The Billiken's Bluff

I try to pay the Knicks no mind. I try to look away, but like a car crash I can't help but rubberneck.



I loved them in the early and mid 90s, but they have been impossible to watch post- NBA Finals run in 1999. Their transactions keep getting more ludicrous and are impossible to ignore in their gratuitousness. Penny Hardaway, Jamaal Crawford, Malik Rose, Eddie Curry, Jalen Rose, and now possibly Steve Francis.

They are so far in the hole.



Salary-cap speaking, talent-wise, and chemistry-wise.



Funny How??



Isiah is like a degenerate gambler who is trying to bet his way out of some significant financial entanglements.





Last week Bill Simmons wrote (facetiously):

A well-placed source tells me that Isiah Thomas is prepared to trade Channing Frye and Penny Hardaway to Denver for Kenyon Martin and Earl Watson, but only if Martin agrees to an MRI on his surgically repaired knee. If Martin's knee is in good shape, the Knicks are calling off the deal. If the knee is in rough shape, the deal is on. If the knee is in such terrible shape that the doctor says something like, "Wow, there's a good chance K-Mart might walk with a limp for the rest of his life," the Knicks will throw in an unconditional No. 1 in 2009 as well as Nate Robinson and $3 million dollars. So stay tuned.

AND

Just like Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis seems like one of those guys who changes teams, gets his act together for a few months and eventually wears out his welcome. So what would happen if the Knicks and Magic traded Marbury for Francis ... and then, three months later, they swapped them again? And this just kept happening every three months? In other words, you would be getting only the "getting his act together" part of the Marbury/Francis package without dealing with the "wearing out his welcome" side effects. I really think this could work.

Well Isiah, who hates Simmons, and threatened to F him up if they ever crossed paths on the street, must have been reading this column. Isiah decided to do Simmons scenario one better and rather than swap talented, perennial-losers, it looks like he has decided to accumulate every last one of them.

The trade is still pending a physical examination of exactly how many neck tattoos Stevie Franchise has.