Someones been reading the UK forums, methinks! Very well-balanced article IMO.



Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Keeping Allan could pay off


For a few days, Allan Houston was as unsure as anyone about whether he'd still be a Knick, even if Knicks owner Jim Dolan is fond of him.

After all, there is "fond" - as in "Say, pal, let me pick up that lunch check" - and there are tabs such as the $40 million the Knicks would have saved if they had used their one-time amnesty exemption to buy out Houston rather than reserve power forward Jerome Williams, whose departure Monday saves the team $19 million less.


Dolan's regard around New York is so low, hardly anybody seemed to buy the sentimental little storyline the Knicks suggested for their surprising decision: This idea that Dolan actually allowed a bit of sentiment to creep into his decision to retain Houston because Houston is a consummate pro, a model Knick.

Houston is a genuine class act, all right. But the way Dolan spent millions to kill the West Side Stadium project - stockpiling ill will and submarining New York's 2012 Summer Olympics bid in the process - you'd have a hard time convincing many observers that he's a soft touch. He's also signed off on so many dizzyingly bad contracts with the Knicks and Rangers, it's hard to convince folks that he knows what he's doing.

He's the same guy who (pass the smelling salts) also declared a certain fondness for embattled general manager Scott Layden, then stuck with him beyond all reason. He insisted on going on a planned fishing trip with Rangers boss Glen Sather on the first day the rest of the NHL began its mad scramble for an unprecedented array of free-agent talent.

Then there's this: Of the 18 players who were let go Monday under the NBA's one-time amnesty program, four of them - nearly enough to constitute the All-Albatross team's starting five! - were current or recent Knicks: Vin Baker, Howard Eisley, Clarence Weatherspoon and Williams.

That the Knicks' decision on Houston really boiled down to whether they used the amnesty rule to lessen their glut at power forward or their glut at shooting guard vividly shows how coach Larry Brown's arrival won't be the cure-all for the Knicks. They'll be better, but their roster remains flawed.

So we can be forgiven for our steely cynicism, our reflexive cringing. But don't miss the admittedly twisted - yet shrewd - logic in what the Knicks did.

Though it went largely overlooked in the past few days, the worst-case scenario for the Knicks is not that the 34-year-old Houston never plays again.

Cruel as it sounds, should Houston retire because of his arthritic knees, it would actually be the best-case scenario for the Knicks. And if it happens, the decision to let Williams go first immediately becomes an unqualified financial master stroke.

The Knicks would enjoy the $21.3 million they have already saved by letting Williams go, plus an additional double-dip savings if Houston retires.

Because insurance typically covers 75 to 80 percent of a player's contract under such circumstances, the Knicks would recoup roughly $30 million of the $40 million in salary they still owe Houston for the next two seasons if he can't make it through training camp. They'd also be spared another $30 million or more in luxury taxes they're due to pay.

All told, that's roughly $81 million in savings - about double what they would have been spared had they let Houston walk instead of Williams this week.

So really, what is the risk?

If Houston somehow recaptures his form, the Knicks win.

Because the Knicks are so hopelessly far over the salary cap, they gain no real roster flexibility if Houston stays or goes.

Because money truly seems to be no object to Dolan, the choice of whether to keep the sore-kneed Houston or a physically limited Williams is simpler. Houston is the better player if he can play.

And if he can't? Houston will never be a locker-room malcontent.

The real worst-case scenario is that Houston doesn't retire and doesn't come close to recapturing his game enough to contribute even 15 to 18 minutes a night as a sharpshooting reserve. Then, instead of authoring a rousing comeback like Grant Hill's, Houston would be just another sad story. The Sore-Kneed All-Star who hung on too long.

But Houston is a man of deep faith and strong convictions. His work ethic is unflagging. And there's no reason to doubt that Dolan truly admires that on some level.

In a month when loudmouth Eagles receiver Terrell Owens has epitomized the worst a highly paid athlete can be and Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro has become baseball's latest poster boy for deceit, it's nice to see Houston, one of the genuine good guys in sports, treated well, whatever the reason. This way, Houston gets a nice chance to write the ending he wants.