KNICK NOTES

PORTLAND – Michael Sweetney can’t help but check out what his first-round brethren are doing, how much even non-lottery draft picks are playing.

As he sat in a brown sweater and slacks in Seattle, Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour, picked five spots below Sweetney at 14, came off the bench to help the Sonics beat the Knicks Wednesday night in scoring a career-high 15 points.

Not only didn’t Sweetney, the ninth overall pick, make the rotation, he’s now on the injured list, demoted after Antonio McDyess was activated Monday. The organization decided to deactivate Sweetney instead of veterans Clarence Weatherspoon or Othella Harrington, neither of whom are playing now with Dice back. The Knicks never look at the long-term picture, just the very next quarter.

“I notice that,” Sweetney said of the playing time other rookies are getting. “But all teams are different. Some teams have different theories about rookies. I have to keep working hard and plugging and hopefully it will pay off. They’ve always told me I have to keep working and earn your share of time.”

He’s coping, but doesn’t sound thrilled with the situation. “Anybody would want to dress and get a chance to play but I guess it’s a process you have to go through,” Sweetney said. “You have to keep working hard and wait for you time to come.

“I had no idea [during training camp],” Sweetney said of the possibility of being deactivated. “But when it came down to it, I was the one playing the least amount of minutes. I was the youngest one.”

Which seems to work against a player in this organization.

Chaney planned to cut McDyess’ minutes last night from 19 to about 16 to 18 against Blazers because it’s the first night of a back-to-back and wants him fresh for tonight vs. Golden State. Chaney said he’s no longer cringing every time McDyess trips or lands awkwardly. Dice played his third game last night.

“Not anymore,” Chaney said. “I was a little bit scared early on, thinking about it a lot in terms of making quick moves. I don’t worry about him getting hurt anymore. I was very concerned, even on the 2-on-2 games he was playing (a few weeks ago). When he first got out there, I sometimes didn’t even want to watch because I didn’t want anything to happen. When he slipped and fell I held my breath. But once he got to scrimmaging I wasn’t worried about it at all.”

When Knicks visit Oakland tonight, Warriors will wearing their old-school golden 1967 jerseys to honor the 40-year anniversary of moving to Bay Area.