Another big draft day trade, this one involving no picks. The Knicks send Steve Francis and Channing Frye to the Blazers for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones.
This is a great trade for the Knicks. They give up a player they don't want and a good young player for a proven 20-10 monster. Zach Randolph immediately becomes the second best power forward in the Eastern Conference (the best if the Pacers end up dealing O'Neal to the Lakers), and the combination of Curry and Randolph on the low block is probably the best low post offensive presence in the NBA, Kaman not holding up his end of the bargain last season for the Clippers. I even like Dickau, though he'll probably be cut in New York.
The downside for the Knicks of course is that Randolph's contract goes longer than Francis' contract, but that's really a non-issue. The Knicks will NEVER get under the cap - it can't happen. So what they have to do is trade bloated expiring contracts for bloated contracts of guys who can actually play. That's what they did here.
Now, the question is, does Portland cut Steve Francis? It's hard to imagine that they would allow a guy who is evidently a locker room cancer to be around Roy, Aldridge and Oden. BUT, at the same time, the guy used to be a player. If he can be a player again, that would be an unbelievably good roster all of a sudden.