Well you can all exhale, populace of clipper nation. Steve Francis is going to the Rockets. Can’t say I’m surprised. The guys got a wife & kids and makes his home in Houston. Money’s not an issue since the huge buyout from Portland, so it’s kind of a no-brainer. Wife & kids in Houston, and he can work in Houston, his former team, a contender, yeah they’re a bit clogged at the point, but still. I still think he would have gotten more playing time and a better fit with LA, but, que sera. Cat Mobley factor seemed a viable attraction for Mr. Francis's services, but as a married man and father myself, I know that family (ideally) comes first, and faced with being able to work in the same city & not uproot his kids, or being reunited with his buddy, well, that’s that. Maybe it’ll work out for the best for all involved, maybe Francis would have hurt the clips more than he would’ve helped. Will be interesting to see how much of a success, or lack thereof, he is in Houston this upcoming season.

update: clippersteve weighs in, and, among other ponderages, makes the good point that bringing Francis into the fold would have tied us inexorably to Mobley (unless we moved them both.) He also sees it as more potential playing time for Jared Jordan, although I have to admit it terrifies me to rely on this unproven (although rife with potential, from what I've read) kid and a creaky Sam Cassell as our entire point guard rotation. Jason Hart is suddenly looking more and more appetizing, too bad the Jazz signed him away. The more I think about it, the more it seems that Jordan is going to get a good amount of burn this year. We just SO desperately need someone who can pass the ball reliably on this squad, damn the defensive flaws (although that will just grate Dunleavy to no end.)