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Will Scott Layden's efforts ever pay off?

by Terry Brown

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Also Below: Rockets re-emerge in Rashard Lewis sweepstakes | Knicks in Mourning | Peep Show

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NBA Insider Chad Ford is off for the next week. He'll return on Thursday, Aug. 13

Somebody cut up Scott Layden's credit cards.

Take the cash out of his wallet, burn the remaining checks and gather all the loose change from the couches. No money orders, traveler's checks or I.O.U notes scribbled on company letterhead will be accepted from this moment forward. And don't forget to lock up the silverware in the MSG kitchen.

The Knicks spent $85.4 million in player payroll last season, more than any other team in the league, and didn't win a single playoff game. Didn't even get to play in a postseason game. Didn't even come close to it with their sorry 30-52 record.

But Layden isn't alone.

Over the last 12 years, only twice has the most expensive team turned out to actually be the best team. The Bulls won two of their six titles in 1997 and 1998 while also having the highest payroll in the league.

And even then, the Bulls' payroll was swollen with Michael Jordan's salary of $63 million over those two years, making up 47 percent of the team's entire payroll. To put that in perspective, Jordan made more than twice as much as the next highest-paid guy in the entire league in 1997 and $13 million more than the runner-up in 1998.

The point being, pay MJ non-godly (yet worthy) wages and the most expensive team in the league would have never won the NBA title since the Bulls began their reign in 1991. And probably long before that, too.

Last season, the Lakers claimed their third championship in a row with the 12th-highest payroll in the league, $32 million below the Knicks or about 38 percent less.

In 1999, the Spurs won their only NBA Title with the ninth-highest payroll in the league, $29.3 million below the Knicks' league-leading $69.4 million or about 43 percent.

In 1996, the Bulls won the title with the 15th-highest payroll in the league, $19.8 million below the Knicks' league-leading $43.3 million or about 46 percent less.

The Rockets, though, won the title in 1995 with a payroll of only $17.5 million, 24th in the league and $24.5 million less than the Lakers or about 59 percent less.

Money can't buy love, happiness or, so it seems, an NBA Title.

Over the last 12 seasons, the average payroll of the championship team has been roughly $35.7 million. In that same span, the league-leading team in terms of salary has averaged $50.6 million. The NBA champion has won the title while paying about 30 percent less in payroll than the league leader.

In fact, of the remaining nine teams (minus those two Bulls squads and the Lakers), not one of them has ever gone on to win a championship in ensuing years. Only one of them even made as far as the championship series. Four of the Top 10 highest-paid teams last season didn't even make it to the playoffs. Three of the remaining six didn't make it out of the first round. On the other hand, five of the bottom 10 paid teams in the league made the playoffs, three of them advancing into the second round.

Heck, the Nuggets paid out $54.4 million (or $1 million more than the Lakers) last season to win a grand total of 27 games (or 31 fewer than the Lakers not counting playoff victories). Most of that money went to Antonio McDyess, $11.7 million to be exact, a player who scored a grand total of 113 points in 10 games last season.

And dagnabit if Layden hasn't already traded for him as word comes in that the Knick president passed up on Dikembe Mutombo from the Sixers in a trade that didn't involve Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell or McDyess and, instead, signed Michael Doleac and his 4.6 points per game last season to a three-year deal.

There never seems to be a good pair of scissors around when you need them.

Rockets re-emerge in Rashard Lewis sweepstakes

Sure, Seattle wants Rashard Lewis back. Dallas wants him, too. But if you believe Lewis' agent, Houston-based Carl Poston, it's the Rockets who, again if you believe some reports, are back in the picture on acquiring the athletic free agent.

"Our options are still open," Poston said. "That includes Dallas and Houston. [The Rockets] are still in the hunt. It doesn't look good with Seattle. Houston is still in the picture. I think [the Rockets are] an option. They're not No. 1. What we'd really like to do is sign with Seattle. But if Seattle doesn't give him fair-market value, Houston is one of the options."

The Sonics' offer is believed to be in the neighborhood of $60M over seven years with the Mavs and Rockets able to only offer the mid-level exception of $4.5M. In order for Lewis to recoup his Bird Rights, he would have to play with another team for at least three years, meaning that if he wants anything near to what Seattle is offering immediately, a sign and trade is needed.

Base-year compensation matters cloud such a deal and a third team could very well be needed, which makes Seattle a bit uneasy about such a transaction. But the Lewis camp remains upset over the current offer on the table.

"Right now, we're just talking with Seattle," Poston said. "We met with Seattle. Although I thought it was a good meeting, it was below our expectations."

Rockets still a contender in Lewis sweepstakes

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Knicks in Mourning

The Knicks need a center.

The Heat have one who is scheduled to make close to $20M this season despite being on the back end of a career plagued with illness.

You do the math.

The New York Daily News is reporting that Knick president Scott Layden has already called the Heat with the intention of acquiring Alonzo Mourning in a deal that would most likely include Latrell Sprewell and either Kurt Thomas or Clarence Weatherspoon.

This comes on the heals of news that the Knicks recently passed on a deal that would have brought another Georgetown center to Madison Square Garden. Several sources are reporting that the Sixers offered Dikembe Mutombo to the Knicks in exchange for Kurt Thomas and a few other players, not including Allan Houston, Antonio McDyess or Sprewell.

After initially passing on the deal because of age concerns, Layden supposedly called the Sixers after hearing Philly had found interest in New Jersey. Too late. The Nets had already agreed to send Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch to the Sixers in exchange for the former all-star center.

Which left the Knicks with only recently signed Michael Doleac and Travis Knight in the middle. Doleac comes on the cheap, a reported $5M over three years.

"One of the things that attracted us to Michael is he has the ability to shoot outside," Layden said. "With Antonio's ability to play with his back to the basket, he's certainly seen a lot of double teams. We're excited Michael can knock down that shot. He has that one skill that is hard to find in the NBA. He can knock down the outside shot."

Mourning, who is 32 with free agency on the horizon, seems to have recovered enough from his bouts with kidney failure to remain effective on the floor. He played in 75 games last season, averaging 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

With Keon Clark close to signing with the Kings, the only other option for the Knicks may be Rasho Nesterovic, who the Timberwolves claim will match any offer made to him. The Knicks are also trying to address their needs at point guard with Nick Van Exel, Jeff McInnis, Rod Strickland and Troy Hudson the prime candidates.

"We're always looking for players who can help our team," Layden said. "We have a lot of options."

But said without blushing . . .

"One of the things we can't lose sight of is that we feel good about our team. We feel good about our draft day trade [of Camby for McDyess]. You look at our team, we feel good about all positions, but if we can improve we will do that."

Knicks turning up Heat for Zo

Frank Isola / New York Daily News

Getting Doleac Allows Knicks To Measure Up

Barbara Barker / Newsday

Peep Show

Heat: Pat Riley said he wasn't going to sign any players for more than one year and he meant it. Center Vladimir Stepania became Miami's first offseason signing for roughly $1.2M for one season. "I think I have a big upside, but I need to work," said the four-year veteran, who played in a career-high 67 games as the Heat's backup center last season. The deal leaves Riley with about $3.4M of his mid-level exception, a bit less than expected because they had to raise Stepania's offer from the $590K minimum due to interest from other teams.

Cavs: Second-round pick Carlos Boozer fresh off Rocky Mountain Revue numbers of 17 points and 10 boards in the last four games, signed a two-year deal with Cleveland worth $913K total. "We thought we got a first-round talent in the second round," Cavs general manager Jim Paxson said. "You can focus on what guys can't do. He wants to be good. He has a chance to play some minutes based on our roster. We're investing in our future. We thought it was important to lock him up."

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