If Francis does not get at least 33 minutes, you can be guaranteed he is going to be a problem. That is the reason he is going to start. IT cannot get rid of him, and Francis is not going to play well unless he starts. So IT has no chioce but to play him and hope: (1) that the Franbury backcourt works out, and (2)that Francis can increase his trade value so that IT can move him in a deal that does not kill us.

lets hope, like marbury, that last year was a reality check for them. francis and marbury's reputation have been dragged through the mud with the media and lb. marbury is smart to do damage control on his and it has to show on the court. francis must do the same thing. he has come around for van gundy that one year and sacrificed his game even though he was resistant at first. he became an all-star and gave the lakers a scare in the first round. true he was traded (for mcgrady no less) but with the right coach with limits and mutual respect, he can be good. with that said, i do agree that he is not suited for our team only because it will impede on the progress of our young players. lets not be delusional, we are not going to win championships with starbury and francis being our best player. but with a nucleus of maybe frye, curry, crawford and nate, it might be a possibility in the future if they mature and get better.