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Will Spree be set free? Posted: Saturday October 26, 2002 10:19 AM
So, Latrell Sprewell, is a repentant New York Knick? Cozy with ownership? Expecting to play out his career in Madison Square Garden? Not a chance, if you listen to his attorney. What we know for sure is "Yacht-gate," triggered by Sprewell slipping into camp with a broken pinkie, has been a hilariously weird saga even by New York tabloid standards. First, the Knicks docked their enigmatic swingman $250,000 for failing to report the hand injury. Then they tacked on $137,500 -- 1/90th of his salary -- after Sprewell removed the splint last weekend without doctors approval, plus and another $50,000 for showing up late for treatment. Now, after a couple doses of tough love, Sprewell has been welcomed back into the flock, though not a happy camper. There’s a grievance filed with the union over the fines. And all you need to know about his future in New York is he’s speculating that the guy out to get him is Jim Dolan, younger half of the father-son Cablevision duo that owns the team. This is the same young Dolan that Sprewell’s attorney, Robert Gist compares to Jerry Jones for his penchant for micro-managing from the owner’s suite. Is it any wonder Gist sees his client as trade bait? But then again, if you want to move a high-salaried player with skeletons in his locker (i.e., his infamous choking of P.J. Carlesimo), why play out this latest mess in public? Or maybe this realization is lurking behind the Knicks’ recent efforts to make up. "Perhaps Jim Dolan understands that now, and they have taken a step back, closed that chapter and have opened a new one," says Gist, chuckling. "We realize it is a possibility that he could still be traded, if not an inevitability." However it plays out, no matter what nice things are uttered in public, be assured Sprewell remains an unhappy Knick. This latest edition may well stink. The big man he campaigned for wasn’t acquired. And here he is, from the first day of camp, at odds with ownership and the front office. Can all be forgotten? No way. "Given the amount of heat and tension that was out there, you don’t close the door that easily and forget," Gist suggests. "You may not talk about it, but a lot of the damage is done." The attorney says the problem is trust, or lack thereof. The Garden boss, Dave Checketts, and coach, Jeff Van Gundy, who brought him to New York -- guys he trusted and who occasionally cut him slack -- have moved on. Now, he’s coping with a general manager, Scott Layden, who plays the part of micro-manager, slapping him silly with fines in recent weeks -- presumably on orders from above. Gist insists the team didn’t fully embrace Sprewell’s story about fracturing his pinkie in a fall on his 49-foot yacht. Instead, he suspects they were intrigued by a NY tabloid version that the injury came throwing a punch while trying to eject a woman who’d lost her cookies on his yacht. And worse, Gist insists, the NBA club lied to the press at Sprewell’s expense. "They were telling him not to tell the press from Day 1 -- not to talk to the press," Gist offers. "Then when [the Knicks] finally talked with the press, they told the press that Latrell didn’t tell them how he hurt it. Or said he didn’t know. "Now, good God, wait guys. You concealed it for three days, now when you finally disclose it you give a response that is idiotic and makes Latrell look bad. Latrell told you he fell on his boat." That’s the story Sprewell is standing by. And his attorneys have filed a $40 million suit against the NY Post, challenging the tabloid’s exclusive report which was based on an unidentified "earwitness." "When the New York Post printed their article it had credibility," Gist argues. "It was ‘Oh, that is why the Knicks kept it hush, hush. The guy was in commission of a crime, a battery.’ Then the world said, ‘God, how dare you Latrell?' " OK, Sprewell isn’t a saint. His latest transgressions apparently aren’t criminal, either. He feeds off the high-energy New York fans. He gets along well with Knicks coach Don Chaney and, but for the recent meddling, he hasn’t had a problem with Layden. The GM is understandably uptight about Sprewell’s nonchalant demeanor to games. Players are expected to show up 90 minutes before tip off. Spree is known to push the limit, and the old administration lived with it. If it’s a problem, Gist suggests Layden tell Sprewell and slap him with a fine when he’s late. But is that really the problem? Or is ownership frustrated over being saddled with Sprewell’s contract and not finding much of a market for him? "Scott Layden is such a nice guy and he doesn’t seem like a micro-management sort," says Gist, softly. "Latrell thinks it is more corporate. He thinks it goes up to the top, and that is kind of scary." If so, stay tuned. Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. |
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