The Knicks have Allan Houston as an assistant general manager, Larry Johnson as a player development rep, Herb Williams as an assistant coach.
And now Marcus Camby. As a player. The Knicks seem to be reuniting that 1999 NBA Finals team one way or another.
“I saw that, especially with Allan the other day down in Houston. Just seeing him brought back so many memories. That shot he hit against Miami and all the great years and experiences we shared and I heard L.J. is back,” the 6-foot-11 Camby said at his introductory press conference yesterday. “It’s good Mr. Dolan is bringing back former players to be a part of the organization.”
Even as players at 38. But as general manager Glen Grunwald said Thursday, guys such as Camby and Jason Kidd can have a huge impact just with their presence. Camby agreed, especially when it comes to center Tyson Chandler.
“TC has earned everything he’s received. NBA champion, Olympian, Defensive Player of the Year,” said Camby, who gets three years for about $9 million after his sign- and-trade from Houston. “Last year, he put a lot of pressure on himself because they really didn’t have anybody to replace him if he got into foul trouble or if he got hurt. With me, I’m just going to push him every day in practice and make each other betterand if we do that, it’s going to make us a better team.”
Camby said his choices were down to three teams: Knicks, Rockets and Heat, and talks were serious with Miami.
“I was going on a plane,” he said with a laugh. “Of course, with a sign and trade, the team that signs you and trades you wants to have different pieces in return. So I guess things didn’t work out.”
Camby also said he has no hard feelings from when he was dealt by the Knicks 10 years ago.
“I got traded from here a long time ago,” he said. “I just felt that they felt [Antonio] McDyess was the better player. McDyess is not even in the league anymore and I’m still here clicking and going. So no hard feelings or anything. Players get traded in this league all the time.”
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Grunwald addressed the Jeremy Lin (four years, $28.8 million, Rockets) and Landry Fields (three years, $19 million, Raptors) offer sheets, but only indicated the Knicks want both guys back. The Knicks can match both contracts.
“We’ve been told [Lin] received an offer sheet from the Houston Rockets. We’re waiting to see that offer sheet,” Grunwald said. “Like Landry Fields, Jeremy Lin, those are two young players that we’d like back here. We’ll make a final determination when we need to make that determination. Now is not the time. … I think it’s likely that we’ll bring him [Lin] back. We’ll wait until we need to make that decision.
Regarding Fields, Grunwald said, “We haven’t reached any decision at this time. We’re still looking at that offer sheet and what other alternatives might be available to us.”
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The Knicks finalized the re-signing of Steve Novak (four years, $15 million).
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Phil Jackson might not have felt the same but Kidd likes the mix of “pieces” he saw in the Knicks.
“The first thing when you talk about the pieces, they all know how to play basketball,” Kidd said. “I think when you get older you want to be surrounded by guys who know how to play because it makes the game so much easier.
“Looking at the roster with the Knicks, I think that’s a no-brainer. You have multiple pieces and you have a great coach. So for me, it was a no-brainer. … I wanted to be a part of it.”
Kidd on his age: “Age sometimes is overrated. Everybody talks about it for some reason. No one talks about it with [Steve] Nash. I’m a year older. It’s just something you guys stuck on and wrote a lot about, but I feel young. I played the lowest minutes of my career last year. I feel great mentally and physically so I’m ready to go.”