REMEMBER the year, 1990, Al Batross dealt Rod Strickland to San Antonio for Maurice Cheeks (worst trade in franchise history), and the Knicks upset the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs?
As it turned out, it was the worst thing that could’ve happened to the Knicks. Losing to the Celtics would’ve forced Al Batross (alias Al Bianchi) to recognize reality and work to correct his team’s numerous flaws.
Instead, the jobs of the general manager, the coach (Stu Jackson) and half the roster were preserved for all the wrong reasons. Except for a heavy-handed typist or two, the whole city of New York got suckered into a specious sense of invulnerability that summer … a fantasy world that collapsed almost immediately as soon as the NBA started to play for real the following season.
Unless Dave Checketts’ imported pawn Scott Layden and Jeff Van Gundy are unable to accomplish their primary objective (trade Latrell Sprewell), I see the same sorry scenario developing this season.
While nobody in their right mind would ever give up the heavenly experience of reaching The Finals last season, the trip ultimately may cost the Knicks more long-term horror than the fleeting success was worth.
For if Allan Houston’s last shot against the Heat in round one doesn’t trickle into the trough, Van Gundy is justifiably junked for subverting GM Ernie Grunfeld. And, at one time or another, for sabotaging Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Chris Dudley, Dennis Scott, John Wallace, Buck Williams, Terry Cummings, John Starks and even Houston, whom he used to refer to as a kitty, or something to that effect, for much of his first two years as a Knick.
That was Checketts’ game plan when he chose the wrong man to fire late last season. Buy some time with his Cablevision bosses by vaporizing Grunfeld, then ice Van Gundy immediately after the team is ousted from the playoffs and hopefully replace him with Phil Jackson.
The Knicks’ accidental prosperity radically altered that. The public’s ignorant outcry for Van Gundy left Checketts no other choice but to retain and extend his uncoachable coach for two more seasons than the two ($14M total) already owed. Giving Van Gundy an unearned position of power to add whom he wants (front office and publicity department as well as the roster) and subtract who resists his rationale/system/cunning charm.
We all know where that left Sprewell; first on the Knicks’ hit list. The final buzzer had no sooner sounded when Checketts was attempting to exchange Sprewell for Gary Payton.
There’s no escaping that irony. No player was more responsible than Sprewell for leading the Knicks to the Supreme Court. None more liable for saving Van Gundy’s corroding career. None more beloved by New York fans.
Meanwhile, Van Gundy’s entrenched at the Garden and Sprewell could be on the way out. In the end, who benefits from that power play, the Knicks or Van Gundy?
In late August, when I first discovered the Knicks had tried in vain to swap Sprewell for Payton (as if Joe Bag of Donuts could’ve handled Gary’s poor practice habits and disrespect for authority), I thought it was a dead issue. Thought they took a shot at a premier point guard and were through peddling Sprewell. Thought management had come to its senses.
My age of innocence has officially expired.
About a month ago, before Sprewell missed training camp in Charleston, S.C., before he flagrantly failed to communicate with Knick hierarchy for over a week, before he was fined $130G, before it got out that negotiations weren’t going well regarding a 6-year extension (but wisely waiting until after season-ticket holders had renewed), sources tell me management earnestly began to offer Latrell around the league … for an established small forward.
Easier attempted than executed.
How can the Knicks seriously expect to get equal compensation for someone who bears a striking resemblance to The Predator and flaunts an image that has become increasingly soiled? Why would an opponent give up somebody significant for a rebel who couldn’t co-exist with his last two coaches, regardless whose fault it was? As productive as Sprewell is, why would a team swap value for a player earning $9.1 million and about to become a free agent? That is, unless a contract agreement can be struck beforehand.
Van Gundy’s only hope to disassociate himself from Sprewell, whom he detests (the feeling is mutual, believe me), is to locate a team engulfed in similar unrest with a superstar. Or one on the end of his contract, who wants out because he knows his team doesn’t plan to supersize his next contract.
The Knicks’ only hope to attain the blood-stained heights of last season and be equally entertaining is if Van Gundy flunks that mission. Sprewell may be more estranged and less receptive than ever to Van Gundy once he learns he’s unwanted, but don’t let the friction fool you.
Sprewell may be tough to deal with, but it’ll be tougher to deal without him.