Eddy Curry ripped Mike D’Antoni yesterday for not telling him he was out of the rotation for tonight’s season opener vs. the Heat.
Curry was informed by the media that D’Antoni said the center was not “in the circle” to start the season.
“I’m definitely stunned, being that he didn’t tell me that,” said Curry, sporting a menacing beard. “I haven’t talked to him and I’m here every day. All he has to do is tell me and let me know what’s up.”
MORE: Run-And-Gun Knicks Open Tonight Vs. Heat
NEWS: Overdosed Isiah Was Sprawled On Floor: Cops
Curry never had a chance after missing all of Camp Saratoga with a bacterial infection. But even rookie Danilo Gallinari, who missed the entire preseason, is back on the radar, with D’Antoni saying there was a slight chance he could make a cameo tonight. Gallinari is being viewed as the eventual last man in the nine-player rotation.
D’Antoni has given no indication Curry is in the plans. Donnie Walsh would love to trade his long-term contract, with the Knicks vying to be under the salary cap by 2010.
“You can’t help but think about that,” Curry said. “I feel I’m in pretty good shape. It doesn’t have to be my team. I just want to be part of what’s going on. It doesn’t matter what I think and feel about the system. It’s pretty much how he sees how I fit or don’t fit.”
Curry does one thing exceptionally well, score in the low post in halfcourt sets. That’s not an asset in the speedball attack.
“I feel confident,” Curry said. “I feel I can go out and play with the best of them. I’m going to continue to feel that way. It’s not me choosing to sit out games.”
Malik Rose has more value to the system than Curry, who came close to making the All-Star team two seasons ago. “I’m going to play the guys who in preseason earned the spot,” D’Antoni said.
SG Anthony Roberson, kept over Patrick Ewing Jr., is inactive tonight. . . . Reacting to the Knicks deciding against giving him a contract extension, David Lee said, “I’m planning to have a big year if I’m signed for the next 50 years or if I was told I’d be here two months.”