Whatever happened to..... The Franchise

I caught the 2nd OT of the 2003 NBA All-Star game on NBA TV the other day.  KG ultimately won the MVP, but what I found interesting was who was on the court for that overtime.  The East squad had AI, Paul Pierce, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Ben Wallace.  The West had KG, Kobe, Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan, and Steve Francis.

Whatever happened to The Franchise?  Of the 10 players on the court, Francis is the only one not contributing to a team at a high level.  As a matter of fact, he's not contributing anything, seeing that he was released from the Grizzlies last month.  He hasn't played this year with the Grizzlies or the Rockets (who he was with before he got traded to the Grizzlies).  The previous 3 years, he's played a total of 78 games.  I know injuries (tendinitis in right knee and quad tendon surgery on left knee) had something to do with it, but did he lose it that quickly?  I mean, he's only 31.  You would think he'd be able to contribute something to somebody. Anybody.  We'll see if a playoff team will pick up this veteran down the stretch.

DC is a contributor to The Sports Information Hub and can be contacted at dcthesportsguy@gmail.com