There’s got to be more than this than we know. That’s what it has to be. I have heard rumors that the Knicks would flip Steve Francis as soon as today, and I’m thinking that has to be the case. I don’t even think Isiah Thomas is foolish enough to believe that a starting backcourt of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury is a good idea.

So either Francis going to be shipped somewhere else by this afternoon, or they’re going to move him the summer as part of a larger package… I don’t know. What I’m doing here is not giving Isiah Thomas the benefit of the doubt. What I’m doing is refusing to believe that any one human being is that fucking ignorant. It’s a basic faith in humanity. I have to believe that no one could possibly think that playing Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis together is a viable, long-term solution for a basketball team. If I can’t believe that, then I’m not sure I want to be a part of humanity any longer.

And hey, don’t get me wrong… in the short term, the Knicks actually might get a little better. They will have more talent on the floor, and they can potentially become more difficult to guard. If they don’t pawn Francis off on someone else today, it will probably result in a few more wins for them. But they’re still not making the playoffs, and there’s still no nope of building a team around the pieces they have in place right now.

As for the Magic… this is brilliance. If, in five years, the Magic aren’t one of the league’s best teams, that probably means they hired Isiah Thomas as their general manager. In 5 years, Dwight Howard is likely to be one of the best 2 big men in the game. Jameer Nelson will be an excellent guard. And if Darko Milicic and Fran Vaseuz turn into anything at all, the Magic should have a great core. Plus, Penny’s expiring contract sets them up to be well under the cap in the summer of 2007 when there should be some quality players available.

I’ve seen people looking at this trade as the Magic getting almost nothing in return for Tracy McGrady… and I guess that’s true, but what did they expect, that Steve Francis going to win them a title? Why look at it like that? Just accept that trading for Steve Francis was dumb, be glad that the Knicks exist as the corrector of all league contract mistakes, and look at the future. Orlando’s in a great position, and that’s more than most of the mediocre teams in the league can say.