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Stevie Looking for a New Franchise?

The All Star break is always the time of the year where teams kick it up a notch wheeling and dealing. The hottest name now is Steve Francis whose status with the Magic has become even shakier after Orlando completed the trade that brought in Carlos Arroyo and Darko Millicic to Florida. Currently, there are four prime suitors ? Denver, New York, Minnesota, and a surprise in Houston.

Denver still remains the team that is most likely to nab the mercurial point guard. In Houston, the story is that Francis burned the bridge and his return there would be way out of character for a franchise that exhaled when they got rid of Francis the first time ? a repeat seems hard to swallow, but they have been mentioned by more than a few outlets.

The Magic however continue to try and hide their desire to dump Francis, saying they have enough injuries to justify the arrival of Arroyo without making another deal ? yet Francis himself before leaving for All-Star all but admitted he expected to be traded, and few people associated with the team expect Francis back in Orlando, as the team?s next home game is after the trade deadline.