SportsLine.com Report
June 6, 2000

1999-2000 in review

The Knicks met on June 4 at Purchase College where Jeff Van Gundy delivered a brief, 15-minute speech. There wasn't a lot to say, two days after being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals on their home floor in six games by the Pacers.

"As Jeff said, we won 50 games, got to the Eastern Finals, but that wasn't our goal," Larry Johnson said.

Only returning to The Finals was going to be deemed as fulfilling expectations, even if injuries robbed them of their prowess vs. Indiana.

It is injuries, though, that makes Van Gundy believe that changes might have to be made. In the final days of the season, Van Gundy stressed that lack of "durability" was a team weakness and should be addressed.

While Parick Ewing and Johnson will be prone to injuries next season, disappointing Marcus Camby may be put on the trading block. Camby had one injury after another this season and the Knicks may be shopping for a power forward with more durability and more consistency on the boards. The Knicks were a poor rebounding team all season. It was quite a fall for Camby, quite a fall for the Knicks.

Meanwhile, the knee-jerk reaction to the Knicks' demise was for them to go out and try to obtain either small forward Grant Hill or Tim Duncan , offering either Allan Houston or Latrell Sprewell as bait. Van Gundy has said that the team has a "structural flaw" in that Houston and Spree play the same position of shooting guard.

Meanwhile, on breakup day, Knicks GM Scott Layden, who normally isn't given to major pronouncements, declared Ewing will not be traded in the summer. Layden said if the Knicks are to return to the Finals, Ewing has to be part of the group.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: In the regular season, the highlight was their 3-2 West Coast trip in April that made it seem they were ready to get to The Finals again after dispatching Portland and Seattle. In the playoffs, sweeping Toronto in three games in the first round after the Raptors had destroyed them in the regular season was as good as it got. It topped the Miami win because, to a man, the Knicks felt they were a tad lucky to get by the Heat in seven games.

SEASON LOWLIGHT: The Knicks, trying to improve their playoff seeding, got crushed by Toronto and Cleveland in back-to-back games in the season's final week, making them stuck at the modest third seed and led to their eventual downfall. The Knicks believe if they had homecourt, things might have been different.

KEY STAT: The Knicks held opponents to 41-percent shooting -- second best in the league. That stat enabled them to win 50 games despite their poor rebounding performances.

The Personnel File

MVP: Allan Houston was MVP for the first half and Latrell Sprewell in the second half and playoffs. Spree further enhanced his image as a team player, played as selfless as anyone on the team. Rising to the challenge after getting toasted in the regular season, Spree's defense against Toronto's Vince Carter in the first round was heroic. Sprewell played out of position all season and never complained or made excuses.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Charlie Ward emerging in the playoffs as a dangerous penetrator was a wonderful thing for Knicks fans. Ward has been bashed for years because he was unable to create his own shot like most point guards. Ward had improved his 3-point shooting during the regular season but then took it to another level in the postseason with the Garden chanting his name on numerous occasions. He was their best player against Miami. Suddenly, the cries for a new point guard have been muffled.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: A tie between John Wallace and Camby. Wallace fell out of the rotation in the playoffs because he didn't show enough defensive ability to earn Van Gundy's trust. The instant offense he was supposed to provide after signing as a free agent was sporadic. Camby's season was wrecked by injuries. He underwent knee surgery in February and he never fully recovered. Camby's playoff performance was horrendous in comparison to last spring when he had his coming-out party.

COACH: Van Gundy was criticized in the end for his short rotation. He may have given too many minutes to Sprewell and Houston, resulting in them wearing down and getting hurt in the playoffs. Van Gundy has to take part of the blame for their lack of durability.

Van Gundy should be more flexible with his bench and get more guys involved instead of having them rot. Considering their offensive woes at times in the playoffs, it's amazing Van Gundy turned to Wallace for just one four-minute stretch and only after Ewing got hurt.

Offseason tinkering

DRAFT: The Knicks like a couple of point guards -- Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves and Missouri's Keyon Dooling. They pick No. 22 so unless they trade up, it will have no impact on next year's club.

Meanwhile, the Knicks have to decide whether to sign their '99 first-round pick, 7-foot-2 French center Frederic Weis. The New York Post reported that the Knicks have invited Weis to work out with the coaches in late June and play in the summer league to give him one last chance to prove he deserves a contract. They lose his rights Sept. 5.

FREE-AGENT FRONT: The Knicks need to sign a burly power forward who can rebound. Danny Fortson is a free agent but the Celtics are hoping to sign him. Layden could've had Fortson at the trade deadline for John Wallace.

Grant Hill seems pie-in-the-sky because the Pistons probably won't do it. Power forward Kurt Thomas is New York's only free agent and considering the bench became a postseason disappointment, they likely will re-sign him under the early Bird exception with a contract beginning at $3.8 million per. Thomas, however, was ticked at how he was handled in the offseason and may go elsewhere even if the money is similar.