| | NEW YORK -- Now that they have apparently dealt off Patrick Ewing, the Knicks can put Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Vin Baker and Glen Rice all on the court at the same time.
|  | | Vin Baker, getting his shot blocked here by David Robinson, struggled mightily in Seattle. |
If this were a rotisserie league based on offense, the Knicks would be in great shape to win a title. However, if you're competing in the NBA, where defense and rebounding win championships, this team is not going to win.
At his best, Baker isn't a franchise player. Not close. He's a 6-foot-11, finesse forward who can't pound, can't pass out of the post and has big trouble finding his way into a gym in the offseason.
In the last two seasons of his three-year stint as a Sonic, Baker has been overweight, depression-wracked, scared to get the ball in the post, benched in fourth quarters, no
factor in the postseason, Shaq-like at the foul line, soft and turnover prone. Which are only a few of the reasons why the Sonics wanted to get out from under his contract, and why the U.S. Olympic team has had some serious second thoughts after they mysteriously put him on the Dream Team.
Rice also has to rebound off two miserable seasons as a Laker. Granted, he didn't fit in to Phil Jackson's triangle, but he also has lost a lot off his game. He can't penetrate any more off the dribble, and there's only going to be one ball on the floor for Rice and the other three. Rice belongs in an offense that sets screens for him, where he can get some separation. That's what the triangle rarely provided. But this is not the same player who averaged 26.8 points per game only a few years ago in Charlotte.
The Knicks have never been against taking on deadly contracts -- see Larry Johnson. So bringing on Baker's remaining $77 million is not a big deal for Madison Square Garden. Nor will giving Rice a big deal be a burden. But Scott Layden should have held off and made a play for Chris Webber next summer. There are so many questions about Baker, though Baker doesn't think so.
"I put the last two seasons behind me," Baker said Sunday night at his charity game in Hartford, Conn. "There are no concerns. I don't think there are any concerns from the Knicks' end."
Truth is, the Knicks had some very serious concerns.
Here's a news flash, VB: The Knicks are scared of you, even if you put a positive spin on everything when you had discussions with their people
the other day. The Knicks are scared to death, as they have every right to be.
Although he appears to be in terrific shape now, Baker has been woefully out of shape and carrying around too much weight for two years running.
Since his game is based solely on quickness, he's killed his own career. But that also speaks volumes about his work ethic. The Knicks already
have enough players, starting with Marcus Camby, who don't do diddly in
the offseason to improve their individual games.
The gamble on Baker isn't worth it, and this would be a bigger risk than taking on Latrell Sprewell.
There was never a question about Sprewell's talent; only how selfish he'd be in New York. With Baker, the Knicks are wondering if he can play
anymore, and how well. Compared to Baker's enormous contract, Sprewell came at a bargain.
Say this about Ewing; When he was healthy, he played hard, practiced hard and was prepared every time out. The Knicks have their doubts about Baker, on all
of those fronts. And it's not as if Baker's aversion to hard work in the summer months suddenly started. In his best years, the Bucks used to have to send out assistant coaches to try to track him down and drag him into the gym.
"Vin's been half-hearted when it comes to his offseason conditioning," said one of his former Bucks coaches, Chris Ford. "That's just the way he's been."
The Knicks need this?
About as much as they need one of Baker's turnovers. Incidentally, this past season was the fifth consecutive year in which Baker committed more turnovers than assists.
At his best, he's only a fadeaway jump shooter, when what the Knicks really need to eventually replace Ewing is a stud/power player who will
command a double team in the low post. Rice doesn't do that either. Not even close.
Subtract Ewing and add Baker and Rice, and the Knicks might be conceding the East. Now isn't the time for that. If the rest of the competition in the
JV division were as good as the Lakers, Spurs or Blazers, the Knicks would be right to plan for the future. But even the revamped Heat
haven't put that much distance between themselves and the Pacers and Knicks. With Ewing, the Knicks can make a run at the East again, as Pat Riley
well knows.
Now that Ewing has decided to leave New York, he has made the momentous decision of agreeing to meet up with Shaq, Rasheed Wallace, Tim Duncan and David Robinson on a nightly basis. Like he needs those headaches.
Ewing hasn't been able to stay healthy since he signed that $68 million deal a few summers back. He's 38. He can't give the Knicks 24 and 12
every night, like he used to. He can be moody and miserable and a big baby, and if he walks after this season, the Knicks would have gotten nothing in
return.
But in the long run, getting nothing would still be better than Vin Baker.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
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