I hate Steve Francis. I do not know the man. I do not care. I do not like Steve Francis. Let me explain why I spew this venom. Here's the short version. He was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He didn't want to play for them. Now he's playing for the Rockets. I'm not a Rockets fan nor am I a Grizzlies fan. I don't like or dislike the Maryland Terrapins or any of their ACC rivals. I'm pretty neutral in this. I'm just not happy with how this played out.

Let me start at the beginning. After the season, Steve Francis declared for the draft. He was touted as a potential number one pick, this was before Lamar Odom declared (and before he flaked out). Francis hoped to be drafted by Chicago and take over the mantle as the Bulls star, like his hero Michael Jordan. I have read that he said he didn't want to go to Vancouver. But I've never heard it out of his mouth, rather, it was always "his closest friends say" or "an advisor", so it's hard to figure out what real and what's not. So let's say that he never said he didn't want to go to Vancouver. Fast forward to the draft, he's picked by Vancouver and he's visibly distraught or disgusted. Either way, he's not happy. First it seems, it's because he's not the number one pick, and then it's because he's been picked by Vancouver.

Over the next few weeks, he makes one trip to Vancouver for one day. Basically, he disrespects Vancouver and Stu Jackson, while most of the other draft picks are signed and playing summer ball, Francis sulks. From what I've read and heard, his main point to not wanting to play in Vancouver is his insistence of playing near his grandmother, that's why he played at College Park in Maryland. Nice and close to his grandmother. Of course, if he wanted close, he could have stayed in college for an extra year. Then he ends up in Houston of all places. Not exactly around the corner from Baltimore. So it's only 3 hours to home instead of 4. Like it really matters. He didn't want to play for a loser team like the Grizzlies, he wanted to call his own shots. I guess in the end he did. All of this leads to the trade. He wanted out. Stu Jackson was sick of his crap. Jackson needed to make a good move because his job is in jeopardy. And more important, he didn't need a player in Vancouver who didn't want to be there. So here comes the biggest trade in the history of the NBA.

Stu Jackson turned down some decent trades and some not so decent trades to get this. Jackson traded the rights to Francis, Tony Massenberg, Michael Smith, Lee Mayberry, Roderick Rhodes, Makhtar Ndiaye to Houston for Brent Price, Michael Dickerson, Antoine Carr, Othella Harrington, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick. Houston sent Smith, Ndaiye, Rhodes and Mayberry to Orlando for the 2nd round pick and Don MacLean. I usually say which ever team gets the best player usually wins the trade but in this instance I am not so sure. Let's look at Orlando for a second. Naw, let's not. Once again the Magic are trying to clear cap space for next year. If that was their intention, good move. Smith is a nice power forward. Houston did what they needed to do. They got younger. It was a big price though. It cost them a lot of depth and some talented players, but not were as talented as Steve Francis. Without getting into it, Steve Francis is multi-talented and has the potential to be a star. Until Barkley and Olajuwon retire though, Francis will have a hard time adjusting to Houston's offensive system, much like Scottie Pippen. Thoroughbreds like Francis and Pippen are slowed down too much. Francis is a decent shooter, but is nearly unstoppable in the open court. Massenberg will give the Rockets some of the front court depth they lost when Carr and Harrington was traded. Vancouver got a lot of things in this trade. Let me say that in this era of NBA basketball, you do not need three stars to win. Rick Pitino figured it out. And it keeps the costs down as well. Look at San Antonio (Duncan and Robinson) or Chicago (Pippen and Jordan) or Houston (Olajuwon and Drexler). You need two good stars, who can score and then role players who can step up. The Grizzlies filled most of their needs in one trade. Trading away the injury prone Lee Mayberry for the injury prone Brent Price may sound like a wash, but Price is a great shooter and won't have to carry the load. He will be a nice backup and change of pace to Mike Bibby at point guard. Michael Dickerson, like Price, is a great shooter. A former teammate and roommate of Bibby, he should step right in at shooting guard, making the four man rotation of Bibby, Price, Dickerson and Felipe Lopez the deepest in Vancouver's short history. Antoine Carr should bring to Vancouver what Charles Oakley brought to Toronto, veteran leadership, toughness, rebounding and low post scoring. He should more than offset the loss of Smith, with his intangibles alone. Besides Michael Dickerson, the other coup here, was getting Othella Harrington. When Barkley or Olajuwon got injured he stepped in and contributed major points and rebounds. He won't put in 20 and 10, but he should put up 15 points and 8 rebounds a game. He'll give Bryant Reeves a capable backup at center as well. He's got a good low post game and was schooled at Georgetown, so he knows how to play.

At the beginning of the off season, Stu Jackson had some holes to fill. A power forward. A veteran forward. Outside shooting. Depth in the back court. In one day he filled them all. Othella Harrington should start at power forward. Antoine Carr should see some minutes at 4 and 5. Michael Dickerson, Brent Price, and the newly signed Dennis Scott give the Grizzlies some back court depth and great outside shooting. Sure Jackson didn't bag the big one, but he bagged enough medium sized and little ones that he more then compensated.