I looked at the brother, said "Damn, what next?"

   The Orlando Magic shipped Stevie Franchise off to the Kuh-nicks last night for Trevor Azira and the contract that used to be Penny Hardaway. This move brings hoop purists a Stephon Marbury/Steve Francis backcourt.

   The Knicks are most likely not done dealing yet, and the team may be even more drastically different in a few days. Knicks G.M. Isaiah Thomas has a blank check and a dumb boss- always a bad combination.

   Whoever runs Orlando had Tracy McGrady two years ago,and he now has Trevor Azira and an expiring contract.... and he got the better  of this deal. They essentially made the Magic Dwight Howard's team, while clearing up some salary cap space once Penny's belly-laugh of a deal expires this summer. They also get to shave Grant Ill's nightmare deal from the books, and will be a player in what looks like a hot free agent market a summer from next. The excision of the Francis cancer is only the icing on the cake.

   Francis is a superb athlete, and he can score in bunches. He's also 6'3", and Marbury is a tad shorter. Both are ball-dominating street point guards, and would make for a fine And One backcourt. It should be a true experiment in chemistry, and Larry Brown must look towards Detroit and just sigh.

   When I was a kid, the Celtics had a sort of two-of-the-same-thing kind of backcourt that the Knicks now have. Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson were both better suited for off guard, though both were heady enough that it didn't really matter who brought the ball up- the offense ran through Bird anyhow.

   The Knicks and their $130 million payroll don't have that luxury. They are built around Marbury, who does the exact same thing Francis does. A guy Toronto didn't want is the point forward. The team is 15-37, and they stink so badly that people are put off in Vermont.

   Now they pull off yet another match-in-the-gas-can move by acquiring the Franchise. You probably already guessed that he has a maximum contract. He and Marbury bring to mind what Red Auerbach said about the West/Wilt/Baylor Laker teams... "Too bad the game only uses one ball."

   The Eddie Curry/Channing Frye double post is the true future of this team, but they may go 10 minutes at a time without touching the pill as Steph and Steve pound the ball for 20 seconds every possession.

   If the Knicks owner has a birthday coming up, he should treat himself to a good firing of Isaiah Thomas. One of my favorite players, Thomas has been an awful G.M. Many blame the train wreck that is Toronto on him, and the Knicks are just another failure for ol' Zeke. The best basketball being played in New York is probably waged at some Brooklyn ghetto at the moment.

   If Isaiah Thomas was Batman, he'd wear a Futility Belt.