GOOD SPORTS
By Jerome Early

For the first time since Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, and Chris Childs joined the team, the New York Knicks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. I am still recovering from the shock. Let's take a look at the main culprit:

Scott Layden
If they had a Worst Executive of the Year award, Portland GM Bob Whitsitt would win hands-down. But Layden, the former Utah Jazz top dog and current Knicks GM, would not be far behind. Acting for the sake of action, Trader Scott revamped the Knick lineup with a series of baffling moves. Three of his four trades were, as Walt Frazier would say, woeful.

First, he drafts Florida forward and rebounding specialist Donnell Harvey in the first round -- a decent enough pick, given the Knicks shoddy glass work, but hardly a steal. He then trades Harvey to the Dallas Mavericks for Erick Strickland, a left-handed Chris Childs, giving the Knicks a fifth guard in an already crowded backcourt. (He also drafted St. John's Lavor Postell in the second round. Postell stuck and will likely be around for awhile, but taking the popular local product with a second-round pick is hardly a stretch). The move confuses the troops and the coach, and Childs and Charlie Ward panic about losing their jobs.

Strickland plays well when called upon, but fails to crack Jeff Van Gundy's rotation. He is exchanged, eventually, for forward Othella Harrington and yet another draft pick. This is the only good move Layden made all year. But is Harrington worth two draft picks?

Next, he deals Patrick Ewing, the aging legend who has a single year left on his huge contract, with able backup Chris Dudley for small forward Glen Rice and retreads with big contracts: Travis Knight and Luc Longley. Knight and Longley fail to justify their enormous paychecks, and Rice continues to freefall. All three are untradeable, taking up lots of salary cap room -- room that should be used to lure Chris Webber to New York. True, Ewing didn't do anything in Seattle, but the Sonics now have his $18 million cap space to play with.

Finally, in the worst move of his bad season, Layden trades Childs and another draft pick (!) to Toronto for washed-up Mark Jackson, who still has two years left on his fat contract. Jackson's presence pushes Ward to the bench, but has a negligible effect on the team. His suspect defense makes him a liability late in games. And Childs, unshackled from Van Gundy's system, leads the Raptors over New York in the playoffs.

Obviously, major changes are in store for the team this year. Houston, who plays the same position as Sprewell and will be a free agent this summer, is gone. Ward will probably be dealt as well. Marcus Camby, the Knicks MVP this year, may have to be included in a major trade package, which is bad news for New York.

So what to do? Let's go through the roster and see:

Latrell Sprewell
 The sole untradeable commodity on the team. He is a different man that the one who choked P.J. Carlesimo: selfless, productive, high-energy, and enormously popular at the Garden. Say what you will about him off the court, the fact is, he shows up for big games, and there aren't many players like that in the league anymore. He stays.

Allan Houston
 Great player who will only get better with the zone defences next year. But he's a free agent and plays the same position as Sprewell. Signing and trading him will free the two-guard spot for Spree and let Rice back into the starting lineup, where he belongs. He's gone.

Marcus Camby
 A bargain in today's NBA market and the barometer of the team. When Camby plays well, they win. When he doesn't, for whatever reason, they lose. Webber won't get done without him, but there are other options. He's likely gone.

Kurt Thomas
 Grunt-nosed, rebounding power forward, the best defender on the team. Signed for a few more years. A keeper who should be a starter. He stays.

Charlie Ward
 Jesus wouldn't trade a solid backup point guard who knows the system and plays hard, but Layden might. He's probably gone.

Mark Jackson
 His trade away from New York was almost as bad as the one that brought him back. Maybe one of those teams that need veteran leadership will take him. The Clippers, say, for Michael Olowakandi, or the Bulls, or the Wizards, if Jordan comes back. I'd deal him for a draft pick, but he'll likely stay.

Othella Harrington
 Southpaw from Georgetown proved his worth in limited duty. Unless his contract is needed in a major deal, he's not going anywhere. Look for him to play a bigger role next year.

Larry Johnson
 Back bad put him on the shelf this post-season. There is talk of him retiring, but don't count on it. He's one of Van Gundy's favorite players, and if the playoffs are an indication, the Knicks don't win without him. He's here till he retires.

Lavor Postell
 Ballsy second-round pick, another Van Gundy favorite. Promising rookies are usually dealt in stupid Checketts trades. He's 50/50 to come back.

Luc Longley
 Bad knees might force him to retire, clearing up cap room and a roster spot. Good. He's probably gone.

Travis Knight
Overpaid, but a decent tenth man. Unless they can get rid of him in a major deal, he stays.

The plan:

The rumor mills says Chris Webber, one of the five best players in the league, will don the orange and blue next year with his good buddy Sprewell. Supposedly Houston, Ward, and Camby will go to the Kings in exchange for C-Webb and flashy one-guard Jason Williams. This would give the Knicks two point guards who can't play defense, and get rid of Camby -- but it would be worth it to watch Williams give Van Gundy fits. And why would Sacramento make that deal? They already have a good two-guard.

Better: sign and trade Houston to the Celtics, along with Jackson and Knight, for Antoine Walker and Kenny Anderson. Boston would do that deal in a heartbeat. Walker would develop better with Van Gundy and more experienced teammates, and Anderson, persona non grata in Beantown, might find the hop in his step returning to New York. And if not, so what?

That gives New York a starting five of Ward and Sprewell in the backcourt, Rice and Walker up front, and Marcus Camby in the middle, with Thomas, Anderson, and Harrington off the bench. L.J. might be able to contribute, and Postell could play in spots.

This way, the Knicks could go with a big backcourt of Sprewell and Rice, with Walker, an excellent ball-handler, playing the point in certain situations.

That's what I would do, if I were the GM. Then again, if I were the GM, I'd have Ron Artest instead of Patrick Weis.