Yesterday, MSG President Dave Checketts announced the
reassignment of Knicks President & GM Ernie Grunfeld to the
position of special consultant with the team. In N.Y.,
Selena Roberts writes that in the interim, Checketts will
assume Grunfeld's responsibilities "in an attempt to
eliminate the rifts" that have plagued the team this season
and "get the team back on the same page." Checketts: "This
was not a power struggle that was won by somebody" (N.Y.
TIMES, 4/22). NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell writes that Checketts
was "making a forceful decision on an employee, maybe before
one was made on him," adding that Grunfeld's "failings were
a reflection of Checkett's judgement, too" (NEWSDAY, 4/22).
Checketts: "There's no question I have a lot of
responsibility, and I accept it. I'm not making this guy
[Grunfeld] a scapegoat for mistakes I've made. I approved
the things he did, he came to me with recommendations"
(Newark STAR-LEDGER, 4/22). In NJ, Adrian Wojnarowski
writes that Checketts must "take responsibility" for the
organization "beyond basketball," because "around him,
Cablevision's properties are teetering." Wojnarowski: "It's
time for him to come down out of the corporate tower and
check into the game" (Bergen RECORD, 4/22). In N.Y., Harvey
Araton writes that Checketts "will ultimately be judged in
the court of corporate opinion, based on financial reports
none of us have access to" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/22). NEWSDAY's
Greg Logan adds that the move was Checketts' "last chance
... to apply a shock treatment to the Knicks in the hope
they at least qualify for the playoffs and salvage the
corporate bottom line" (NEWSDAY, 4/22).
WHAT WOULD GRANDMAMA SAY? In addition Grunfeld
reassignment, NEWSDAY's Barbara Barker writes that the team
also faces a report in New York magazine that states that
Knicks F Larry Johnson "likes to trick" team Dir of PR Lori
Hamamoto "into seeing him naked" in the lockerroom. Johnson
denied the allegations, and Hamamoto said, "Larry and I have
a great working relationship and this is not an issue"
(NEWSDAY, 4/22). Johnson met with NBA Dir of Security Horace
Balmer yesterday regarding the report. Checketts: "If the
charges are true, we're very upset by it" (RECORD, 4/22).
SPREE GOT THE GIST OF IT: Checketts also fined G
Latrell Sprewell $25,000 for comments made by his agent,
Robert Gist, in which Gist said that Sprewell "was not being
utilized to his fullest because of politics." Gist: "I
don't see any backbone in the leadership there. Guys are
looking over their shoulder." Checketts told Sprewell that
"he held him accountable for his agent's remarks."
Checketts: "When I say I'm upset by our record and where we
are as an organization, it's about things like the Larry
Johnson situation or Latrell's agent ripping Jeff [Van
Gundy] and Ernie [Grunfeld], I'm not standing for that"
(N.Y. TIMES, 4/22). SI's "Scorecard" reports that Sprewell
will have to pay "as much as $153,515 -- including $1,701 in
photocopying charges" -- to the lawyers who represented the
NBA and Warriors in Sprewell's suit against the NBA.
Sprewell plans to appeal: "You know how lawyers are. They
got a lot of paperwork" (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 4/26 issue).
MOVING BACK-WARD: Checketts also told G Charlie Ward
not to "use the locker room as his pulpit" after Ward made
statements that he was uncomfortable with female reporters
entering the locker room (NEWSDAY, 4/22). Ward issued a
statement yesterday saying, "I do not want female members of
the media banned from the locker room" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/22).
