At least one player acquired in last week’s trades will make his Knicks debut tonight against Cleveland and LeBron James. But Al Harrington is mainly here because in two years the Knicks hope James goes from a Cav to a Cav-Not.
Tonight will be an intriguing night at the Garden, and Harrington – one of three new Knicks – knows it.
“It’s going to be a packed house with everybody here to see LeBron play and see the new-look Knicks,” the forward said yesterday.
Harrington, picked up from the Warriors in the Jamal Crawford swap, practiced yesterday and will play tonight. Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas, the two other new Knicks acquired from the Clippers, were both still waiting to be cleared on their physicals and didn’t practice.
But James is the megawatt attraction. His situation is well known: The Knicks made two major trades last week, essentially to free up salary-cap space for 2010 when he becomes a free agent.
The superstar’s potential arrival in New York at that time would be both team-changing and – as far as sports go – city-changing. Watch for the ovation he’ll get tonight.
The last time James played here, he put up 50 points, and in a nice marketing move, James will debut a Manhattan-themed sneaker tonight called the Zoom LeBron VI “Big Apple.” The shoes are apple-red.
James didn’t speak yesterday at Cavs practice, but on Saturday he showed he was aware of the Knicks’ moves.
“It’s two years away, but time goes fast,” said the King. “We’ll see what happens.”
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni was an assistant coach for the Olympic team, so he already has some experience working with James. Yesterday, though, when asked how much he got to know James personally, D’Antoni took a pass.
“We’re going down a slippery slope there and I’m not going there,” he said.
As for his own players, D’Antoni said he’d be willing to play Thomas and Mobley tonight even though they haven’t practiced, reasoning they’ve been playing this season already. D’Antoni wasn’t sure if he’d start Harrington but promised he’d get significant minutes at power forward and center.
The 6-foot-9 Harrington (12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds with the Warriors this season) hasn’t played since Nov. 5 due to a back issue. The 28-year-old Orange, N.J., native was ecstatic about suiting up.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “Indiana’s Indiana. But this is big time.”