Kenny Hand was holding the Astros post game show at Ruggles in Minute Maid park where Kenney Thomas was having dinner with his family. He got KT onto the show and talked some basketball. This is basically what Kenney Thomas said . . . 1. His first love is baseball . . . blah blah blah 2. He's been working with a personal trainer over the summer to stay in shape and he has been working to improve his game. 3. He said twice in a row that he doesn't want to leave Houston or the Rockets. He sounded like he was almost crying. (I think he's been reading the clutchcity bbs lately). 4. When asked about the draft he avoided the question with "Man, I don't know. I don't know. They don't tell me anything". He was hesitant to talk about Yao Ming or anything draft related, only saying he was looking out for himself. He did say something like "They don't tell me anything. I'm not Steve Franchise" or something to that end. I think he ment he is just a little guy in the grand scheme of things.
I don't want to lose KT either. He is my second favorite player on the team behind Cat. I think they are both very loyal players with good attitudes that play and practice their hearts out. Cat took less money to stay in Houston and KT will too. That is also why I would love to have Ming on this team.
It's good to see he's still working. I was amazed by how hard he worked last off season to get in better shape and it really showed on the court. However I didn't know if he woudl be able to keep it up.
Thanks for the heads up!! That's funny, KT's been reading this board about the trade talks. Kenny, it's all in good fun, we like you here in Houston. Did the 'stros win by the way?
Originally posted by sabirk 2. He's been working with a personal trainer over the summer to stay in shape and he has been working to improve his game. My man KT!
dude that's almost sad. and for him to even add the comment about Steve too. So sad. Resentment in the locker room. No more!! Elect me the general manager of the Rockets and we'll draft at #15, keep KT and ship Steve Francis out for one of his clone/hacks like Dejuan Wagner. Prepubescent immature injury prone little people shooting guards posing as point guards are a dime a dozen in this draft. Hell, Dixon and Wagner are two totally available shooting point guards in our range. Get riddy of Francis.
I did feel a bit sad for him but I think he felt no animosity towards Steve when he mentioned him. I think he meant Steve is the leader of the team and he felt (incorrectly or not) that most important decisions probably go through him.
Please tell me you all are joking. Feeling sad for someone who makes boatloads of money playing basketball for a living. Cry me a river. The GM of the team to a certain degree has to be emotion-less. In this case, if trading KT is in the best interest of the Rockets, so be it. If we can let Hakeem go, then we can *certainly* trade KT.
I usually don't get caught up in the money issue. If a person can command millions per year, more power to them. If you were good enough at basketball then you would be making the millions with no shame. As far as the GM being emotionless, I don't think that really describes our staff. We rewarded Matt Maloney for his services and I think they even went so far as to find Matt Bullard a new team when they released him this past year.
So you mentioned 2, how are they a dime a dozen? In fact, how many PG are there that can score over 20 ppg and get over 6 apg. Hmmm, in the NBA, besides Francis, there is only Payton. In this draft, there are none because these guys are all rookies who aren't predicted to do as well as Francis was. Wagner is going to play the position that the team he is drafted by needs him to. So if he goes to Cleveland, he is a SG. If he goes to the Clipps, he is a PG. Dixon, is gonna be one of those great college players who just never catches on in the NBA. Remember how people said Maeteen Cleeves would make at the next level? He sure has been succesful. Christian Laettner is probably the greatest college player ever, yet he hasn't been to succesful. Man, I look at Francis and I see a guy who works tirelessly during the offseason, plays through pain like his migraines and his shoulder, and is the first superstar and leader since Hakeem that this team has nurtured since he was a rookie. I mean damn, the guy hasn't done anything to screw this draft up and already he is the devil around here. I have a question. If Steve is being a total *******, how come not a single credible nationally respected sports journalist has mentioned anything about it. Think about it, Ming is the biggest story in this draft. If the leader of the team he was going to was so against his coming here, don't you think at some point, with less than week until the draft, that this story would have been mentioned? There aren't any rumors coming out of ESPN Insider either. Aldridge said Francis and Mobley were on board. I believe him. Just becaus he is mad, doesn't mean he isn't going to be a good soldier and just do his duty. Hell, I hope he is pissed and greedy. This extra incentive could be what he needs to become a more complete player to lead this team to the playoffs and steal the spotlight. So what if he doesn't like Ming at first? As long as he keeps giving us over 20ppg, cuts his TO's down, gets us 7 to 8 apg, and keeps getting 7rpg, why should we care what his relationship with Ming is? If Shaq and Kobe can win a ring while hating eachother, I think Ming and Francis can at least make it to the playoffs.
That's so stupid.....trade your franchise player because he has an opinion. The only negative vide that's out and about is from people like you not Steve.
uhhh...sabirk, your post made very little sense given what I commented on. Let me straighten you out. 1. There is no shame in making a lot of money. I am one of the biggest proponents of capitalism around. If the market rewards the talents of a basketball player with large sums of money, so be it. Assuming market efficiency and competent management, then that money is fair and just. The owner of the team receives value in what the player offers that is consistent with the salary. What I do take issue with is people letting their emotions cloud their judgment when it comes to personnel decisions. When people say that they "feel sorry for a player" and use that as justification for keeping that player on the roster when it may or may not be in the team's best interest, then there is a problem. 2. I never called our GM emotionless. I was speaking hypothetically. My point was that a GM in many situations needs to be that way in order to exercise solid judgment. Imagine if we would have signed Hakeem to a long term deal last summer. We would be worse off right now. That's an example.
What's really sad is that Kenny must look over at Mo Taylor and think, "Now that's how you avoid getting traded -- snag a fat contract you aren't worth, so that no other team will take you."
Francis obviously has an attitude problem. I agree the guy is a great player and not selfish on the court but there is something in him that is starting to come out. Maybe the celebrity is getting to him. He seems a bit arrogant to me.
Personally, something changed in the guy after getting ejected in the Sac game in 2000. Now he is turning into a whinning, crybaby punk, that has no pride in his defense. You wanna trade someone, trade the "clique", and lets get some team players in here.
He probably thinks he is god now since he was elected to start in the All Star game last year. I definitely don't think he deserved it.
No stupid is dissing your teammates (or potential teammates) in public...aka Pippen/Francis. Immature adults. I hope Rudy can talk some sense into him, but like Pippen, I fear that his ego is too large.
I wonder how much pull Steve and Cuttino actually have in personnel decisions. My guess is not very much. I don't think Rudy or CD would give in to their demands if it were truly to the detriment of the team. Am I being to naive on this issue? Moochie is one of the best backup PG's in the league. He is a terrific clutch shooter and has a high assist-per-minute number. I think the jury is still out on Terrence Morris. He showed flashes of potential last season and looks like he can still turn into a very solid role player. His game reminds me a lot of the role Derrick McKey played for the Sonics/Pacers.
when has steve dissed his teammates in public? the worst we've heard is that he's pissed. so what? being pissed does not equal to trying to control the team or being whiney. all he has expressed is an opinion and a fairly-private one for that matter. gimme a break, francis similar to pippen? this hasn't even crept to 1% of that incident.
So what if he's whinning, and is crybaby punk and has no pride in his defense. It's part of the maturing process, he'll get over it. I wouldn't trade Francis for nobody, except for Shaq because he's a dominant center. Francis is a special player who is at the beginning stage of super stardom. You have seen a glimpse of his ability to take over a game. Once he reaches his maturity stage in that area the rest of the NBA will be saying "In Houston We Have A Probem."
