PING: Rockets Fans
 

I'm curious what the general consensus is on Cuttino Mobley and Francis. From watching them play, I really think one of them needs to go. Mobley only looks for 2 things, his own shot, and Steve Francis. Yao should be averaging around 20 a game and is shut out of the offense by these 2 at times. Francis is doing a better job spreading the ball around this year, but still has a long way to go. Mobley, on the other hand, needs to learn how to play within the team. Houston has some talent, even for the Western Conference, but they aren't going anywhere with both of these guys playing at the same time.

If they plan for Yao to be the centerpiece then I would trade both of them Steve Francis is never going to be a strictly pass first point guard. I have seen the Rockets play a few times this year and I think Francis looks stiff, like he wants to run out but is forcing himself to hold back. I think Mobley is also the type of player who needs shots to be successful. I think the Rockets will look to trade Mobley eventually to get a scoring small forward.

The problem in the NBA is that you can never get comprable value in trades because of the cap issues. Unless you can point me to a pair of trades that actually make the Rockets better while sending Mobley and Francis out of town, you trade Mobley and that's it. Then again, with the way they dismantled the Timberpuppies on national tv yesterday and the perking up of the offense of late, they aren't needing to run out and make a trade unless a good one comes along.

SI