van Gundy's offense last season with the Rockets. Then in the next, he'll say how he feels so much better in Orlando because he doesn't have to play "robotic."
"Do you watch us play this season?" Francis asked. "Do you see how we get up and down the court, always running and pushing the ball?
"I can play my game here. I'm not constricted. I always said it's nothing against Jeff. That's just the way that his offense is. In practice, we barely scrimmaged up and down. We never ran."
Francis was a three-time All-Star with the Rockets but carried the image of potential unfulfilled. He often found the burden of expectations in Houston grating yet reacted angrily at news of the trade and had to be talked into reporting to Orlando by the Magic and his agent.
"It wasn't about being traded," Francis said. "I had just bought a $4 million house in Houston. I just loved that city so much.
"And ever since Hakeem left, I sold tickets to make the Toyota Center. Not trying to be conceited, but I sold the tickets that helped build that arena. Now I'm gone."
"Actually, the first time the trade really hit me was when I turned on the TV in the exhibition season and saw the Rockets and Sacramento in China," Francis said. "I said, 'Damn, you're supposed to be there.' I wanted to be there with Yao (Ming) in his country.
"I wouldn't say I feel betrayed. Just a casualty of the business decision by the owner of the Rockets and the coach and the organization. They traded the only guy to bring them championships for a couple of million dollars. Well, I didn't win bring any championships like Hakeem, didn't win a playoff series."
Which, of course, was part of the rub. The Rockets reached the playoffs only one time — last season — with Francis.
"One missed rebound by Yao at the end of Game 1, and I kicked the ball out of bounds at the end of Game 4," he said. "Those two plays, those two games. If they're different, we beat the Lakers, hands down." :depressed
Last week at Detroit, the ball came to him in a breakaway situation. Rather than go straight to the open basket, Francis tossed the ball ahead of him, caught it on a bounce and rammed it home as if part of a slam-dunk contest. :rolleyes Pistons coach Larry Brown was apoplectic. Few had ever seen such a maneuver in a game situation.
"Not many people in this league could even process it, let alone do it," said Magic coach Johnny Davis. "That's not to say I like it in that situation. It will come with time to Steve, when he learns that the easy way to do it is usually the best way to do it."
Among an elite group
He is currently one of only four players in the league — along with Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James — to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. :smokin They love Francis' flamboyance on the Magic. That is, when they aren't covering their eyes and cringing at his flamboyance. :rolleyes
"And I'm going to that Super Bowl this year, baby," Francis said. "Ain't nobody can stop me." :rolleyes
Some things change. Some get traded to Orlando.