LAYDEN IT ON THE LINE
By MARC BERMAN
June 26, 2003 -- With the Garden workouts for point guard T.J. Ford and 7-foot small forward Maciej Lampe completed yesterday the last ones before tonight's big show, Knicks GM Scott Layden put it all on himself.
A year ago on NBA Draft night, Knicks fans booed and chanted "Fire Lay-den!" when the Antonio McDyess blockbuster was announced inside the Garden's Theatre. The fans' hostile reaction proved justified, and if McDyess doesn't return this season and the Knicks miss the playoffs for a third straight year, Layden could be working his last Knicks draft tonight.
"I appreciate the fans' passion," Layden said. "It comes with the territory. We need to improve the team. That's my job. And we're going to get the team better."
Layden is ready for the fire. "The reaction, I would rather have the attention on me than the player we draft," he said. "I don't think it's fair for the fans to boo the player. We need to get this team better. And that's my responsibility."
Layden has the ninth, 30th and 39th picks tonight. His priority is to either trade up, or turn Latrell Sprewell into a veteran with frontcourt size (Erick Dampier, Adonal Foyle, Jerome Williams or Stromile Swift) while gaining a solid draft prospect.
Layden said he's willing to move up or down, possibly to No. 4 in a swap of picks with Toronto, with a shot at power forward Chris Bosh, or back to No. 11 where the Warriors select. "We'll investigate it right up until we make the pick," said Layden, who had extensive talks with the Warriors at this season's trading deadline.
Raptors GM Glen Grunwald and Layden were under the same roof yesterday watching the Ford/Lampe workouts.
"Teams are interested; hopefully we can help each other out and make a deal," Grunwald said. "Nothing's rung the bell yet."
Layden can sit back and watch 7-foot Central Michigan center Chris Kaman or Georgetown power forward Michael Sweetney possibly fall to him. Sweetney was at the Garden, watching the Lampe workout and huddling with Knicks brass for a final interview.
Either Kaman or Sweetney will fall to ninth if the two point guards, Ford and Kansas' Kirk Hinrich, and Lampe and French guard Mikael Pietrus go in the top 8. Lampe is an intriguing 18-year-old, 7-foot small forward prospect from Poland but seems too much of a project for Layden's win-now Knicks. Layden yesterday called him "clearly a lottery pick."
One league official said there's some concern because Kaman is "high maintenance." Another league source said Kaman acted "arrogantly" during his ballyhooed Knicks workout Tuesday night. One interesting sign was Kaman needed two huge bags of ice for his knees after the 45-minute solo session, looking like Patrick Ewing in his later years.
If the Clippers at No. 6 pass on Kaman, a top-notch low-post center who needs work on his body and on defense, he'll probably fall to No. 9. Though Sweetney is intriguing, he's been measured at less than 6-8, which sounds too much like Clarence Weatherspoon. If the Knicks trade down a few notches, Kansas' Nick Collison could still be there.
Then there's Ford, who won't become a Knick unless they make a blockbuster deal in which veteran size comes back and they can deal one of their point guards. "One word that describes [Ford] is, he's dynamic," Layden said.
If Layden can't make a move at nine, he will try to trade one or both of his second-round picks for a veteran. The 30th pick is valuable - it's essentially a late-first-round pick but with the minimum second-round salary.
If Layden doesn't make a trade tonight, July 1's free agency kickoff will be even more vital with center Rasho Nesterovic, Lamar Odom, Juwan Howard, Alonzo Mourning, P.J. Brown, Shawn Kemp and Andre Miller available for the $4.9 million mid-level exception.
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