If you think the Knicks are the only NBA team to suffer from the dreaded “untradable” contract problem, think again. While New York certainly has more players of this ilk clogging its roster than any other club, it’s amazing that in the post-Allan Houston-rule era, so many teams still have dead weight they’re desperately trying to get rid of.

Exhibit A is the Orlando Magic, who are holding a fire sale for disgruntled point guard Steve Francis. Just call him the Stephon Marbury of the South. Like Marbury, Francis is making the maximum and will be until 2009,which makes him a hard commodity to unload. Both players have been accused of dominating the ball too much and heeding their coaches too little, and neither has ever won more than 45 games in a season.

There are differences, however, that make Francis even harder to dump than Marbury. Let’s start with behavior. Francis just earned a suspension from the Magic for refusing to re-enter a game and feuding with coach Brian Hill afterward, invigorating Orlando’s recent efforts to trade him. This came on the heels of a six-game funk during which Francis appeared to be adopting the Vince Carter approach – openly mailing in games in the hopes of being traded for peanuts. During that stretch, Francis averaged only 11.5 points and a whopping 5.0 turnovers.

This isn’t the first time Francis has ruffled a team’s feathers. When he was in Houston, coach Jeff Van Gundy suspended him after he ditched the team to go to the Super Bowl. Prior to that, he orchestrated his way out of Vancouver (and, indirectly,Vancouver’s way to Memphis) by refusing to play for the Grizzlies when they drafted him.

Perhaps that makes his poor oncourt judgment easier to fathom – anybody who would willingly choose Houston over Vancouver clearly has a screw loose. Indeed, one of the ongoing frustrations with Francis is his tendency to overdribble and the constant turnovers that result. Unfortunately, he has the same problem Marbury has when he’s moved off the ball – he isn’t a catch-and-shoot guy, so he’s befuddled as to how he’ll get his shots without dribbling for 15 seconds first.

Orlando could trade Francis if the only problem was the contract, or if he paired a bad reputation with a more reasonable salary. But as with Marbury, the combination of the two makes it a hard sell. That puts Stevie Franchise-Killer at the top of a select group: The players with basketball’s most untradable contracts.

With Francis topping the bill, I made an All-Star team of the game’s most onerous deals. I had to do it with one caveat, however: No Knicks.Two factors figured into my decision. First, I wanted some players from other teams in here, and New York players would have taken up half the list. Second, I’m just trying to help Knicks fans plan ahead. By knowing which players have the worst contracts, you’ll be mentally prepared for when Isiah trades for them.

Francis is unquestionably the captain of my team, but other players have deals that are almost as bad. Here’s the rest of my All-Contract Team:

ERICK DAMPIER, MAVERICKS
7 YEARS, $73 MILLION, EXPIRES 2011
Okay, Mark Cuban.Two summers ago you decided to pass on giving $60 million to Steve Nash, but approved paying $73 million for Dampier. How’s that working out? The Mavs have done a lot of smart things the past few years, but this overwhelming act of stupidity could be what keeps them from winning a championship. While Nash has Phoenix running and gunning, Dampier just lost his starting job to one time lottery bust DeSagana Diop.

RAEF LAFRENTZ, CELTICS
7 years, $69 million, expires 2009
LaFrentz has been overpaid since the day he signed this deal, but only this year have things really spiraled out of control.With a bad knee limiting his mobility – the area that used to be his greatest asset – LaFrentz has essentially turned into a better-shooting version of Bob Thornton.

THEO RATLIFF, BLAZERS
3 years, $36 million, expires 2008
This is why you don’t overreact when a player has a good few weeks. Ratliff played as well as he had in years when he joined Portland in a trade with the Hawks, and Portland immediately forked out the cash for a ridiculous extension. Unfortunately, Ratliff is about as one-dimensional as they come – a shot blocker with no other relevant assets – and will spend the next two and a half years as one of the league’s most well-compensated backups.

KENYON MARTIN, NUGGETS
7 years, $91 million, expires 2011
I think we all owe Rod Thorn an apology. With K-Mart struggling with a variety of knee and back problems and still owed big bucks for another half-decade, it’s become apparent that New Jersey’s acquisition of three first-round picks from Denver was highway robbery.That’s become doubly true since two of those picks were used to heist Vince Carter from Toronto. I don’t know a single Nets fan that wasn’t apoplectic when Martin left, but it’s working out pretty well.

ADONAL FOYLE, WARRIORS
6 years, $51 million, expires 2010
Foyle is a great clubhouse guy, works hard and is a tough, physical defender. Unfortunately, he also has hands of stone and all the finesse of a sledgehammer. His offensive limitations and height disadvantage at the center spot make him nothing more than a role player,but he’s getting paid star money.

MIKE DUNLEAVY, WARRIORS
5-year, $45 million extension, expires 2011
Continuing the “Chris Mullin’s bad ideas” section of the program, we have Dunleavy. Mullin gave him a huge extension before the season despite precious little evidence that his player was worth the money, and if anything Dunleavy has played worse this season.

JALEN ROSE, RAPTORS
7 years, $92 million, expires 2007
The bloom fell off this Rose a long time ago, and Toronto’s talkative swingman is struggling to earn minutes on one of the league’s worst teams. Unfortunately, he’s still paid like the big-time superstar he never was, making the maximum for another year and a half. He’s untradable now, but Rose’s deal may be less radioactive by summer, when teams only have to swallow his price tag for one year.

CHRIS WEBBER, 76ERS
7 years, $122 million, expires 2008
It’s hard to call a contract untradable when it’s already been traded. But Webber’s trade to Philadelphia last year only proved the point – Sacramento had to accept three middling players, none of whom had expiring contracts, just to rid themselves of such a giant financial obligation.Webber is playing better this season, but Philly is still under .500 and his knees prevent him from doing much defensively, so one would think the Sixers would undo this deal if they could.

BRIAN CARDINAL, GRIZZLIES
6 years, $37 million, expires 2010
Memphis used its full mid-level exception on Cardinal after he had a banner year in Golden State, but Cardinal has been plagued by knee problems and erratic shooting in his time with the Grizzlies. With nearly five years left on the deal and Memphis in cost-cutting mode, they’ll happily send him to the first team that makes an offer.

Mr. Hollinger is the author of the 2005-06 Pro Basketball Forecast. He can be reached at jhollinger@nysun.com.