Ward’s Future Is Basketball : NBA: Heisman Trophy winner says ‘football is not an option’ after the New York Knicks make him the 26th overall pick of the draft.

Charlie Ward put it as simply as possible: “This is for everyone--no football questions. Football is not an option.”

He said that Wednesday night after the Knicks took him 26th overall in the first round of the NBA draft, and as his agent, Eugene Parker, put it Thursday, “If Charlie said it, it’s correct. What he meant was that he’s not pursuing football, he’s pursuing basketball.”

Football apparently is not pursuing him, either. Ward, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Florida State, was passed over in the NFL’s seven-round draft in April, and no team moved to sign him as a free agent afterward.

His only legitimate football option is the Canadian Football League, whose season overlaps the NBA’s only in late October and early November. But the Las Vegas Posse, which holds his rights, is unwilling to match the salary he will get from the Knicks as a first-round pick.

All of this is a moot point, said Ward, Parker and the Knicks, who all are convinced

of Ward’s commitment. General Manager Ernie Grunfeld said he was convinced of that in interviews with Ward before the draft.

“He felt like he wanted to deal with life as it came to him. He believed there was a reason for everything,” Grunfeld said Thursday. “He felt that maybe football wasn’t for him, and that maybe his destiny was in basketball. He felt he had better options in basketball, as far as longevity is concerned.”

His declarations to the Knicks and other NBA teams apparently were as convincing as the ones he made to NFL teams that spoke to him before their draft. Word got out that Ward would not sign with a team unless he was drafted in the first round. NFL people pegged him as a second-round pick, but the threat supposedly scared teams off.

Parker’s contention is that Ward simply made it clear that football wasn’t his only option. “They wanted Charlie to make a commitment to football,” he said. “Charlie said, ‘You’re not making a commitment to me, why should I make that commitment to you?’ They were worried that they would not have control of the situation. All he said was that if they didn’t (take him in the first round), he would consider his options, one of which is basketball.”

Grunfeld said Ward should only get better with time and extended exposure to the game. “You could really see steady improvement, from (pre-draft tournaments in) Phoenix to Chicago to the USBL,” he said, naming a few of the ways Ward accelerated his progress. Grunfeld added, “He’s got great basketball skills, and he has a natural ability to lead, to be a quarterback.”

Preferably, the Knicks would love for Ward and their other first-round pick, forward Monty Williams, to play in the Doral Arrowwood Summer League in White Plains later this month; that, as well as most contractual situations, will certainly be held up by the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Ward joins a logjam at point guard that includes starter Derek Harper, injured veteran Doc Rivers and third-year pro and former starter Greg Anthony. Most likely, the odd man out is Anthony, whose minutes decreased as the playoffs wore on. The Knicks are not actively pursuing a deal, but would listen to the right offer.

And speaking of listening to the right offer: “If the CFL called me, I wouldn’t hang up. I’d be foolish not to listen,” said Parker, who added Ward to a two-sport client list that includes Deion Sanders. “But we’re not pursuing that.”