KNICKS WIN WITH PAIR
By MARC BERMAN
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June 27, 2003 -- When Knicks' GM Scott Layden came to bat at No. 9 last night at
the NBA draft, he figured he had a choice of either power forward Mike Sweetney
or the Polish 7-foot small forward project Maciej Lampe. Layden never figured h
e could get both.
After a stunning drop by Lampe, projected as high as five, Layden believes he se
lected two lottery picks last night. In nabbing two frontcourt players, the Knic
ks have one ready to contribute next season and another who may not be ready for
a year or two but who already is the darling of Knick fans.
The Knicks tabbed Georgetown's 6-8, 265-pound Sweetney with their ninth pick and
Lampe, after a stunning drop, with the 30th pick. The 18-year-old - who's been
compared to a young Dirk Nowitzki - dropped like a stone out of the first round
because of a contract-buyout snafu with his Spanish team, Real Madrid, and becau
se he did not work out for a single team outside the lottery, sources said.
"Good for us, good for New York," crowed Layden, who called Lampe "clearly a lot
tery pick" Wednesday.
Before the Knicks selected with the first pick of the second round, the Garden c
rowd chanted Lampe's name. Layden worked out the outside-shooting Lampe twice, i
ncluding Wednesday at the Garden, and believes he can be transformed into a cent
er. Lampe played mostly last season for Real Madrid's minor-league team. Knicks
European scout Kevin Wilson said he's still growing.
With their second pick of the second round, at No. 39, the Knicks selected anoth
er international project in 7-6 Serbian giant Slavko Vranes, who is 20. He has l
imited skills but can dunk without jumping.
"We've added 141/2 feet of center," said Layden, who has laid a groundwork for t
he distant future with three young frontcourters.
FIBA, the world's governing body, has not cleared Lampe to play next season beca
use it does not recognize the buyout clause in his contract with Real Madrid. Th
e agent said a buyout clause exists and Lampe said it's worth $1.8M.
What also scared off teams is Real Madrid believes the buyout is in Euro-dollars
, which would bring the actual amount to $2.2M, sources said. But the Knicks onl
y have to pay Lampe the NBA minimum of $400,000 for a second-rounder.
"The buyout is in there," agent Keith Kreiter said. "It's already in place. Bott
om line, this kid is going to let them pay for their mistakes. He's in the right
city."
Kreiter said there's a chance he could play in Europe next season, though the Kn
icks want him here.
Unable to pull off a first-round trade, Layden stuck at No. 9 and got a well-kno
wn commodity in Sweetney. Though the Knicks have enough undersized power forward
s, Layden had little choice. Central Michigan 7-foot center Chris Kaman was off
the board, picked at six by the Clippers, so there was no decision to be made be
tween the two.
"He's a true low-post player," Layden said. "We didn't have to travel far to sco
ut him. He's had some amazing games in the Garden."
The Georgetown low-post big man averaged 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds last seas
on as a Hoya junior, making up for his height with his wingspan and great hands.
T.J. Ford was picked by Milwaukee at eight but the Knicks wouldn't have taken h
im even if he fell to nine.
"I feel you could play no matter what size you are as along as you get the job d
one," Sweetney said
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