Since his trade to the Heat was not officially completed yesterday, Brian Grant might want to call the Knicks to arrange another expenses-paid trip to New York this weekend.
As during his initial recruiting visit to the city last month, Grant, a 6-foot-9 backup power forward, can once again enjoy a Hudson River ride on the Cablevision yacht and eat dinner with Jeff Van Gundy and Scott Layden at the swank Blue Water Grill.
And all the while, of course, he can dupe the pandering Knicks into believing that he’s interested in playing with Patrick Ewing next season.
Then, with some bagels and lox for the road, Grant would be whisked to Miami next week to meet with his new coach, Pat Riley, and the two can laugh about what suckers the Knicks were.
In the meantime, Grant’s agent Mark Bartlestein said yesterday that the three-team deal, which would reportedly send his client to the Heat, had not been finalized.
“It’s very complicated,” Bartlestein said from his Chicago office. “A lot’s involved. Things can fall apart at any time.”
As part of their wide-ranging effort to beat the Knicks in the playoffs next season, the Heat have been reportedly arranging a deal to land Grant in a sign-and-trade: Miami’s Chris Gatling and another player would go to Cleveland, the Cavaliers would ship Shawn Kemp to Portland, while Grant would head to the Heat.
However, considering that Gatling was acquired by the Heat in late June, the trade might need to be delayed.
According to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, a team over the salary cap that trades for a player must then wait two months before trading that player in a multi-player deal. This rule would apply directly to the Heat, who are over the cap.
If Gatling is replaced in the deal for another player, then Grant could become a Heat more quickly.
However, Bartlestein firmly said that a trade involving Grant would not happen today.
“It’s on hold for a few days,” he said. “In sign-and-trades, a lot can hold it up.”
Earlier this month, Grant turned down a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers, who had offered him $92 million. Grant explained that he wanted to play for a championship contender.
With Grant out of the picture, the Knicks continue to pursue Celtics free agent power forward Danny Fortson. The 6-7, 260-pound Fortson averaged 11.7 points and 11.1 rebounds with the Nuggets during the 1998-99 season, but he dropped off last year to average nearly eight points and seven rebounds with Boston.
Fortson, 24, will not accept the $2.25 million exception the Knicks can offer. But he would be interested in playing for the Knicks if they can work out a sign-and-trade with the Celtics for more than $4 million a season.
Currently, the Knicks and the Celtics are not close on a deal, but Fortson’s agent Raymond Brothers said yesterday, “The Knicks are still very, very interested.”
Meanwhile, Golden State and another Western Conference team are also going after Fortson, who is the second all-time leading scorer at Cincinnati after Oscar Robertson.
