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WOODMANnYk
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10/14/2002  9:32 AM
Should the Knicks just give up?
by Chad Ford
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Antonio McDyess has fallen and may be unable to get up. Latrell Sprewell is still hanging out on his house boat. Allan Houston has the most expensive jump shot in the NBA. They have no center to speak of. No point guard. And the highest paid supporting cast in the NBA.

Would anyone blame Knicks GM Scott Layden if he just threw himself off the roof of Madison Square Garden? There's no way to put this politely: The Knicks are screwed. No matter how you look at it, the future of the Knicks never looked so grim.

New York writers are already playing the blame game today and Layden is taking the biggest hit.

"The only thing the McDyess injury opens is Pandora's box. There are haunting questions about the organization's failure to develop young players. The Knicks refuse to groom. On draft day, they set the tone for their course: rather than bring the ship in for repairs, they set sail in hopes that a damaged part --- McDyess --- would work. Here we are," writes William Rhoden on the New York Times.

"Maybe the basketball gods are telling James Dolan what could have been easily surmised before Antonio McDyess ever fractured his left kneecap. It's time for the Knicks to rebuild. Not that Dolan, the Garden's CEO, will ever get it right or do the right thing. The shame of it is, the Knicks could have seriously started undertaking in June what they've been putting off for two years," claims the N.Y. Daily News's Mitch Lawrence.

Layden once said that you can't rebuild in New York. Not true. Now the Knicks have no choice but to rebuild, and from all indications they'll have to do it through the lottery and free agency. It's going to be nasty and it's going to take a while. They literally have no valuable assets to make something happen in the short term.

McDyess? Two major knee injuries in two years don't bode well. McDyess appeared to bounce back pretty well from last season's injury, but he's 28 years old. If he misses the season as many expect he will, can the Knicks ever bank on him returning to All-Star form?

Spree? His skills are slipping, his attitude is at an all-time low and no one wants to pay the last three years of his salary.

Houston? His contract is so enormous, the only way the Knicks could move him would be to take on an equally egregious contract. Given the size and years left on Houston's deal, I'm not sure there's anything left out there.

What can Layden do? The Knicks have a big choice ahead of them. Over the next couple of weeks, they can pull the plug, sell off whatever assets they can and pray for LeBron James (who ironically plays the only position they don't need help at). Or, Layden can petition the NBA for a medical exception for McDyess and try to add yet another veteran player to the puzzle.

If the Knicks go the rebuilding route, it is going to take a while. Their payroll is out of control and most of the players on it are locked into long term deals. Several players, like Kurt Thomas, may have some trade value, but not much. If the Knicks do receive a medical exception from the league (unlikely unless they can prove that McDyess won't be back at all this year), they'll have roughly $6 million to pursue either a free agent or to use in a trade.

Since there aren't any major free agents left on the market, the Knicks would have to go the trade route and hope that luxury tax wary teams would be willing to swap a high priced player in return for cap room. Are there any $6 million dollar big men on the trading block right now who could make a difference? Not really.

Danny Fortson is available, but the Knicks already turned down one sweetheart of a deal for Fortson this summer. The T-Wolves' Marc Jackson seems like just the type of underachiever that the Knicks love to throw their cash at. The Grizzlies' Lorenzen Wright and Stromile Swift are expendable. Anthony Mason is always up for a reunion in New York. The Sonics could probably be convinced to part with Calvin Booth to avoid paying the tax. The Pacers would give away Austin Croshere in a heartbeat.

That's right, the pickings are pretty slim.

The draft route is probably a better way to go, but the Knicks are already woefully behind the curve. They really have only one young prospect, point guard Frank Williams. Raw center Nene Hilario, whom the Knicks drafted and then traded to the Nuggets for McDyess on draft night, sure is looking good now.
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