Dealing Francis was a Magical move

MIAMI — It's easy, and a lot more entertaining, to focus on the New York Knicks' side of the Steve Francis trade.

It's fun to forecast just how disastrous a relationship between Stephon Marbury, Francis and Larry Brown will end, or to ridicule Isiah Thomas for putting together a group of has-beens and never-will-bes and expect the New York fans to swallow it.

But to ignore the other side of the move — the more logical, sensible, calculated side — would be a mistake. Because there is so much right in what the Magic did when it basically gave away the player that was supposed to be the centerpiece of the franchise.

The Magic could have kept riding Francis on that pointless journey to the middle, which at best would have resulted in one or two low playoff seeds by the time his enormous contract expired after the 2008-09 season.

But assistant general managers Dave Twardzik and Otis Smith chose not to settle for mediocrity. (Is it a coincidence that the Magic started making intelligent personnel moves after hockey hothead John Weisbrod resigned as GM?) So after contemplating some offers that included getting players with big salaries back for Francis, the pair decided instead to take the expiring contract of Penny Hardaway and a young Trevor Ariza from the Knicks.

Taking that option gives the Magic the ability to have one of those instant turnarounds every bad team in the league is looking to make. In the NBA, instant means about two to three years. After the 2006-07 season, when Grant Hill's contract expires, Orlando will have seemingly endless amounts of room under the salary cap with which to sign free agents; right now the team only has about $22 million committed to five players for that season, assuming it picks up the options on Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.

Moreover, it has a true franchise player to build a team around in Howard. The second-year forward just turned 20 and already leads the league in rebounds, which will make the Magic an enticing team for free agents in 2007 to consider.

And what a group of free agents it will be. The group could potentially include Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Dirk Nowitzki, T.J. Ford, Kirk Hinrich, Rashard Lewis and Chris Bosh. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony could also be free agents, but no one really believes their respective teams will ever let it get to that point.

With even one free agent, a quality draft pick, Howard, Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Keyon Dooling, the Magic will have the makings of what should be a real playoff team, not just a group that can make a token postseason appearance.

In the meantime, the Magic can still keep fans interested in Orlando. As long as Hill, Howard and Nelson can remain healthy, next year's Francis-free group might be able to make a decent run at the playoffs. And even if they don't, the team will be able to see if former No. 2 draft pick Darko Milicic is worth re-signing.