Sweetney finding his place

(http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/071404/c0414knicksweb.html)
By MIKE DOUGHERTY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: July 14, 2004)


LONG BEACH, Calif. — There's not much bodywork left to be done.

Michael Sweetney will never be statuesque, but the former lottery pick has come a long way from the "before" pictures that caused so much concern a year ago. He's ready to step into an expanded role should the Knicks move Kurt Thomas, whose name is circulating in a number of trade scenarios.

"I think Sweet is OK. I don't think he's got much further to go," said assistant coach Herb Williams, who's in charge of the L.A. Summer Pro League entry. "He's moving well. Some players carry their weight, like Charles Barkley; his weight was never an issue. Sweet is probably always going to be on the big side, but he plays well and he's quicker than most big men."

The numbers are not discussed openly, but Sweetney has dropped at least 25 pounds since leaving Georgetown.

"I have my days, I guess," he said, proud of his 6-foot-8, 260-pound frame. "Some days I look big, some days I look small. ... I haven't been on a scale in a month."

Sweetney got into foul trouble here Saturday — another issue he must address. The power forward came back the next game and showed off, finishing with 27 points and nine rebounds. He added 10 points and six rebounds in an 87-79 win over the Mavericks last night.

"When I was coaching (at Indiana), I fell in love with Jeff Foster," Knicks president Isiah Thomas said. "Here, it's Michael Sweetney. I just love him. When we first got here, he was a guy on the sidelines in a suit and tie. All I asked him was to work and get in shape. I told him we'd teach him to play. He gave us his mind and body and hasn't looked back since.

"He embodies just about everything we'd like a New York Knick to be."

Assistant Mark Aguirre went to work, too, and Sweetney responded to the individual attention.

"I heard a lot of negative things from people, that I wouldn't make it in this league," he said. "Coach Aguirre came in and built my confidence up. It got in my head, and I can't work hard enough."

Sweetney had a number of impressive outings late last season, including 15 points and 12 rebounds in 25 minutes at Washington.

"People talk about height differential, but who were the best post-up players? Adrian Dantley and Mark Aguirre; they were 6-4 or 6-5," Williams said. "If you know how to use your body and you know how to bang people, you're not going to have to worry about getting your shot off."


Notes: Thomas is discussing a sign-and-trade with Golden State that would bring Erick Dampier to New York, according to league sources. One version of the deal would send Nazr Mohammed to the Warriors along with an expiring contract in exchange for the sturdy big man. Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin denied talking with Thomas, but would not deny the possibility of a future swap, saying with a smile, "You never know." ... The Knicks yesterday got involved in a three-team scenario that included Dallas and Toronto in which they would part with Kurt Thomas and some expiring contracts to get Antoine Walker. The big name in the deal is Vince Carter, who would end up with the Mavericks. ... Chicago remains unwilling to accept Moochie Norris in the sign-and-trade package for Jamal Crawford, so that deal remains on hold. By offering Crawford significantly less than $7 million to start, the Knicks could remove Norris from the deal. Crawford, though, isn't likely to be happy making less than market value. ... After speaking at the Knicks' summer camp at Pace University, an upbeat Allan Houston confirmed that his ailing knees are getting better with rest. He expects to be going all-out in another month.



Send e-mail to Mike Dougherty

Well, its good to see that Isiah loves Sweetney so much because we want him to be part of our future, not just another trade pawn. And its also good to see that Isiah has all the youngsters working hard on their games, as Sweetney. But 10 pts and 6 rebs is a big drop from his usual numbers in the SL. I wonder what really happened in the game...

He only took 5 shots last night

I'm sorry, but what has Kwame done that Sweetney did not? Both did not exatly show anything but flashes, and Kwame has been in the league for like 3 years now. I'd stick with our own homegornw talent for once and develop Sweetney.

Sweetney for Kwame Brown is too "Laydenesque"! No thanks; I'll take the guy with less talent and more heart any day.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Sweetney for Kwame Brown is too "Laydenesque"! No thanks; I'll take the guy with less talent and more heart any day.

Bonn, your comparison is lame. In fact, the trade doesn't resemble any of Layden's deals - it doesn't involve trading draft picks for an injured veteran or taking back overpriced players. Claiming that the trade is "Laydenesque," as you put it, is absurd.

As for Sweetney having more "heart" than Brown, I guess thats a subjective evaluation. Brown is in excellent shape and works on his game in the offseason. Coming out of high school, Brown's game was very raw and needed a lot of development. In my opinion, it was a lack of refinement in his skills and not a "lack of heart" that kept him from exploding for huge numbers. Sweetney has also worked extremely hard to lose weight.

Long term, both will be good players. Both are only 21 years old. While Sweetney has had only 1 year to learn the "NBA" game, he had 2 years of college to develop fundamentals and gradually adjust. Kwame had to learn the most basic aspects of the game before even conceiving of complex coaching schemes, the pressure of a large audience, the level of competition etc. Right now, both have a lot of potential. Brown just has more.

Brown has athleticism to finish at the basket, nice shooting range and the size and strength to play both the 4 and 5 position. Sweetney is an undersized 4 with great post up skills, nice shooting range, but limited athleticism. Again, Sweetney is a nice player but Kwame has to much ability to pass up.

You're right; Layden was an bad example. But not nearly as bad as this trade proposal is

Posted by Silverfuel:

Posted by raven:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Sweetney for Kwame Brown is too "Laydenesque"! No thanks; I'll take the guy with less talent and more heart any day.

not so laydenesque cause kwame is young and not yet overpaid, but I'm right with you on this.

thats classic

what do you mean ?

Posted by Bonn1997:

You're right; Layden was an bad example. But not nearly as bad as this trade proposal is

That's a cheap and stupid comment. Why is the trade proposal so terribly bad again? Since our cap value remains unaffected, you must really think that Sweetney is much much better than Brown for the trade to be so appalling. Even if thats the case, whats your reasoning? I understand from your first post that you didn't like the trade, but, in neither post do you explain why you feel this way except a weak attempt at criticizing Brown's "heart" without supporting evidence? Explaining your logic will be more valuable than delivering bad one liners.

To the other posters that are against trading Sweetney for Brown, I accept your point that Kwame has only shown potential in his 3 years. But, at only 21, the same age as Sweetney, he is far from a bust yet. Jermaine O' Neal followed a similar pattern of development. If both Sweetney and Brown have potential, but Brown has more, why not trade for him?

yeah, I think my original trade proposal was Sweetney and Othella Harrington (expiring contract) for Kwame to match salaries.

Apology accepted.