Denver power forward Antonio McDyess refused to commit to resign with the Knicks after next season, squashing a blockbuster yesterday afternoon that would have finally given the Knicks the elite low-post scorer they craved, sources told The Post.
Instead, the Knicks were likely to hold on to their seventh pick and hope Maryland power forward Chris Wilcox fell to them and possibly take Camden combo guard Dajuan Wagner as a consolation prize if Wilcox wasn’t there or try to trade down for another established player.
Even if they got Wilcox, the day may be viewed as a disappointment for what might have been.
The Knicks were attempting to begin their summer reconstruction with a bang when Knicks GM Scott Layden worked all day to obtain an elite power forward in the All-Star McDyess, who will opt out of his contract after this upcoming season.
Sources said McDyess simply did not want to play in New York.
In a deal being discussed throughout the day, the Knicks were ready to give up oft-injured center Marcus Camby and point guard Mark Jackson while swapping down in the draft with the Nuggets. The Knicks would have coughed up their once-prized No. 7 pick for the Nuggets’ 25th.
While the deal sounded as if it would enhance both teams’ visions of the future, McDyess, like Camby, had injury problems all season, tearing up his knee in training camp. Plus, he can opt out after the season and become a free agent.
The arrival of McDyess would have finally completed Layden’s quest to add a top-shelf big man ever since he shipped Patrick Ewing out of town in September 2000.
An addition of Wilcox or Wagner would still be a nice start to their renovation, but neither player could make the impact of a healthy McDyess, and the fact the Knicks were trying to do this showed they really don’t consider the draft, even when in the lottery, as a means to build for the future.
The McDyess pursuit was a large admission that Layden wanted a major impact player that can help the team’s playoff drive next season – something Wilcox would be unable to provide as a 19-year-old who still needed to get stronger to defend opposing power forwards in the post.
Indeed, the allure of picking seventh in the draft and nabbing Wilcox didn’t seem so alluring when the Knicks initiated trade talks with the rebuilding Nuggets Tuesday night. Denver was likely thinking of adding Caron Butler at five and Italian Leaguer Nikoloz Tskishvili, a project the Nuggets could afford to wait on.
If the deal went down, Latrell Sprewell would have lost a friend in Camby, but he’d gain the type of dynamic low-post scorer he’s campaigned for since the Knicks’ first-round ouster vs. Toronto in 2001. Moving Jackson would have alleviated the horrible point-guard glut that hurt the team’s chemistry last season.
As much as they had publicized their No. 7 pick and the mindset of adding a young athletic stud in Wilcox, Layden shopped the pick earnestly in an attempt to acquire an established star.
In fact, though the Knicks pooh-poohed conversations with the Clippers about a Camby-for-Michael Olowokandi swap, talks indeed got serious with L.A. a few days ago before the Clippers backed out. In that deal, the Knicks would have gone from seven to 12 in the draft.
Despite being injured much of last season after tearing the patella tendon in his left knee, McDyess is a fearsome low-post presence. He’s appeared in one All-Star Game in seven seasons and has a career average of 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds.