Former Rookie of the Year Steve Francis will play for the Grizzlies after all. The catch is that it will be in Memphis instead of Vancouver.
The Houston Rockets sent Francis, who infamously refused to play for the Vancouver Grizzlies after they drafted him in 1999, to Memphis on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2011. The Grizzlies also get a 2009 second-round pick and cash in the deal.
Francis, who hasn’t played a game this season as he recovers from offseason quadriceps surgery, is in the final year of a two-year contract and may end up retiring if he decides his surgically-repaired knee isn’t strong enough for him to play.
Francis had a flashy playing style and can definitely produce, but has the potential to create a chemistry issue. He has averaged 18.1 ppg and 6.0 apg for his career, but he hasn’t done much lately. He only played in 10 games for Houston last season, averaging 5.5 ppg. The last time he played much more than half a season was in 2004-05 with Orlando, when he started 78 games and averaged 21.3 ppg.
While he used to be a great scorer, I think Francis’ best days are behind him. He is a veteran who may bring some offense to the Grizzlies, but he probably won’t be healthy enough to contribute much this season and may not play at all beyond this year. General Manager Chris Wallace was at least looking in the right direction with this deal, especially since he didn’t give much up, but if there isn’t a better scorer out there than Francis, it’s a sad market.
Keywords: Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Steve Francis
