After a swirl of rumors that had him being traded anywhere from New York to Denver, the Orlando Magic’s leading scorer Steve Francis was sent to the Knicks for the expiring contract of Penny Hardaway and youngster Trevor Ariza. The move comes as no surprise since the Magic have been trying to move their disgruntled point guard for weeks. After receiving Hardaway, an ex-superstar who led the Magic to a finals appearance in 1995, they promptly waived him, freeing millions in salary cap room.

Meanwhile, general manager Isiah Thomas and the Knicks have been criticized by fans and analysts alike, who have ranted that the trade was yet another step in the wrong direction. According to many, the Knicks made a mistake in picking up another ball-control point guard, while experiencing little success with another one in Stephon Marbury. With the Larry Brown experiment not going according to plan, the typically impatient Knick fans were anxious for the team to make a move at the trade deadline last Thursday. Although this trade was not what they expected, Isiah Thomas made the right move.

Lest the Knicks fans forget, not long ago a similar situation arose in New York with good results. In 1998, the Knicks received G/F Latrell Sprewell from Golden State. The move paired him with Allan Houston, the same type of player. That year, the Knicks made the NBA finals as the 8th seed, and even stole a game from the heavily favored Spurs. The two main catalysts were Houston and Sprewell who, although playing relatively the same position, fed off each other. Marbury and Francis have similar games, but they are talented enough to play together. If they can do that, they will flourish in the same way that Houston and Sprewell did.

The man responsible for making that happen is Larry Brown, and he is the perfect man for the job. Brown, with his preachy and demanding style, is a specialist at getting seemingly selfish players to play their best team game. There is no better example than Allen Iverson. Although he is arguably more talented than either Marbury or Francis, he is a similar type of player. Brown coached Iverson when he was at the helm of the 76ers, and the two frequently clashed. Now however, Iverson sings a different tune and admits that much of his career success is thanks to Brown. It’s because Brown has some unknown power to bring out the best in all players, even those labeled as selfish.

Ultimately, this will be the biggest test to date of Brown’s coaching ability. If he can harness the unquestioned talents of his best two players, Marbury and Francis can become the new Houston and Sprewell, and Broadway will return as the zenith of the NBA world.

Lev Elgudin can be reached via email at lev.elgudin@atomicsportsmedia.com