CHANEY: SPREE COULD GO
By MARC BERMAN
June 24, 2003 -- Sounds as if Don Chaney is hoping for another blockbuster.
Breaking a two-month silence, the Knicks coach said his club needs plenty of immediate help. Chaney advanced the possibility of Thursday becoming a repeat of last June when GM Scott Layden used Draft Night to add a young veteran and prospects.
And Chaney admitted Latrell Sprewell is not safe. "If we could get a nice, seasoned veteran with experience and some young players to develop, that would be ideal," admitted Chaney.
Indeed, the Knicks are considering trading up or down from No. 9 - with size and rebounding the chief priority. However, for the last week, the Knicks have kept the illusion they could take a point guard, with Chaney adding yesterday "quickness" is needed, too.
The Knicks have talked to Toronto about swapping picks and moving to No. 4. That would give them a shot at either point guard T.J. Ford, who's listed at just 5-10 but is a Chaney run-and-gunner, or power forward Chris Bosh. Ford will work out for the Knicks tomorrow at the Garden. Bosh's reps refused.
The only way the Knicks would consider taking Ford is if he dropped to nine or, if in a trade up, they get size and rebounding in a package. Toronto's rugged rebounders Jerome Williams and Antonio Davis have been mentioned.
As for trading down, the Knicks still have a hankering for Sixers' Keith Van Horn, whom they tried to obtain at the trading deadline. Other "bigs" the Knicks have had recent talks about are Houston's Eddie Griffin, Dallas' Raef LaFrentz and Shawn Bradley, Portland's Dale Davis, Memphis' Stromile Swift and Lorenzen Wright and Chicago's Marcus Fizer.
"We want size, athletic ability and quickness," Chaney said. "We have a lot of holes to fill. [Size] is one of the things we need. If there's not a big guy [at nine] and there's a small guy who can help us, we have to consider that.
"We've brought in more big guys than small, but we're all on the same page," Chaney said. "If there are great players out there that's small, you've got to look at him. You don't want to duplicate the same position, but the objective is to improve. If there's a great small guy, you've got to look at it. You could do a lot of different things. You don't necessarily have to keep the guy."
Chaney spoke to Sprewell last week. "Nobody's safe when you're trying to improve the team," Chaney said. "His name always come up in trades simply because he's a good player. If there's a great deal that comes along, anybody can be traded, not just Latrell."
* Knicks will finally work out Central Michigan 7-foot center Chris Kaman tonight. Kaman is the highest-rated pivot after Darko Milicic. However, he may go before nine. "The thing that's impressive, he's a post-up player," Layden said. "More and more, you're seeing players play out at the perimeter. He's a back-to-the-basket player." . . . Knicks will no longer conduct training camp in Charleston, opting to stay at the new Greenburgh facility.
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