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In Houston, Steve Francis will be calling the show, and putting on one as well
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How many times in the past 3 seasons have you found yourself frustrated and wondering, "If only the Rockets had a point guard who could do something... "
Wonder no more.
In a huge 3-team 11-player mega-deal which was no secret to the ClutchCity.net regulars, the Rockets acquired the 6'3" rookie point guard out of Maryland Steve Francis, 6'9" 250 pound PF Tony Massenburg from Vancouver and 6'10" scoring forward Don MacLean and a first round pick from the Orlando Magic for Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Brent Price, Antoine Carr, a Rockets' first round pick up to 2002 and cash considerations.
Heading to Orlando are rebounding specialist Michael Smith, ex-Rocket guard/SF Rodrick Rhodes, little-used point guard Lee Mayberry and the salary cap throw-in 6'10" PF Makhtar Ndiaye.
The trade, which is officially the largest in NBA history, was officially announced by both clubs later on Friday. They awaited word from the NBA after Orlando got in on the deal, and were cleared (miraculously David Stern couldn't figure out a way to get Francis to LA, New York or Chicago).
But make no mistake about it: this deal was about Steve Francis, Othella Harrington and Michael Dickerson.
Is Francis the 'Real Deal'?
Obviously the Rockets are banking on just that and most analysts agree that Francis' future is very, very bright. There is a reason the guard has been compared to Sixers star Allen Iverson.
The 6'3" guard has a killer crossover dribble that has brought out oohs and ahhs from crowds all over. Coaches and scouts from around the league are amazed by Francis's explosive quickness and his creativity in the open court. Said his Maryland coach Gary Williams, "When it's not a five-on-five situation, he's very, very difficult to defend."
He averaged 17 points and a league-leading 2.9 steals per game last season in Maryland. He connected on 39 percent of his 3-pointers last season and 52 percent of his field goals. In his final home game he scored 32 points on 11-15 from the floor, including four of five 3-pointers, grabbed 8 boards, picked 6 steals and had several big-time, fast-break jams. He's a point guard who can penetrate and elevate, who can take defenders off the dribble, who plays defense with intensity and who can shoot well enough to be a viable off-guard. He's Jason Williams with mad hops.
He's everything Rocket fans have ever dreamed of at the PG position. The goal was to get younger and more athletic. The 21-year old Francis has athleticism to burn.
Weaknesses? There are some. Asked the Sporting News' Mark Pesavento, "There are a lot of questions about Francis' difficult past, and what kind of effect it might have on his future. For example, because he can't seem to stay in the same place for more than one season, does that mean he can't handle stability? Can he not handle structure? Or was he simply scrambling after his mother died to find the best situation he could to improve his life? And if he can't handle structure, is he capable of leading a team as a point guard? He was rarely the primary ballhandler at Maryland, where he was used as more of a two-guard. He also disappeared for long stretches of important games last year (see: Duke contests), leaving scouts to wonder if Francis was a winner, or if he was content as long as he made the highlight reel."
Obviously before the draft TSN had to find weaknesses for every player, but for a player of Francis' caliber, there are really only 2 questions about his game:
- Can he make the players around him better like a true point guard?
- Can he hit the perimeter jumper with consistency?
If the answer is yes to both of those questions, the Rockets have themselves a bonafide future All-Star.
Cost wasn't cheap
Possibly in a few years we won't be worrying about what we gave up to get Francis, but right now the cost is evident. The Rockets lose depth in the deal and 2 very good young players in Dickerson and Harrington. Both played key roles on the Rockets last season and both looked destined to be the Rockets' starting shooting guard and power forward respectively for years to come. You hate to lose either one, and you especially feel for Othella who signed a long term (7 year) below market value contract to stay in Houston.
The Rockets gave up two key pieces in their future plans in Michael Dickerson (left) and Othella Harrington (right) in order to obtain the highly-touted Francis
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Harrington was a fan favorite who improved in each of his three seasons in Houston. Last season Harrington filled in beautifully when Charles Barkley went down to injury and hit 51.3% of his shots for the season, averaging 10 points and 6 boards in just over 22 minutes per contest. His spark and hustle will be sorely missed, and we hear that it was the toughest part of Rudy T making this trade. He simply loves everything about Othella.
Dickerson as well was tough to part with. Our dream backcourt would have been a Francis-Dickerson pairing, but you have to give quality to get quality and with the improving play of Cuttino Mobley, the Rockets sacrificed Dickerson in order to get Francis. The Arizona product was a "must" in this deal from a Vancouver standpoint. Grizzlie point guard Mike Bibby is a good friend and ex-teammate of Dickerson's at Arizona and the Grizz are excited about reuniting the two in Canada.
The trade sees the end of Brent Price's injury-riddled Rocket days. Price had a very good season last year as we started to see on a more consistent basis what the Rockets had originally paid him for. With the need for second-year point guard and sharpshooter Bryce Drew to see more playing time, Price and/or Matt Maloney became expendable.
Antoine Carr, we hardly knew ye, and I guess we can go back to hating you. Good luck to you "Big Dawg" and may all the Canadian mailpeople feel your bite.
Both Dickerson and Harrington, as well as Price and Carr, were class acts who loved the city of Houston and its fans and represented them well.
And Francis?
Francis on the other hand you worry about.
Though his reputation was solid coming in to the draft, he basically treated Vancouver, a franchise I've always liked, with little to no respect. It started as an obviouly poor reaction to being drafted by the Grizzlies and ended up with him pulling a "Scottie Pippen" and demanding a trade out of Canada. In doing so, he significantly damaged his reputation.
However, those who know Francis tell a different story.
Maryland team managers Chris Underwood and Steve Wheeler agreed that Francis showed little ego during the season and
treated everyone with courtesy and respect. "He was one of the most humble persons I've ever dealt with," Underwood said. "He definitely did not have an ego for his talent level."
Perhaps humble off the court, on it Francis may be another story. He received a lot of criticism from an Atlanta-Journal Constitution writer after Francis "shouted, pointed and directed goo-goo eyes" at Georgia Tech's Dion Glover on the bench after Francis hammered home two thunder dunks and a 3-point bomb that put the Terps up 19 points. Said the writer, "despite turning 21 (last week), Francis acts on the court as if he is maybe 11."
Francis' Rocket motto: "Stay humble, then dunk on their ass"
Rockets add 5 others
Oh damn, I forgot about the other guys in the deal. I thought they were just there to carry Francis' bags.
Actually, the other players the Rockets received in the deal ended up being very important, as they were used to acquire MacLean and the first rounder from the Magic. MacLean has 2 years left on a 5 year, $15 million contract.
First though, Tony Massenburg, who came from Vancouver, should prove to be one of the more solid contributors, backing up Barkley and Hakeem. Since 1990 he has been all over the place. He started out in Sacramento and from 91-97 he went to Boston, Charlotte, Golden State, the Clippers, Philadelphia, Toronto, New Jersey and ultimately the Grizz. Whew! Last season he averaged 11.2 points, 6 rebounds and just under a block in a shade over 26 minutes per contest. At 6'9" and 250 pounds, Massenburg can provide the size that Antoine Carr took to Vancouver.
Don MacLean is a scorer, plain and simple. The 6'10" forward has bounced around the league as well, starting out in Washington in 1992-93, then heading to Denver, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Seattle -- each for one season. He was sent to Orlando in the Corey Maggette-Horace Grant deal, and now has subsequently been traded to Houston.
For his career he has averaged over 11 and a half points per game in just under 22 minutes of action per. He can score, but he's not a deadeye three-point shooter as some might suspect. MacLean has avergaed 27.5% from long-range over his career.
Rocket Possibilities
What a strange mix. With Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Bryce Drew, the Rockets' future backcout looks very, very promising. "Who starts?" seems to be the big question. Is Francis a real 1 or is he more comfortable as the 2-guard, ala Iverson and Eric Snow in Philly? If that's the case, Drew could take the helm at the point with Francis running a lot of the playmaking and creating duties as well at the 2, leaving Cuttino as the spark off the bench. Best bet though is Cuttino and Francis get the starting nods.
Watch how Francis will either validate Scottie Pippen's argument or Rudy T's. If Francis can get to the hole easily playing for the Rockets, Pippen's incessant whining about the system holding him down is garbage.
If Francis is used as nothing more than a caddy for lob passes to Barkley and Dream, say bye-bye to Mr. Rudy T.
The backcourt future looks great; however, the frontcourt of Barkley, Pippen and Hakeem Olajuwon is ready to win right now and there is no tomorrow. Can Francis slip in there to form the "Big Four" and push the Rockets amongst the NBA's elite? That remains to be seen.
Questions facing the Rockets:
- Are the Rockets done wheeling and dealing? We didn't think they were, and we still don't think they are done. They had Pippen, Barkley, Dream, Francis, Cuttino, Drew, Maloney, Rhodes, Michael Smith, Ndiaye, Massenburg, Mayberry, Matt Bullard, Kenny Thomas and Venson Hamilton. That was 15 players. They moved Smith, Rhodes, Ndiaye and Mayberry to acquire MacLean. There is also the outside shot Tyrone Washington makes the squad, plus free agents Stanley Roberts and Pig Miller (though doubtful either one is re-signed). Then there's also...
- Sam Mack - is he in the Rockets' plans? They haven't been bending over backwards to meet his agent's demands, that's for sure. However Mack had a solid year last year and was our most formidable three-point threat. If he's re-signed it adds another player to the roster. According to the Chronicle, Mack could pick a team as soon as Monday.
- Do the Rockets have a realistic shot at Shandon Anderson? Another doubtful. Shandon is all about the money, using the threat of signing with "other Midwest Division teams" as a scare tactic against the Jazz, and we've never felt he'd go anywhere but Utah. If he proves us wrong, we'd love for him to prove us wrong by signing here. Potentially he could sign a one-year deal hoping that the year 2000 free agents the Rockets picked up in this trade will create cap room for him to sign for more next year, but don't hold your breath.
- Can Kenny Thomas fill Othella's role? We'd be happy if Kenny Thomas would just play a game. He sat out the entire Rocky Mountain Revue, which didn't leave the best impression. The hope is that he can earn some PT and prove to be a solid find with the late first round pick.
Overall
Be proud of the Rockets. When they make a move, they make a bold move.
Acquiring Francis was a step, a huge step in the right direction. The Rockets haven't had this exciting of a player since they drafted Olajuwon, and ironically they haven't had that high of a draft pick (#2) since Hakeem (#1) either. He can help the Rocks win now, and represents the franchise's future as well.
The media ignored the Rockets' young players and their progress last season, continuing to label the Rockets as "old" and "washed up". They can't ignore Francis, whose acquisition sends a clear message that the Rockets' future is alive.
Alive and well.
Houston Chronicle
Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Province
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