Now Knicks Are Going to Pay for Shortcomings

This just in: Knicks fall from title chase!

Despite its media concentration and the prevalence of tabloid newspapers with screaming headlines, news can still travel slowly in New York.

Take the Knicks, who actually dropped out of contention years ago.

Finally out of miracles, without even their old patsy, Patrick Ewing, to set up for the fall (Wouldn’t you like to guarantee another title, Pat?), they were dumped in the first round, for the first time in 10 years, by the Toronto Raptors after Charles Oakley convinced Vince Carter this would be a nice time to show what he had.

This being Mother’s Day, we’ll refrain from doing lines about Vince’s mom maintaining her baby boy didn’t have to if he didn’t want to, and TNT milking it for all it was worth.

This left an unexpected void in New York, where the Knicks have remained a hot ticket in the minds of fans, who continue to proclaim their basketball sophistication and the city’s place as the game’s “Mecca,” while paying ever-more exorbitant prices for ever-more patent mediocrity.

As the New York Times’ Mike Wise advised readers, “We interrupt this regularly scheduled Knicks’ postseason run to bring you back your life.”

The next step in this long-running, off-Broadway mass delusion is identifying that one move that will surely restore the Knicks to their rightful preeminence, or at least present the illusion thereof.

Because they just went a season with a 220-pound center and a 6-foot-5 power forward, even a Knick fan can tell you what they need.

“We fought those guys [Raptors], but they were bigger and stronger,” said Latrell Sprewell, at 6 feet 5 and 190 pounds, a forward in the Knick scheme of things.

“They beat us up. In the end, their size won out. . . . We’re a perimeter team. We got away with it to a certain extent during the regular season, but I think the evil monster showed his head at the end.”

Sprewell also said unnamed teammates--code for Allan Houston--hadn’t given their all, as he had. Spree owns New York and Houston will be a free agent, so guess what happens next.

In real life, the problem wasn’t Houston’s late-season slump, Marcus Camby’s frailty, Larry Johnson’s back or Jeff Van Gundy’s refusal to let his “thoroughbreds” run.

They’ve been headed downhill since Pat Riley left in 1995, having driven himself and his aging team to exhaustion. It was plainly time to rebuild, but Knick President Dave Checketts had other priorities, such as becoming president of Madison Square Garden, which he did by assuring the new owners he could keep the cash cow producing.

So they rebuilt on the fly, which meant taking problem players with big contracts. Ewing was re-signed through age 38. They traded for Johnson, bad back, supposedly untouchable contract and all.

Ever-more desperate measures followed until . . .

Johnson, whose back condition has worsened, sat out the playoffs and is considering retirement, having averaged a career-low 9.9 points.

“It was the playoffs and I didn’t play one minute,” he said. “ . . . I felt detached from the team. I didn’t feel I was part of the team. I just don’t know.”

Retired or not, the Knicks still owe him $29 million over the next three seasons.

Glen Rice, the “asset” agent David Falk said the Lakers devalued, came off the bench all season and averaged a career-low 12 points, 3.9 fewer than he did for the Lakers.

Rice is 33 and the Knicks owe him $9 million a year until he turns 36.

Luc Longley is also considering retirement, after playing only 25 games because of an ankle injury.

“There’s nothing surgically that can be done,” Longley said. “I’m going to see what happens.”

Whatever happens, the Knicks owe him $20 million over the next three seasons.

Mark Jackson was acquired at midseason to solve their old point guard problem, but by the playoffs, he was splitting time with the old point guard, Charlie Ward.

“I believe that in the ideal world, somebody has to be your guy,” Jackson said. “ . . . And if it is not me, then so be it.”

Jackson is 36 and whether he starts or relieves, the Knicks owe him $4 million a year until he’s 39.

Their $76-million payroll was second only to Portland’s $89.7-million tab and there’s no relief, or cap space, in sight.

The Knicks are committed to $75 million next season (when the luxury tax kicks in, adding an additional $20 million or so), $78 million for the season after that, and $71 million for the 2003-4 season.

Personally, if I were Spike Lee, I’d go see a movie. Got to be something playing that’s better than this.

That’s (Finally) Entertainment . . .

Life stirs in the East?

The Carter-Allen Iverson shootout, otherwise known as Toronto-Philadelphia, could turn out to be the best thing to happen to the conference since Michael Jordan left it.

Since averaging 18 points in his first three games--and being skewered by Oakley--Carter has averaged 36.7 in his last six.

After the Raptors won the opener and took a 13-point lead in Game 2, Iverson brought the 76ers back with a 54-point effort.

“You can question a lot of things about Allen,” said Coach Larry Brown, who has, “but not his heart.”

You can question a lot of things about Carter but not his talent. In Game 3, he knocked down eight three-point shots in a row, going for 50 points as the Raptors went up, two games to one.

Game 4 is today. Who knows, NBC might get over a 5.0 rating for it.

Then there’s the other East semifinal, featuring the Milwaukee Bucks, who are either complaining about disrespect or each other, against the lethargic Charlotte Hornets, who are either napping or complaining about Derrick Coleman.

The Bucks grabbed a two-games-to-none lead, winning Game 2 by a point after Coleman left the court with a sore back without telling Coach Paul Silas, incurring a technical foul. Ray Allen converted it and it turned out to be the winning margin.

That night D.C. (as in Doesn’t Care) also destroyed the myth of Hornet togetherness and the headband mystique, refusing to put his on.

The next game, Coleman didn’t dress--but wore his headband on the bench. Go figure.

Meanwhile, Buck Coach George Karl was trying to get point guard Sam Cassell to shoot less. Cassell said if George wanted more passes, he’d better suit up and make some.

“George is George,” Cassell said. “Whatever he expects, he can expect. I’m going to be me all day.”

Karl, who at least knows a straight line, suited up for the next shoot-around, although he didn’t cut quite as dashing a figure as in his flowing-hair days at North Carolina, and challenged Cassell to go one-on-one.

Cassell, who at least knows a no-win situation, demurred.

Asked later how his coach looked, Cassell replied, “Fat. Huge. Humongous.”

The East survivor still figures to run into a bigger, badder Western team, but it’s fun while it lasts.

Faces and Figures

Longtime Falk watchers suspect he’s the point man for Jordan, trolling for 7-6 Chinese center Yao Ming, who finally decided not to enter the draft. Agent Bill Duffy, who represents Yao, has complained Falk was trying to vulture him away. Falk, who was moved out in a recent coup among the agents he brought into SFX, reportedly might go to work for Jordan’s Wizards. . . . Other pricey busts included New Jersey with its $73-million payroll, which posted the sixth-worst record; Miami

($71 million), which was swept in the first round; Indiana ($60 million), which won a game in the first round; and Washington ($59 million), which posted the third-worst record.

For NBA players who participated in the Olympics, it was an ultra-long season, which may explain why Houston “had tired legs all year,” according to Knick assistant Don Chaney, and Jason Kidd and Kevin Garnett faded in the playoffs. “This was a lot of basketball for me,” Kidd said. “I was starting to feel mentally and physically tired.” . . . Of the 12 Olympians, only Milwaukee’s Ray Allen and Toronto’s Carter are still playing.

Buck assistant Terry Stotts finally got an interview with Detroit. Karl had complained about former players getting hired ahead of his faithful assistant. “If you’re going to hire an assistant coach, this man has been in a program of excellence for 12 years,” said Karl, who should know because they’ve been his programs. “Some of those other people, I don’t see a program of excellence.” . . . You guessed it: If Stotts doesn’t get the job, George will complain that the Pistons don’t respect him, either.

Imagine the delight among Laker brass to hear their part-owner, Magic Johnson, say he’d be open to taking a call from Portland General Manager Bob Whitsitt about coaching his team. Whitsitt desperately needs a coach with enough force of personality to get on top of his wackos, and Magic would be perfect. No, he probably won’t take it, wouldn’t like living in the rainy Pacific Northwest and wouldn’t stay long--but if he took the job, he would still ruin the Lakers’ summer. Of course, Magic would have to sell his 5% of the Lakers, but that has never been a problem before.

USC’s Jeff Trepagnier made a big showing at the recent Desert Classic and now has a chance at the first round. Also moving up the charts with a good showing was UCLA’s Earl Watson, now a first-round possibility.