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djsunyc
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Knicks Sign James From Sonics to Be Their Starting Center
By HOWARD BECK
Published: July 14, 2005
For 10 days last spring, Jerome James looked, played and preened like one of the premier big men of the N.B.A. The transformation was sudden and short-lived, but it was enough to earn James a starting job and a huge contract from the size-starved Knicks.
James, who played the last four seasons in Seattle, agreed yesterday to a five-year deal with the Knicks, according to his agent. Precise terms will not be set until the league completes its new labor deal. But it was expected that James will earn about $5 million in the first year of the contract, and $29 million over five years.
Before the contract is signed, James will be installed as the starting center, a job he will win by default. The Knicks traded their only true center, Nazr Mohammed, in February, and traded his replacement, Kurt Thomas, in June. The team drafted a center, Channing Frye, but he may not be ready for full-time work as a rookie.
So the void will be filled by James, a 7-foot-1 journeyman who turns 30 in November and has career averages of 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.
"It was clear once they moved Kurt Thomas and moved Nazr that they were in need of a real center, and that's what Jerome is," said James's agent, Marc Fleisher. "He's looking forward to the challenge."
James arrives as a mercurial player with a largely unspectacular résumé, but it is the final line of that résumé that has the Knicks intrigued. In the first round of the playoffs against Sacramento, James averaged 17.2 points and 9.4 rebounds. He crowed about his success, chiding the Kings for cutting him in 2000.
But in the next round, the talkative James went silent on the court again, averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in a six-game loss to San Antonio.
James is generally regarded as an intelligent player with good physical tools and untapped potential. By his own admission, he has not always worked as hard as he should. He has also admitted to an overactive social life, but he was lauded by teammates for making strides in all areas last season.
James has never averaged more than 5.4 points in a season (2002-3). Last season was his first as a full-time starter, but he averaged just 16.6 minutes a game.
"This is a guy who didn't play in high school," Fleisher said. "So he really got a late start, and he was injured a lot the first couple years he was in the league. He's sort of just coming into his own. I think he feels that he can do a lot more than he was asked to do in Seattle."
The SuperSonics were a perimeter-oriented team, carried by the jump shooting of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. James was there to set screens, grab rebounds and play defense. He averaged 1.39 blocked shots, despite limited playing time. Given the chance, he could become an effective low-post scorer.
"He feels he showed in the playoffs he is capable of a lot more," Fleisher said.
Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' president, set out to add another 7-foot player. His wish list included Kwame Brown of Washington and Eddy Curry of Chicago. The agreement with James is an implicit admission that the Knicks no longer expect to land either one.
"They approached us on the first day of free agency and told us they had a lot of interest," Fleisher said. "I know there have been a lot of names, but I genuinely believe that's who they most wanted."
James drew interest from about a half-dozen teams and chose the Knicks over two other suitors, Fleisher said.
Thomas's search for frontcourt help will continue, but any additions will have to come via trades. Unless the Sonics agree to a sign-and-trade deal - and that is considered unlikely - the Knicks will spend their midlevel salary-cap exception on James. They will therefore be unable to offer significant contracts to any other free agents.
The Knicks moved to secure James when it became clear that most of their other targets were unavailable. They have all but given up on landing forward Stromile Swift, although it is still possible that Memphis could agree to a sign-and-trade deal.
Knicks officials declined comment, citing the league's moratorium on contracts and any public discussion of free agents. That moratorium will be lifted once the new labor deal is complete, but the league no longer expects it to happen by July 22. It could take a few days to a week beyond that.
In the meantime, the Knicks will wait for resolution of the Larry Brown saga - he could become their coach if he resigns or is fired by Detroit - and will continue scouring the market for frontcourt help.
The Knicks could have acquired Brown from the Wizards, but they were unwilling to trade guard Quentin Richardson. The Knicks have few other attractive assets, making it difficult to construct trades.
Seattle had moderate interest in retaining James, but not for $29 million. The Sonics have taken teenage centers in the last two drafts - Robert Swift in 2004 and Johan Petro last month - and have focused on signing their more critical free agents, Vladimir Radmanovic and Allen.
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7/13/2005 11:54 PM
Kwame and Stro each have more upside than Sweetney and James combined