Francis, Knicks Discussing Buyout
I could have told them it wouldn’t work even before it happened but alas, as the saying goes Alea jacta est! (the die is cast). It has been done and the Knicks are now paying the price for making that stupid deal to acquire Steve Francis from the Orlando Magic. The Marbury - Francis back court experiment failed and Francis has since fallen out of the Knicks’ favor. Francis and the Knicks are going to sever their relationship soon.
A source claims the Knicks and Steve Francis - exiled to Houston supposedly to rehab a tender knee - are discussing a contract buyout; what remains of this season’s $15 million salary and the next two, $16.44M and $17.8M.
Former Knicks Maurice Taylor and Jalen Rose also had their hefty contracts bought out earlier so the news about Francis going by the same route isn’t a surprise at all. It’s the only way to get rid of the mess of a contract situation the Knicks have and yet they still have a lot of hefty contracts to deal with including the big one Jared Jeffries signed in the offseason.
Another strange piece of news is that Chris Webber could be a Knick and Francis a Sixer - a mere changing of teams.
On Francis joining the 76ers:
According to the same source, stage two of Francis’ buyout conversation, coordinated by agent Jeff Fried, is dialogue with Brown about his client joining the 76ers after he clears waivers.
On Webber joining the Knicks:
Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, a report surfaced last week the 76ers were discussing a contract buyout ($20.72M/$22.3M) of Chris Webber
It’s no secret Webber and Thomas are boys. When he was a free agent four years ago, Thomas’ Pacers were one of the few teams C-Web seriously considered playing for; in fact, he went through a whole interview process with Indiana before re-signing with Sacramento.
When (not if) Webber’s buyout agreement is finalized, I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t wind up a Knick for at least the remainder of the season.
From Peter Vecsey, New York Post 1/09/07
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