Knicks’ Secret Workouts Violated Rules, Report Says
By HOWARD BECK
On the eve of a promising new season, the Knicks were again confronted with the mayhem of their recent past and the possible misdeeds of the previous administration.Rodney Heard, a Knicks scout hired by the former team president Isiah Thomas, has been conducting secret workouts of college players, in violation of N.B.A. rules, for the past four years, according to Yahoo Sports.
In a report posted Tuesday, three players said they took part in the workouts in suburban Atlanta. The sessions were said to be organized by Heard, the Knicks’ director of East Coast scouting, who was hired by Thomas in 2006 and remains a confidant.
Heard was retained by the team after Donnie Walsh replaced Thomas in 2008.
Team officials could be fined or suspended if the N.B.A. verifies the allegations. The revelations could also destroy Thomas’s aspirations to rejoin the Knicks’ front office.
N.B.A. rules generally prohibit teams from working out college players before the annual predraft camp. According to Yahoo, Heard organized workouts during the restricted period in 2007. He was also said to have held an excessive number of predraft sessions in 2009 and 2010.
“We will be investigating these allegations,” Tim Frank, an N.B.A. spokesman, said in an e-mail.
The Knicks issued a statement acknowledging the investigation, saying, “We will fully cooperate and defer all comment” to the league.
Walsh did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. He told Yahoo: “I don’ t know anything about this. I didn’t know any of our scouts worked out people like this. They know they’re not supposed to.”
Heard denied the allegations to Yahoo. Thomas declined to comment.
Among those who reportedly took part in the illegal workouts in 2007 was Wilson Chandler, who was taken by the Knicks with the 23rd pick that year. Chandler is now a key member of the team’s rotation.
Another player, Brandon Rush, said he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during one of the illegal workouts. The injury forced Rush, a potential lottery pick, to withdraw from the 2007 draft. Rush, who now plays for the Indiana Pacers, said Heard ran the workout.
Heard told Yahoo: “I wasn’t there. That’s a lie.”
Chris Luchey, Chandler’s agent, also denied the article, telling Yahoo, “Rodney never worked out Wilson before the draft.”
SURPRISE STARTER Landry Fields, a second-round pick in June’s draft, will start at shooting guard when the Knicks open the season Wednesday night in Toronto. It is a remarkable rise for Fields, who did not make the draft boards of many teams last spring.
Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni said Fields won the job with his individual efforts, as well as his ability to complement the rest of the lineup: Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Amar’e Stoudemire and Timofey Mozgov.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/sports/basketball/27nba.html?_r=1&src=twrhp&pagewanted=print
10/27/2010 6:22 AM