Ewing Deal Helps All, But it's All About the Knicks

What does it feel like to play for a team for 15 years, then suddenly pack up and move to a different city, division, climate and lifestyle? Wade Boggs jumped Boston's then miserable ship for the Yankees after 13 years of wearing red socks. Joe Montana left his glory years in San Francisco behind him for a forgettable tenure in Kansas City. Next year, Patrick Ewing will discover just how strange Boggs and Montana must have felt when the number 33 jersey he dons is forest green.

Before discussing the logistics of this fascinating four-team, 12-player deal, the issue of loyalty in sports deserves mention. Firstly, the Knicks management is certainly not to be castigated for finally pulling the trigger on the Ewing deal, which had been brewing all summer. Ewing wanted out and no longer felt comfortable in the New York basketball environment that he epitomized for a decade and a half. Nor should Ewing be criticized for wanting to get out of New York. The fact is, he wanted out for the right reasons. His desire to move on wasn't motivated by money, but rather the feeling that he had worn out his welcome and could help a different club more than he could the Knicks.

Loyalty in sports is a waning phenomenon. The days of Kirby Pucketts, Jerry Rices and Hakeem Olajuwons have clearly passed. Sports are a business ‹ a very lucrative one, and an important one to countless people. If a player can no longer help a team win, he should be dealt.

For this reason, the major players in the Ewing trade ‹ the Knicks and Sonics ‹ should be commended for constructing a sensible deal capable of helping each club immeasurably.

Ewing's huge salary was obviously a primary concern for the Knicks, especially for a player with as shaky an anatomy as the seven-footer. He has historically had knee problems, and recently had his wrist surgically repaired. His health problems were painfully obvious in last year's playoffs, when up-tempo guards Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston wanted to run, but the big man simply couldn't keep the pace and provide an extra option for the guards.

Besides worries regarding Ewing's salary and health, Knicks General Manager Scott Layden may have had an ulterior motive in dealing him ‹ Marcus Camby. The Gumby-like center can run the floor, doesn't wilt under playoff pressure and has a longer wingspan than a pterodactyl. Camby is far more suited to the style of play the Knicks seem ready to commit themselves to and may emerge as a Tracy McGrady-like star. He's more of a shot-blocking presence than Ewing, and while he doesn't have Ewing's touch from the baseline, he's more explosive in the post.

Anyway, Sprewell, Houston and some new guy named Glen Rice should take care of the perimeter duties. To say that Rice can no longer be productive is like saying Bill Gates had no enterprising vision ‹ it's just not true. Rice was forced to accept a subordinate role in Los Angeles, where Shaq put up 40 points every night and Kobe Bryant pretended he could do the same. Although Rice may not start, he'll see a lot of time when Larry Johnson is ineffective, which is often.

Overlooked in all the hubbub surrounding the trade is that the Knicks will receive four non-lottery draft picks over the course of the next few years. If football fans think back to Minnesota's infamous dealing of a trillion draft picks to Dallas for running back Hershel Walker they'll remember how Dallas built a dynasty out of those picks alone. Although the picks won't be in the lottery, four extra players is a significant number, and if the Knicks acquire one solid bench player or potentially even a future starter, they come away as clear winners. Both Seattle's Rashard Lewis and Utah's Jacque Vaughn represent players selected late in the draft who have helped their teams significantly, and will assume increased roles this coming season.

The Knicks will become a far more athletic team, and more steady as well. Luc Longley, acquired from the Suns for the worthless Chris Dudley, will provide stability in the middle, although Camby will probably secure his starting job before the All-Star break. The addition of Rice means they have three excellent shooters, four if Charlie Ward plays like he did in the playoffs last year.

The deal is much more risky for Seattle. While Ewing will provide the imposing inside presence they've been seeking seemingly forever, they're set to foot the bill if Ewing's primary role is that of a seven-foot cheerleader.

Moreover, the deal reveals a surprising amount of urgency and shortsightedness for the Sonics. Ewing may play effectively for a year, but his body will limit him from playing consistently for much longer than that, and he may be reduced to cameo roles, a la late Larry Bird. The price Seattle will pay for Ewing seems a lofty one for a player whose immediate future is in such question. However, the Sonics have reason to be urgent, as Gary Payton is aging. If they'll win with him running the show, it needs to be now.

Assuming Ewing can stay healthy, Seattle may be one of next year's best teams. Vin Baker will no longer have to pretend he's a center when he's clearly a power forward, and an outstanding one. Everybody knows Gary Payton is arguably the best point guard in basketball, and they have superb young talent in Rashard Lewis and Jelani McCoy. Moreover, the loss of Horace Grant to the Lakers won't hurt them much, since, with the addition of Ewing, Baker will spell Grant better than Grant spelled himself.

However, if Ewing gets hurt, Payton plays less effectively and the young talent doesn't pan out, Seattle could be screwed more than Wilt Chamberlain claimed he was.

Grant will be a solid addition to the Lakers' starting lineup and will take much of the rebounding pressure off Shaq, allowing him to concentrate more on scoring, a frightening prospect for the rest of the NBA. The loss of Glen Rice won't be a factor, since Shaq and Kobe were too wrapped up in how many points they could possibly score in a single game. However, portraits of Rice's replacement, Rick Fox, will adorn dartboards all over Los Angeles if he keeps worrying more about his hair than his jumper.

The Suns are the team reaping the least visible benefits from the Ewing megatrade. Gaining Chris Dudley is equivalent to having Michael J. Fox join your basketball team ‹ useless. They lost Longley, a serviceable center, to the Knicks, and all they have to show for it is a big, worthless white guy and a little more money to work with.

Thus, with the arguable exception of Phoenix, all teams benefited from this trade, the proportions of which have never previously been matched. The deal may represent the commencement of a new era in terms of how general managers swap players to each other, but it will also create three clubs with radically different styles this season.

It may make the Lakers even better and has the potential to make Seattle an extremely dangerous team. But, as usual, the Knicks have stolen the limelight. In finally discarding the last remains of an aging club that proved itself unable to win a championship previously, they just may have created the speedy, athletic team that could wreak havoc in the East. Is it too early to make predictions?