Allan Houston still is not ruling out a comeback, though he will have to wait until after this season, when his contract expires. Houston says that his knees are feeling stronger ("I feel 100% better," he claims) but admitted that a pain-free play date with his children is a long way from running, jumping and cutting in an NBA game.
"I don't know if I'll ever say it's over for good," Houston says during a recent telephone interview. "Right now, I'm still not saying I'm coming back. I think about playing again but that doesn't mean it's necessarily going to happen. I know one day I'll be able to be healthy and play in pickup games. But to play in an NBA game, I can't say if I can do it or not."
If Houston, now 35, ever decided to make a comeback it wouldn't be for the money. He is entering the final season of a franchise-record six-year, $100 million contract the Knicks gave him before the 2001-02 season.
Instead, Houston wonders what it would be like to go out on his terms while taking one last shot at an NBA championship. He knew the Knicks wouldn't get there with him healthy last season, but Houston believes that his presence on the floor and in the locker room would have been invaluable to young players such as Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Nate Robinson, David Lee and Channing Frye. Last year, Larry Brown often bemoaned the lack of a veteran leader on the team.
"I think it means something to young players to have a veteran with them who has been through tough situations before," Houston says. "I got that from Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas when I played in Detroit. When I came to the Knicks I had John Starks, Patrick (Ewing) and Larry (Johnson) show me the way.
"I don't know if it would have meant more wins or if it would have helped Coach Brown, but for me personally it was disappointing that I couldn't be out there."
|
10-15-2006, 01:28 PM
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
