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djsunyc
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http://www.nj.com/knicks/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1087881038208450.xml
Knicks have slim hopes of landing their dream big man
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Like each of his 29 peers, Knicks president Isiah Thomas performed his due diligence over the weekend and placed phone calls to Los Angeles and Orlando to inquire about Shaquille O'Neal and Tracy McGrady, the two biggest names on the trade market.
Landing such a sizable fish will take more bait than he's got, however.
"When those types of players are out there, you have to call and see if they're available," Thomas said yesterday in a phone conversation. "At the end of the day, we're not banking on getting either one of those guys. But like every other team, we had to call."
How far did the conversation go after the perfunctory, ".... and who do you like on my roster?"
Not far, Thomas admits.
"Believe it or not," he said, "there's a lot of interest in our players -- young ones and veterans. But Shaq came on the market a few days ago. I don't think anyone planned for that to happen, and I'm not going to say we had anything set up. Still, you call and find out."
But that's not what disappoints Thomas most. He had his heart set on a different kind of big man.
The usually optimistic Thomas believes he has little chance at landing Rasheed Wallace, because the lure of another ring could be stronger than anything the Knicks have to offer the Detroit Pistons' free-agent forward. Though no one knows what Wallace will decide until he discusses it with his wife, Thomas almost made it sound like a no-brainer for the player he tried so hard to acquire in February.
The Knicks can offer Wallace the midlevel exception (roughly $5.5 million), while the Pistons can triple that sum.
"I would say we have maybe a 1 percent chance -- maybe," Thomas said. "I'm sure Detroit is going to do everything it can to keep him. It's a great situation for him.
"I've always been realistic about it. When he was in Portland and Atlanta, we had a good shot at it. But when you win the championship and the team that wins the title can pay you more money, (other suitors) must be realistic. I'm still going to pursue it. I'm going to go after it like I'm going after everybody. But chances are slim those guys (leave) home."
There will be other forwards available this off-season, of course. Agent Michael Higgins told the Dallas Morning News the Knicks are trying to acquire Antoine Walker if he is chosen by the Charlotte Bobcats in today's expansion draft.
Bernie Bickerstaff yesterday indicated the Bobcats are not going to take Walker, however, so the Knicks will have to deal with Dallas directly. Still, it raises an interesting question: Can a point-forward type coexist with Stephon Marbury?
Without mentioning Walker specifically, Thomas said, "I think we need more ball movers -- more bigs who can handle the basketball. Sure, Tim (Thomas) showed it, but you need more that can do things with it. If you saw Detroit -- Tayshaun Prince, even Ben (Wallace) and Rasheed -- they have that. That's invaluable to a team."
From his roster, Thomas suspects the Bobcats will select center Cezary Trybanski. "But I think that's only a 50-50 chance," he added.
As for other matters, the health of Allan Houston is an ongoing concern, but Thomas believes the All-Star sniper's left knee has made significant progress, and that surgery is less likely now than it was when the season ended.
Thomas, who will be inaugurated into the Five Star Basketball Hall of Fame at Fordham University today, said, "Medically, everybody's happy with Allan's progress so far. Believe me, it's being monitored closely. I would say where he's at today, we're pretty happy with it. I haven't seen him work out, but I've had the reports. I will see him tomorrow."
Thomas concludes that the surgery issue could be moot, "unless we see something in the reports in the next couple of days that makes Allan lean in another direction."
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6/22/2004 7:42 PM