HOUSTON – The Knicks didn’t get Jamal Crawford yesterday. They got Bruno Sundov.
With the Bulls rejecting two Isiah Thomas offers that had guard Frank Williams as the centerpiece, Thomas continued to be busy. He signed Sundov to a 10-day contract. The 7-2 Croatian center, who was waived by the Cavaliers last week, was a benchwarmer for Thomas with the Pacers.
Sundov is only 23 but has been in the league five years, playing with the Pacers, Celtics and Mavericks. Thomas reputedly isn’t fond of Europeans, but Sundov is a guy he liked. Thomas still has one vacant roster spot.
Coach Lenny Wilkens said he knows very little about Sundov.
“You got 10 days,” Wilkens said before the Knicks faced the Rockets. “Let’s take a look. Isiah liked him.”
One of the Crawford offers is believed to have been Williams and Shandon Anderson, both former Scott Layden draft picks. Thomas, who didn’t make the trip to Houston, is shopping Anderson frenetically. Layden selected Anderson in Utah before bringing him to New York in the Glen Rice deal.
The meager Williams/Anderson offer for Crawford/Eddie Robinson illustrates how few pawns Thomas has to pull off something splashy. Continued reports of Thomas’ hot pursuit of Rasheed Wallace are farcical. Those talks dropped virtually dead nearly two weeks ago. The only way Wallace had a chance of landing in New York was is if the Blazers had any interest in Keith Van Horn, which they didn’t.
Thomas’ only hope to pull off something big is being able again to take on a horrible contract in addition to the player he wants, thus adding more future payroll to what is already James Dolan’s league-leading $89 million roster.
The Bulls and Hawks are shopping virtually everyone. Atlanta has new owners coming in and Thomas has had discussions about Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry, the latter being difficult to trade as a base-year compensation player.
Raptors GM Glen Grunwald said last week he had several discussions with Thomas, his former Toronto boss. However, Grunwald is trying to pawn off small forward Lamond Murray, and Thomas doesn’t have interest in a proposed Anderson-for-Murray swap.
Murray, who is averaging 8.4 points per game off the Raptors’ bench, makes about $2 million more than Anderson this season, so another unwanted Toronto piece would have to be added.
However, Anderson looks to be out of Wilkens’ rotation, with Penny Hardaway emerging as the clear small-forward backup with occasional minutes at shooting guard. Hardaway played for Wilkens on the Olympic team.
Thomas was successful in dispatching Howard Eisley’s and Clarence Weatherspoon’s hideous contracts, so he’s trying to pull a trifecta. Anderson still has three years and $25.5 million left on his deal after this season.
“I’m still learning what Shandon can do, but I know Penny can play 2,” Wilkens said. “I know that because I’ve had him and worked with him before.”
Another Layden draft pick was affected by the Sundov signing, as Michael Sweetney was banished again to the injured list.