With Wednesday's trade between the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks, Stevie Franchise will be joining his third.
After all the rumors of the Magic trying to send Francis anywhere from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Denver Nuggets to the Memphis Grizzlies to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they finally shipped him off to the most popular destination for selfish scoring guards: the New York Knicks.
On Wednesday, the Magic sent Francis to the Knicks in exchange for the return of Anfernee Hardaway and his large, expiring contract as well as second-year man Trevor Ariza.
The trade completes a month long saga during which the Magic have been itching to move Francis. On Jan. 11, Francis refused to re-enter the game when his teammate Hedo Turkoglu fouled out. The team turned around and suspended Francis for two games. That was the beginning of the end of the brief Steve Francis era in Orlando.
That era began in June of 2004, when the Magic sent Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets for a package that included Francis, guard Cuttino Mobley and center Kelvin Cato. The team hoped that Francis and Mobley could team with Grant Hill and the developing Dwight Howard to create a playoff formula.
The initial results were good. On Mar. 5 of last year, the Magic were 31-27 and appeared destined for the playoffs. They collapsed quickly, however, losing seven in a row and ultimately finishing the season a disappointing 36-46.
This year, with a much-improved Howard, the Magic seemed a sure contender. However, following a 7-6 start, the Magic sank to a season-low 13-22 during Francis's suspension. While there was a glimmer of hope during a five-game win streak, it disappeared as the team dropped 11 of its next 12 games, including the last seven straight.
The Magic now sit at 19-33, all but eliminated from the playoffs. The team renewed its rebuilding project last week by sending Cato to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic. Milicic has the distinction of being selected ahead of notable players such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Kirk Hinrich in the 2003 NBA draft as the No. 2 pick.
With Arroyo and Jameer Nelson at point guard, Francis was suddenly expendable. The Magic were originally rumored to be interested in New York's Jamal Crawford, a lanky guard with a knack for scoring but a terrible shot selection. In the end, the Magic chose to trade for cap room instead of talent.
By taking on Hardaway's expiring contract, the Magic ensured that they would be in good position to splurge on free agents in the offseason in order to build around Howard.
In exchange, the Knicks get Francis, who will team with Stephon Marbury to form the highest-paid backcourt in the NBA.
Both are undersized, but they are strong, high-scoring guards big on talent and short on winning track records. Thomas hopes that a trade might awaken Francis from a dismal season in which he is averaging career lows in points, rebounds and assists.
The issue facing the Knicks will be whether they can integrate their shoot-first guards into a team concept. In addition to Marbury and Francis, the Knicks already have Crawford, Quentin Richardson and Jalen Rose. With these selfish players on one roster, there may not be enough shots to go around.
To solve this problem, Thomas will likely try to move Crawford by today's 3 p.m. trade deadline.
