You probably already heard the news about Steve Francis turning down more lucrative opportunities from the LA Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat to come back to Houston. It’s reported that Yao and Tracy McGrady recruited Steve to come back, and I guess it made a difference.

Still, I’m shocked he didn’t go to the Clippers to be with good friend Cuttino Mobley and business partner Sam Cassell for more money. Considering Cassell is old and Shaun Livingston blew out both knees last season, LA needs more guard help than the Rockets.

I’m not as excited about this move for the Rockets as the Mike James, Luis Scola and Bonzi Wells deals this off-season. I have a feeling that Francis hasn’t matured enough and will expect to plop himself back into the starting lineup like a few years ago before he was traded. Francis has that kind of ego, and perhaps his motivation to come back to Houston for less money is to prove the world wrong after the Magic, Knicks and Trailblazers gave up on him.

This is a dangerous and combustible addition, especially since I expect Mike James to start at point guard. Francis may think otherwise (that’s one of the Houston Chronicle writers wrote).

It would be one thing if Francis was on the tail-end of his career, was trying to win a ring, and was willing to play limited minutes a la Michael Finley with the Spurs. But Francis just turned 30 years old, and is probably a few more years away from taking the Finley route. Something tells me he still wants to be The Man.

The problem is that there just isn’t that many balls to go around: give or take a few, the order of priority for the Houston offense is 1) Yao 1a) McGrady 3) Mike James 4) Luis Scola 5) Bonzi Wells.

And don’t forget about guys like Luther Head, Shane Battier, and Rafer Alston. I just don’t think Francis can handle shooting the ball just a few times each game. If he does more than that, then I’m very worried he’ll take higher percentage shots from the aforementioned in favor of those awful shots we saw him jack up when he was a Rocket.

In addition, there are so many great stories to watch this coming season for the Rockets that everyone will be fixated on, like…

– Can McGrady get his team over the hump and win a playoff series?
– How much of an impact will Scola make on the team?
– Can Mike James bring back the scoring punch and effectiveness the Rockets missed after they stupidly traded him for Rafer Alston a couple of seasons ago?
– How will Alston take the demotion to backup…that is, if he stays around?
– Can Bonzi make a comeback after being in JVG’s doghouse last season?
– How will Rick Adelman‘s coaching philosophy change the Rockets, and how will he blend all the new pieces together?

When in Houston, Francis became accustomed to being the big story along with Yao. Now he’s going to be taking a back seat to more talented players like Yao, McGrady, Scola, Battier, and James? I don’t think so. I just don’t think he will be able to handle being a bit role player compared to these other guys, and he could become a 2007 Spanoulis-esque and Bonzi-esque distraction.

The only way it can work out is if Francis has changed his ways and is willing to do exactly what Adelman tells him to do. We saw how that worked out when Jeff Van Gundy was his coach.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 6:40 pm and is filed under Rockets' off-season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.