Steve Francis exercises contract option
HOUSTON (TICKER) —Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis elected to exercise the option on the final year of his current contract, the team announced Wednesday.
The Rockets did not disclose financial terms of the contract. But Francis made just over $2.4 million last season, a disappointing campaign shortened by injuries.
Francis, 31, averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 assists in just 10 games before undergoing season-ending right knee surgery in February.
It was a lackluster return to Houston for Francis, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Rockets - earning the nickname “Stevie Franchise” as the team’s star player.
Francis had spent the previous three-plus seasons with four different teams. However, he did not play a game for the Portland Trail Blazers, who bought him out of his $30 million contract last summer - allowing for his return to the Rockets.
The 6-3 Francis was considered one of the NBA’s top all-around point guards during his first five-year stint with Houston and has averaged 18.1 points, 6.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds in parts of nine seasons with the Rockets, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic.
But the high-flying Francis has been a different player since originally suffering the knee injury with the Knicks during the 2005-06 season.
