The Knicks’ season took another odd turn when Eddie Robinson’s physical yesterday morning revealed he has a crack in a bone near his left big toe that will require season-ending surgery, according to sources.
And so the free-agent deal is off – another strange event in a wacky week that began with the firing of Lenny Wilkens’ trusted aide, Dick Helm.
Robinson was all set to dress for last night’s game vs. the Clippers. The Knicks had agreed on terms of a one-year, $1.3 million deal Thursday, pending the outcome of yesterday’s physical in Manhattan.
Agent James Bryant said Robinson was given an MRI by Bulls doctors during preseason and was told him he didn’t need surgery.
However, the Knicks hired a new doctor to head their medical staff, Dr. Lisa Callahan, and she had a differing opinion, according to sources.
Callahan, according to a knowledgeable source, believes Robinson’s left foot would begin hurting after about 10 games and he’d begin overcompensating.
Later in the day, Robinson got a second opinion from a doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery. According to Bryant, the second opinion showed Robinson likely had his cracked condition since birth.
Bryant said Robinson only started experiencing pain in 2001. He aggravated the injury in training camp when 280-pound Eddy Curry stepped on his foot.
The Knicks weren’t going to pay $1.3 million for him to rehab, as the athletic Robinson will still be a free agent this summer.
“I still will have interest in the Knicks,” Robinson said. “I was excited about this opportunity.”
However, this could leave a bad taste in Isiah Thomas’ mouth, and he’ll probably want to spend part of his new $4.9 million mid-level exception elsewhere.
Thomas had $1.3M left on his exception that would’ve gone to waste. In August, he offered the money to center Keon Clark, who verbally accepted then did not get back to the Knicks.
“The good thing is he’ll be a better player for the surgery,” Bryant said. “The Knicks just have better doctors. The Bulls thought he could play through it.”
The Knicks worked out Robinson for two days this week, with Thomas watching him do slide drills Thursday. They did not detect a problem. “It’s not something you can tell,” Bryant said. “Maybe this will be good in the long run.”
According to a league source, the Bulls wonder if Robinson may have aggravated it while working out last week with Michael Jordan’s ex-trainer Tim Grover, because their doctors never felt he needed surgery.
The Knicks opened a roster spot by buying out Shandon Anderson, but they would have regardless of Robinson’s availability as the Knicks deemed him useless with rookie Trevor Ariza badly outplaying him. The Knicks are expected to activate center Bruno Sundov to fill the vacated spot following tonight’s game, but Wilkens said the team will still “look.”
“How could you be disappointed until you work a guy?” Wilkens said. “Any time there’s talent out there, you have to see.”
Players were already talking about Robinson’s impact at yesterday’s morning shoot-around – a superathletic swingman who would’ve gotten minutes, especially with Tim Thomas stinking it up.
“That guy got game,” Stephon Marbury said. “He has big game. I don’t know what the issues were in Chicago but if I was the coach, he’d be playing on my team.”
