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Mobley jealous of Yao Ming? He knew something was up with those two.
You mean Mobley's bum must be bummed.
Mobley jealous of Yao Ming? He knew something was up with those two.
Houston needs a power forward still. Should be an interesting chemistry next year. Francis doesn't like passing to Yao though or to anyone for that matter except his buddy Mobley.
I expect them to FINALLY make it out the first round next year. But I don't worry about them on the same level as Dallas and Phx yet. I guess alot depends on too how good Scola turns out to be. On the Francis deal I think as long as Adelman can get through Francis' thick skull what his role is it shouldn't be a problem. I'm still shocked that he didn't go to LA to be with Mobley. Must have been about the Benji's.
WOW
WATCH OUT FOR HOUSTON,
FRANCIS wants to rebuild his image, he will shine .
McGRADY, FRANCIS, YAO and SCOLA
WOW
WOW
Watch Out.
ADELMAN is the coach, DONT FORGET. he is no slouch.
"I think he sees this as a rebirth, as a restart of his career," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said.
I think Houston just arrived.
NO ONE WILL WANT TO COME TO TEXAS, Dallas, S.A. , Houston, is the worst 3 days of any team's life.
WOW
This is big guys, dont downplay this as if they will only get out of the 1st round and stuff.
These are big moves that have changed the dynamics of the west yet again.
I'm guessing the Rockets hope Scola is ready right away. If not, they still have Chuck Hayes (reportedly he'll be re-signed) to start until Scola is ready, and Carl Landry might surprise as well. They definitely need better production and more athleticism from the power forward spot, but at least they have options in Scola, Landry, and perhaps even Jackie Butler to go along with Hayes.
As for Francis passing or not passing to Yao, I'm sure his experiences in Orlando and New York has humbled him somewhat. Choosing to go back to Houston over the Clippers or Miami probably demonstrates that he wants the challenge of playing with Yao Ming and T-Mac to help put them closer to le contention. I think the easy thing to do would have been join Miami or to the Clippers to be with his best buddy Cat. After playing with Marbury and seeing how talent alone can't help a team win, we might expect him to be determined to be a better, more unselfish player to help the Rockets win.
I guess we'll have to wait and see though.
If Franchise gets enough minutes, Rox will struggle to get above 5th seed.
New coach of long career but not top rank, lots of new players, Yao and Tracy fragile, Franchise a perennial loser, Scola an unproven rookie, Rockets gonna have a tough year.
Franics will not be selfish. he wants to win now and leave a champion.
Steve Francis >> Mike James >> Rafer Alston >> Aaron Brooks
Tracy McGrady >> Bonzi Wells >> Luther Head
Shane Battier >> Kirk Snyder >> Steve Novak >> Justin Reed
Luis Scola >> Chuck Hayes >> Carl Landry
Yao Ming >> Dikembe Mutombo >> Jackie Butler
That looks like a solid team on paper, even for the Western Conference. They also still have trading pieces like Alston, Luther Head, and Bobby Sura's expiring contract with a million dollar buyout. They might not be done. I think they'll be an interesting team to watch all year round. Can they stay healthy for the most part? That might be one of the bigger questions that could determine the success of that team.
That's an extremely negative way of looking at it.
If they do stay healthy, they have a lot of talent and could be a real contender in the West. If Francis adjusts his game to be more of a scoring role player than a number 1 or number 2 option, that Rockets team could be one of the best teams in the entire league.
The Rockets always look good on paper, its their health that is the issue. Francis becomes the starting PG ... T-Mac needs the ball, Bonzi needs the ball, Yao needs the ball, Scola needs the ball. Battier will be aboutt he only "team player" on the squad.
All these players will be counting on Steve to pass them the ball ... Health will not be the only problem with the Rockets this year.
He said Scola was a nice addition, and then went on to say they still need a 4 who can rebound and play good d
Good interview
Last edited by mardigan; 07-19-2007 at 05:51 PM.
Lost in this conversation is that Houston with Yao down 30 games last year and TMac out a bit, with JVG's boring ball, the Rox still won 52 games and took the Jazz to Seven (eventual WC Finalist). All the Rox have done is delete Juwon Howard...no big deal, added Bonzi Wells (according to reports is in much better shape this year), added Mike James who is a definate upgrade to Rafer Alston, added Steve Francis, who is a definate upgrade to Rafer Alston. Then got Louis Scola and Jackie Butler. And hand picked an offensive minded coach. I dont know, seems like a pretty good offseason of additions to me. I still think we need a veteran PF with size and muscle, but that may still come with Sura's expiring contract, Luther Head, Rafer Alston all that can be dangled, especially with teams just Dying for PG help like Miami.
It was because of the "slow it down" pace that the Rockets played last year that made up for the loss of the star players. Without Yao or TMac the Rockets could still score 80 points, With the style of play they could hold their opponent to under 80.Lost in this conversation is that Houston with Yao down 30 games last year and TMac out a bit, with JVG's boring ball, the Rox still won 52 games
With the loosening of the offense comes more posessions with means that scores will go up .... Will the Rockets still be able to keep up with the higher scoring pace with the same injuries?
A team adds James and Francis ... Both play PG-SG, they already have Head, Alson, Bonzi and T-mac all of which also play PG-SG ... The names look good, but how will the playing time play out? Unless the Rockets plan on going the Warrior route with playing all guards and forwards, some of these guys will not see the floor ... If Francis, Bonzi, T-Mac or James don't see the floor very much just how happy do you expect the locker room to be?
They do need to trade some smalls for a big, but will he be a starting PF in the league? For Head and Alston and a contract? ... Thats not a whole lot to be getting for a PF that can make an impact.
PF will be the problem with the Rockets (If Scola doesn't learn the bigboy game quickly)
you do know rockets were like 0-7 with tmac/yao both out of the lineup.
and while yao was out JVG actually picked the tempo up and pushed the ball.
It's pretty obvious that Luther Head and Rafer Alston are out, whether by trade or by being at the end of the bench.
Bonzi or T-Mac can spend time at the small forward spot, which will open up minutes at the guard spots. I don't see a playing time issue with anyone but Mike James. And, he's going to have to deal with it like any other quality back-up point guard in the league.
could Battier be traded next? along with rafer/head. would have to get a solid PF in return. move T-mac to the 3.
i dont think it would be a good move considering battier is the ultimate glue guy but it would an interesting thought to toy around with.
LOL, thats funny
There has been a rumor that they want haslem
If health sustains, yes you are correct. I love that he had to leave to bring in mac and now we get him back.....lovely, just lovely. Is it October yet......or better yet....November?
Depth is a son of a , isn't it? Adelman will take care of that.
Relax, steve has been humbled thru his tour thru the association. He has matured and wants to clean his image and win a championship. Pl do not judge him strictly based on his previous play in Houston. Perhaps you must wait and see if this works before you are on board....but be open minded.
Last edited by Roxsfan; 07-19-2007 at 09:46 PM.
"I can't put it into words. Playing with a guy, living with a guy, just knowing that every day when I wake up that's something I can count on, that I'm going to be in practice or in a game with Cuttino. Him not being here is going to be tough for me. I don't know what I'm going to wake up for."
-- Steve Francis on the Cuttino Mobley trade
What a .
http://clutchfans.com/news/1430/seco...cis_to_return/
Since Wednesday morning, rumors have been swirling from the Toyota Center that Steve Francis was set to be a Rocket once again.
Not that the Rockets were in the running, nor that they were the frontrunners to land the free agent ... but that it was done -- Francis was returning to Houston.
Why was the buzz so strong?
Word was the Rockets had ordered Francis' new Rockets jersey made for a signing press conference, and sources told ClutchFans that his new jersey was already hanging in his locker. Several scoops appeared on the BBS thoughout the day, but no one with the Rockets would touch the report, on or off the record, that a Francis signing was imminent.
But on Thursday, Francis' agent Jeff Fried broke the silence and the word was out: The Franchise is coming home.
It's a truly stunning move for the Rockets in yet another "something-for-nothing" move by Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who is looking more and more like he's upgrading the roster on a video game. The new executive used the Morey edition of NBA 2K8 to bring home the one star player who bridged the gap in Houston pro hoops between the eras of Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming.
The Rockets acquired Francis as a rookie in a 3-team, 11-player blockbuster deal back in 1999 after Steve, drafted #2 overall by Vancouver, had problems with the Grizzlies (primarily that they were located north of the border).
Francis promptly won co-Rookie of the Year his first season and averaged over 19 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds in five years in Houston.
To Weisbrod (verb)
Signing Steve Francis turns the word "Weisbrod" into a formal name (e.g. Allan Houston Rule), meaning "a transaction so ridiculous that ALL the principal players in the trade eventually end up playing on the same team."
Ex. "I think this offer from the Celtics is pretty much a Weisbrod." or "We trade Padgett for Garnett, and Weisbrod him back in two or three years."
-- CBrownFanClub of the Clutch BBS
In the summer of 2004 the Rockets traded Francis to Orlando, along with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines. Francis had a strong first season with the Magic (21.3 points, 7 assists) before tailing off in his second year and being sent to New York in a trade.
Francis was brought in to a mess of a situation with the Knicks and never found his niche, playing behind or alongside a similar guard in Stephon Marbury. Steve averaged career-lows last season in New York, averaging 11.3 points on 40.8% shooting in just 28.3 minutes a night, though his three-point shooting (37.8%) and free throws (82.9%) were improved.
From a marketing standpoint, adding Francis is a coup for Rockets owner Les Alexander as he gets a big name star with Houston roots and history to join forces with Tracy and Yao.
Yao. T-Mac. Francis. Wow.
From a basketball standpoint? That's tough to say right now. Francis, at 30 years old, has shown signs of decline. He also has never been much of a sure-handed point. The Rockets are also loaded with "small guards" who expect playing time. Clearly a player or players are going to be moved very soon, and all signs point to Rafer Alston and/or Luther Head right now.
The big question now is how will Francis and James do manning the point?
But at this cost? It's a ridiculous no-brainer. And right now the Rockets are deep -- very, very deep. I'm not sure if they are elite in the West, but their bench is probably a contender in the East.
Last year the Rockets didn't have anyone they could use to create their own shot outside of their top two players. This season? The Rockets are loaded with talent, reminiscient of the late 90's Trailblazers or 2003-04 Mavericks. They can throw out Francis, James, Bonzi Wells and possibly Aaron Brooks as instant offense.... not to mention Luis Scola is a very skilled offensive player.
This is all on top of a core of Yao, T-Mac and Shane Battier.
It's basketball, so the question has to be posed if one basketball will be enough to please all these players (see: egos), but that's a problem I'd rather face than ask who could we possibly turn to when the defense is taking away our primary options.
Right now, there have to be some concerned fans of Western Conference teams, because it's been one of a summer for the Rockets.
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