LOS ANGELES — The Knicks aren’t that desperate yet, but will be one of the teams monitoring the progress of mercurial point guard Delonte West, expected to make his D-League debut tonight when the Texas Legends host the Santa Cruz Warriors.
West is a super talent and super headache, but, at 29, a relative pup by Knicks standards. He hasn’t played all season but was effective last year with Dallas. The Knicks haven’t been thrilled with their point-guard play since Christmas, with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd falling back to Earth, Iman Shumpert not being a reliable scorer and playmaking rookie Pablo Prigioni not enough of an offensive threat.
The Knicks don’t have a roster spot and rehabbing Rasheed Wallace is on the West Coast trip for “moral support,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. Woodson acknowledged he will sit down with general manager Glen Grunwald after the trip to explore options. Wallace would have to be cut to open a roster spot.
Wallace (foot surgery) could be back for the second round of the playoffs, but seems like a longshot. The Knicks probably won’t spring for a big-man signing unless Marcus Camby’s foot gives out again. Camby looked active in Portland Thursday.
The Knicks’ options are slim since they cannot sign a player waived after March 1 to be on the playoff roster. The top D-League centers include Hilton Armstrong, Vernon Macklin, Hassan Whiteside, Keith Benson, and Solomon Alabi.
* Former Knicks center Timofey Mozgov played nine garbage-time minutes in Denver on Wednesday. The young 7-foot-1 Russian has been out of the Nuggets’ rotation and becomes a restricted free agent July 1. The Knicks have interest and inquired about Mozgov at the trade deadline. But they have little flexibility with their $3.1 million mini mid-level and are unable to make a sign-and-trade under the new rules.
“We got the option to choose a team where I can play,’’ Mozgov told The Post. “I can’t say [Nuggets coach] George [Karl] is bad. Of course it’s not a good feeling when you don’t play, but I’m still part of the team. New York is a good city, no question, but there are 30 teams.’’
* Kenyon Martin signed yesterday for the rest of the season after the second of his 10-day contracts expired Thursday night. The increasingly impressive Martin left in the final minutes in Thursday’s game with a bruised left shin but was said to be OK. Martin, who played for the Clippers last season, could start against his former team tomorrow.