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.)

So much going on, so little commentary by moi on said eventage. I’d hang myself from the nearest saloon alcove railing if 1) I lived in the old west 2) saloons actually had alcove railings (actually maybe they do) and 3) I actually had a good excuse, ie, I just became a father for the 2nd time, so cut me some damn slack mr. bernenstein, you and your damn bears, the pressure (cries.)

Soooo. Yup. Well, yaroslav korolev is back, for a bargain price. Okey doke. The 2nd guy we grabbed in the draft is muy interesante to say the least (jared Jordan outta Marist) could solve a lot of problems for us or skitter out to the fritters of short white guy European space time continuum. The guy led NCAA in assists at least 1 (maybe 2? Bueller?) years running, and we desperately need good passers on this team, sad state of affairs that our ball movement is. (yes, our, I’m out there, not in spirit, in form, I enter the phantom zone and then interact with the players on the court. I think I was a bit more of a distraction this year. Apologies.)

And of course the ongoing drama, will we or won’t we sign Stevie Franchise, he of the $30 million new dollars in his pocket and the wherewithal to go wherever he wants and ponder imponderables. If he & cat mobley are as bosom of buddies as the media would have you think, it would seem we have it sewed up, but do we want this particular patch on the knee of our admittedly raggedy jeans?

I still remember when Francis was tearing up the league his first couple years, and yeah, he’s never been accused of being the most unselfish player in the world, but those early Yao/Stevie teams were pretty exciting, and Francis did I think add to the development of Yao, rather than detract, and stranger things have happened (and YES I know you’ve heard this one before, the jaded and faded glory former superstar makes good in order to show the world that he actually has some skills and should be taken seriously) but, even with all the stars aligned, with Cat (best friend) in the mix, with an interesting and talented young team, with his star significantly tarnished, you just have to wonder, does Francis give half a schnitzel? This is the same guy that told Vancouver to eff itself, who’d been oft times pouty and has seemingly not been overly concerned with his media portrayal, scattered with moments where he does care.

In other words it’s a complete crap shoot. It could either catapult the clippers to greatness or drag them down the barrel of inebriated inequity as Francis becomes a locker room cancer. The key component is can Francis sublimate his game within the clips’ system? Can he put up with not being the man, and let Elton get his, Maggs get his, let Sam be the leader and he come in and mop shit up on occasion or get Kaman or Elton the ball, or run the show and demonstrate some modicum of passing skills or become a kind and genteel mentor to Jared Jordan, or even visit his local dairy & see how milk is made followed by a group trip to the local library. This is the Steve Francis that in my dreams arrives at the clippers practice facility with about 30 strippers in tow and 8 bottles of crystal. Gracias and condolences.