Hit with $437,500 worth of fines, Latrell Sprewell said he’s ready to fight for every penny.
“I’ll fight for all the money back,” Sprewell said. “They came down so hard, I don’t think there’s anyway I don’t get some of that money back. That wasn’t my biggest concern. My biggest concern was not being allowed to be around the guys.”
That should just warm the cockles of Knick GM Scott Layden’s heart as he looks to deal him when he’s back in the lineup in less than two weeks.
The Blazers, whose owner Paul Allen has an unlimited budget, and the Knicks have already exchanged names in a possible Sprewell blockbuster, with 6-7 small forward Ruben Patterson being a potential Sprewell replacement in a multi-player deal.
Patterson would give the Knicks size at the “3.” He’s an athletic scorer and decent defender, but has major offcourt issues. Portland power forward Dale Davis has attracted Layden’s interest the last two years and could be added to a package.
It’s well-known the Blazers have shopped point guard Damon Stoudamire for months. Shooting guard Derek Anderson also has been mentioned as on the block. Talks with the Blazers could get serious once Sprewell’s healthy.
Maverick owner Mark Cuban continues to deny he’d be willing to part with Nick Van Exel in a Sprewell exchange, saying yesterday, “It’s not something we would look at doing.”
However, Cuban is notorious for saying he’s not interested, then turning around and making an offer. “There will always be other GMs wondering if I’m available,” said Sprewell.
Sprewell, wearing a gray suit, sat on the Knicks’ bench first time this preseason when the Nets humiliated the Knicks in their exhibition finale, 106-77, at the Meadowlands.
The trade value for Sprewell, coming off a broken pinkie and broken relationship with team management, has never been lower since he’s been a Knick. He has filed three appeals against the Knicks – two Thursday night that included a previously undisclosed $50,000 fine.
Layden knows he can not publicly feud with Sprewell any longer, lest he seem desperate the franchise wants to trade him. As long as Layden is not expecting a slew of riches in return, he can be dealt. Layden, who passed on claiming Lee Nailon with the $4.5M injury exception, can use this new asset in making a multi-player deal that normally wouldn’t meet salary-cap mathematics.
Sprewell’s contract, which pays him $12.375M this season and lasts another three years, is burdensome for a 32-year-old on the decline. But high-payroll teams such as the Blazers and Mavericks have no limits.
“Those teams deal in a world of their own,” one team executive said. “All other teams you talk to are focusing on [getting under the] luxury tax.”
“If there’s anything hurting trading him, it’s the max contract he’s got,” said a league GM. “If it wasn’t for the max contract, he’d be easy to move.”
*
Two spectacular alley-oops from Jason Kidd to Richard Jefferson and a leap-to-the-ceiling putback dunk by Kenyon Martin highlighted the Knick destruction.
“That was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Don Chaney said. “The defense [stunk]. We broke every rule there is.”
Allan Houston was a brutal 4 of 18 from the field. Jefferson scored a team-high 23 points as the Knicks ended preseason 4-4.
With overweight Chris Childs suspended, the Nets signed last year’s backup PG, Anthony Johnson, cut by Cleveland. “An new-old face,” Byron Scott said.