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
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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 hell of a summer for the Rockets.
