Hardaway wants trade,
but costs pretty Penny
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
MIAMI - With Garden boss James Dolan standing at his side late Tuesday, Isiah Thomas stood inside the Knicks locker room and implored his players to stick together and not allow personal agendas to undermine the team.
Thomas' message came moments after the Knicks lost to Sacramento and not long after Penny Hardaway informed the Knicks president that he was unhappy over his limited role and that he would welcome a trade.
According to a team source, Hardaway's agent, Kevin Poston, contacted Thomas after the game and the two got into a heated exchange. Neither Thomas nor Poston was available for comment yesterday. Hardaway, who is earning $14.6 million this season and $15.7 million next year, could not be reached for comment.
The Knicks have tried to trade Hardaway several times, including offering him to Toronto along with Tim Thomas for Vince Carter. They have several options: try to trade him, which is no easy task; release him and eat nearly $30 million in salary, which wouldn't go over well with Dolan; or give Hardaway time to cool off and hope that he comes to his senses.
The Knicks apparently are banking on the latter. Yesterday, they placed Hardaway on the injured list because of a sore right hamstring. The club announced that Hardaway, who did not accompany the team to Miami, returned home to Memphis, where he will conduct his rehabilitation on his own.
One ominous sign, however, is that the Knicks did not set aside a locker for Hardaway last night. Teams often give an injured player a locker even when he's not with the club as a sign of respect. Not this time.
Hardaway's absence left the Knicks with 10 available bodies for last night's game against Miami. The Knicks could not even activate Jamison Brewer because Brewer went on the injured list on Saturday to create a roster spot for Hardaway and must sit out a minimum of five games. On Saturday, Hardaway was upset after playing only 13minutes against New Jersey. He then played only seven minutes against the Kings. On several occasions, Hardaway has hinted that he would like a bigger role and that the Knicks are not maximizing his talents. Thomas probably knew that issues over playing time would surface the moment he signed Jamal Crawford last summer. When healthy, Crawford, Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston are going to play most of the minutes at guard. Rookie Trevor Ariza has also worked his way into the rotation. The Knicks would like to use Hardaway as a backup point guard but Hardaway knows that with Marbury playing 40minutes a night he wouldn't see much time.
but costs pretty Penny
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
MIAMI - With Garden boss James Dolan standing at his side late Tuesday, Isiah Thomas stood inside the Knicks locker room and implored his players to stick together and not allow personal agendas to undermine the team.
Thomas' message came moments after the Knicks lost to Sacramento and not long after Penny Hardaway informed the Knicks president that he was unhappy over his limited role and that he would welcome a trade.
According to a team source, Hardaway's agent, Kevin Poston, contacted Thomas after the game and the two got into a heated exchange. Neither Thomas nor Poston was available for comment yesterday. Hardaway, who is earning $14.6 million this season and $15.7 million next year, could not be reached for comment.
The Knicks have tried to trade Hardaway several times, including offering him to Toronto along with Tim Thomas for Vince Carter. They have several options: try to trade him, which is no easy task; release him and eat nearly $30 million in salary, which wouldn't go over well with Dolan; or give Hardaway time to cool off and hope that he comes to his senses.
The Knicks apparently are banking on the latter. Yesterday, they placed Hardaway on the injured list because of a sore right hamstring. The club announced that Hardaway, who did not accompany the team to Miami, returned home to Memphis, where he will conduct his rehabilitation on his own.
One ominous sign, however, is that the Knicks did not set aside a locker for Hardaway last night. Teams often give an injured player a locker even when he's not with the club as a sign of respect. Not this time.
Hardaway's absence left the Knicks with 10 available bodies for last night's game against Miami. The Knicks could not even activate Jamison Brewer because Brewer went on the injured list on Saturday to create a roster spot for Hardaway and must sit out a minimum of five games. On Saturday, Hardaway was upset after playing only 13minutes against New Jersey. He then played only seven minutes against the Kings. On several occasions, Hardaway has hinted that he would like a bigger role and that the Knicks are not maximizing his talents. Thomas probably knew that issues over playing time would surface the moment he signed Jamal Crawford last summer. When healthy, Crawford, Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston are going to play most of the minutes at guard. Rookie Trevor Ariza has also worked his way into the rotation. The Knicks would like to use Hardaway as a backup point guard but Hardaway knows that with Marbury playing 40minutes a night he wouldn't see much time.
Great move last year to get rid of that cancer!
