Olympic Players Realize Ramifications

Half a world away from the four-team trade that sent Patrick Ewing to Seattle and Glen Rice to New York Wednesday, it was already Thursday afternoon in Sydney as Gary Payton, Vin Baker and Allan Houston sat in the U.S. Olympic team’s locker room, all their fortunes changed.

Even the address had changed for another Olympian, Luc Longley of Australia, who was traded from Phoenix to the New York Knicks.

Payton and Baker saw the deal as sending the SuperSonics on the rise.

“It’s going to give us a good little advantage on the West Coast because a lot of teams are getting stronger,” Payton said before the U.S. faced Lithuania. “I think Patrick’s going to come and add us something that we needed. We needed someone to cope with the Rasheed Wallaces and the O’Neals--Shaquille O’Neal.”

Payton also looked south toward the Laker end of the deal, and saw L.A. strengthened too.

“Getting Horace Grant is going to be a big positive for them, especially adding Greg Foster and Emanual Davis,” he said. “Horace is going to help Shaquille on the offensive side--getting rebounds, sticking little 10- to 12-footers, going back with a coach that he knows and whose offense he knows. I think he’s happy with the situation, and they just made the Lakers a little bit stronger.”

The news doesn’t seem to bode so well for Houston, who plays for the Knicks and will be joined by Rice, who also will be looking for his shots.

“Obviously, losing Patrick, you lose one of the most dominant centers to ever play. As I was saying earlier, hopefully he’s happy personally with it,” Houston said. “Without Patrick, you lose an inside presence offensively and defensively. I haven’t played with these guys [acquired in the trade] but hopefully we can make up for it with their skills collectively.”

Longley, preparing to play a key game against the Russians after Australia’s medal hopes dimmed with an 0-2 start, released a statement.

“I’m very excited to be moving to such a strong franchise, and I’m sure I can contribute to the Knicks reaching the playoffs again next season,” he said.

The deal ended an uncertainty-filled few weeks for Baker, who almost went to the Knicks in an earlier deal but remains with Seattle. Ewing will become the SuperSonic starting center, a role Horace Grant and Baker, a more natural forward, had shared.

“[Ewing] is going to do a lot of things for Vin, he’s going to free up Vin a lot,” Payton said. “We’ve got a true center now that we can play with.

“We hope this is going to help Vin come back to the player he wants to be, and I know Patrick’s going to help us with scoring, and it should open up things for me because a lot of people are going to be worried about doubling Patrick.

“He’s going to bring a lot of experience. He’s been in the league for a long time. He’s been on winning teams. He knows what to do, knows how to come in and talk to younger guys and show us the way to get back on track.”