CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jason Collins isn’t being added to the Knicks roster. And perhaps nobody is.
Coach Mike Woodson had said he would sit down with president and general manager Steve Mills and assistant GM Allan Houston on Thursday to discuss a list of available free-agent big men, but sources indicated the Knicks likely will stand pat and see how they fare in the short- term minus Tyson Chandler.
If things become a disaster, the Knicks will seriously consider 6-foot-8 power forward Ike Diogu, who had a solid training camp with the Knicks before getting released. The Nigerian native out of Buffalo rebounded ferociously and showed a consistent mid-range jumper. After cutting him, Woodson said he wanted more size.
According to a source, the Knicks have spoken to Collins’ representatives. Collins would make $1.4 million under the veteran’s minimum. Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t want to spend the money as he has 15 guaranteed contracts and the team plans to re-sign rehabbing Jeremy Tyler in December.
Woodson said during preseason Collins’ “name came up’’ over the summer. Collins, who became the first non-retired professional athlete in a team sport to openly admit he was gay, wasn’t invited to a training camp amid speculation teams didn’t want to deal with all the potential media distractions.
“I don’t know what he’s done,’’ Woodson said when asked about the former Net. “It’s hard for me to comment on Jason or any big until I sit and talk with Steve and Allan to see who’s out there. We have a list of some bigs.”
Collins, who played at Stanford, is training diligently in Los Angeles, aiming to join a roster that needs to plug an injury hole. Chandler suffered a broken fibula and the Knicks, already thin in the frontcourt, could use another natural center pronto.
Another candidate down the road could be 7-footer Earl Barron, whom the Knicks had several conversations with during the summer before ultimately inviting the younger Cole Aldrich to camp. Barron finished last season on the roster after grabbing 19 rebounds in his lone game.
If the Knicks eventually sign Diogu or Barron, they would have to release J.R. Smith’s brother, Chris, to open a spot. Chris Smith already has pocketed his guaranteed minimum contract of $491,000 because of a quirk in his deal, but the Knicks want to keep him as a practice player until the D-League starts.
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Raymond Felton, in an appearance on ESPN Radio, acknowledged Dolan is unhappy with the team’s 1-3 start.
“It’s obvious, we know he was ticked off,” Felton said. “We were ticked off. We definitely know he’s upset. Coach is not happy. Nobody is happy right now.’’
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Point guard Beno Udrih played 3 minutes against Charlotte on Tuesday after not playing in the prior two contests. Woodson said the move to a two-point guard starting lineup will have Udrih “back in the rotation.’’