What is the point?

[miami_fan]

I am following the proposed Orlando-Houston trade and yes Steve Francis is whining cause he does not want to go to Orlando. However one of his claims does not make a whole lot of sense to me from the team's perspective. He says that the Rockets told him he would not be traded. Why do teams tell players that they will not be traded? Are they trying to protect a guy's feelings? I mean we all know that pro sports is a business and teams (hopefully) are going to do what they need to do to better the team. If that means trade a player so be it. So why put yourself in a position to be called a liar? Especially if other players believe that your organization is not trustworthy, they may be less likely to sign with you in free agency at your price. My feelings are that if a player ask you if they are being shopped, management should say that they are going to do what is in the best interests of the club. Period. IMO telling a player he is not going to be traded is a way to bring unecessary stress to the organization

[DeToxRox]

Because if the deal falls through, he ideally won't know it was even on the table, so it saves them a disgruntled player who they might need to now deal.