Francis to return to Magic

"Coach (Brian) Hill, Steve and I had a productive meeting today," Magic assistant general manager Otis Smith said. "We now consider the matter closed and look forward to Steve’s return to practice tomorrow."

Francis, a three-time All-Star is expected to be in uniform when Orlando hosts Washington on Wednesday.

Francis was suspended last Thursday for conduct detrimental to the team and sat out losses to Portland and Sacramento that closed out the Magic’s four- game west coast road trip.

The former second overall pick is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his seven-year career. Francis is averaging 16.6 points and a career-low 5.4 assists per game, while his 3.52 turnovers per contest is the third-most in the league.

Prior to the suspension, Francis had averaged just 11.5 points since January 3 and committed 24 turnovers over his last four games.

Francis scored at a rate of 21.3 points per game with the Magic a year ago, his first with Orlando since coming over from Houston in the Tracy McGrady trade. His 7.0 assists per game in 2004-05 was a career-high.