Houston Rockets Send Guard Steve Francis To Memphis

Though he deserves credit for sticking around the NBA for nearly a decade, Steve Francis’ career has been one of downward mobility.  He was drafted second in the 1999 NBA Draft and dubbed—maybe by himself—“Stevie Franchise”.  He quickly decided that he didn’t want to play with the Vancouver Grizzlies, and eventually was traded to the Houston Rockets.  On Wednesday, the Rockets traded him back to the Grizzles, who are now located in Memphis.
Francis’ career got off to an impressive start, and was co-rookie of the year in 2000 with Elton Brand.  He made three All Star appearances early in his career, but has since suffered from numerous injuries and other setbacks.  Over time, this would raise questions about his heart, toughness and commitment as he often appeared content to watch games in street clothes and collect a seven figure paycheck. 
After the injuries started to mount up, he bounced to several NBA teams as franchises played “hot potato” with his big contract that produced little in the way of returns.  He briefly played for Orlando and the New York Knicks, as well as being acquired by the Portland Trailblazers in a 2007 draft day trade that was essentially facilitated to get Zach Randolph out of the Rose City.  Francis was a Blazer for just as long as it took for the team to negotiate a contract buyout.
While he might not have the training dedication of Karl Malone or the on-court toughness of Alan Iverson, Francis is considered by everyone to be one of the NBA’s “good guys”.  Despite his later career struggles, he remained very popular among Rockets fans in Houston, leading the team to resign Francis as a free agent after the Blazers sent him packing.  At this juncture, however, Houston is hoping to sign veteran center Dikembe Mutumbo for a post season run and was forced to part ways with Francis to give them the necessary payroll flexibility.
The terms of the deal underscore the “damaged goods” perception that Francis now has around the league—the Rockets nominally acquired a 2011 conditional draft pick because they had to get *something* in the deal.  In return they sent Francis to Memphis along with a 2009 2nd round pick *and* will pick up the tab for his salary for the rest of the year.  Memphis is suggesting that Francis will get a shot to prove he can still play—if he can, they’ve got a talented veteran player and if not they’ve lost nothing and gained a 2nd round draft pick.