Welcome to New York, Keith Van Horn. Did you remember to bring your ear-plugs? And how about your thick skin?

We can hear the boos even now.

Since Latrell Sprewell is going to Minnesota in a four-way deal, and Van Horn is coming to the Knicks, the New York fans are going to take out their anger with team president Scott Layden and direct it all at Van Horn.

That might be unfair, but that's life in the Big Apple.

	Having watched him play across the Hudson, Knicks fans know all about Keith Van Horn.

The funny thing is, Van Horn is not replacing a legend or a champion or even someone who was able to take the Knicks to the playoffs in either of the past two seasons. But he would be replacing the people's choice.

Sprewell is going to be a hard act to follow, and we have serious doubts as to whether Van Horn can. Even one of his biggest fans, Knicks coach Don Chaney, recently admitted to reporters: "I don't know if he's one of those guys who can handle a lot of criticism."

And Chaney gushes about Van Horn's game, more than even Rick Majerus.

It's hard to imagine a worse spot for Van Horn. Sprewell didn't always play well, far from it. In the past few years, after Patrick Ewing was traded and Larry Johnson retired and Spree became the team's best, all-around player, he wasn't the kind of player who could ensure the Knicks success. Heck, they didn't even make the playoffs in the ever-worsening East.

But New York had a love affair with Spree after the Knicks resurrected his career in the wake of his attack on P.J. Carlesimo. All you had to do to see that was to look at all the people over the Metropolitan Area who leave their homes wearing No. 8 Knicks jerseys.

To his credit, Sprewell always played hard and always played with passion, giving Madison Square Garden some much-needed juice when the Knicks were winning only 67 games over the past two seasons. The fact is, Knicks fans cut Spree way more slack for his run-ins with the team's brass over rules violations than management did over the last two years. What they know about Van Horn is that he was the scapegoat in Jersey whenever anything went wrong, he lasted only a season in Philly and he's not Latrell Sprewell.

"The Garden is going to be a tough place for Van Horn to play," one Eastern Conference scout said. "He's more cut out for a smaller market, like Salt Lake City, where there's not nearly as much pressure."

The Knicks are going to put Van Horn in a tough spot. They're replacing Sprewell's energy and enthusiasm with a player who is known for playing at a slower speed. And Sprewell is the older of the two, by almost five years.

"There are some players, Vin Baker is one, and Van Horn is another, who just seem to be going through the motions, at times," a Western Conference general manager said. "That can send the wrong signal sometimes."

Here's one undeniable message the Knicks are sending out: They're through with Sprewell's rebellious nature and would rather bring in a more solid, "yes-sir, no-sir" corporate type of player. With winning having fallen down the list of priorities these days in the Garden, that's neither surprising nor very comforting for Knicks fans.

Sprewell wasn't always a great fourth-quarter player. He didn't always make the last shot, although he never minded taking one. But Van Horn has often been planted on the bench in the fourth quarter of games. That won't go over in the Garden.

With Sprewell, the Knicks were always at least competitive. But there are no guarantees that Van Horn, taller and more suited to play up front than Spree, will be able to keep the undersized Knicks in games.

Knicks fans know Van Horn's reputation, having watched him play across the Hudson River for five seasons as a Net. They already know that he comes in with a maximum-money contract -- he's got $43 million left over the next three seasons. You don't think that will be wielded against him when he has a poor shooting night? Just ask Allan Houston, the Knicks' $100 million man, who gets reminded of his salary just about every time he misses a 15-footer.

	“	He's a great offensive rebounder and he can hit open shots. He creates situations. But a lot of people dwell on the negatives. ”
		— Don Chaney

The fans also know that Van Horn was the No. 2 pick overall in 1997 behind Tim Duncan, and that he hasn't been able to carry a team. Nor will he ever. That's always used against him because people expect a lot more from someone taken so high in the draft. No, people can't accept what he is.

A good player with limitations.

"When you give a player max-money and he's not a max-money player," said one Eastern Conference GM, "then that's where you can have problems."

For all his warts, and there were many that Knicks fans always chose to overlook, Sprewell gave the team some real toughness. He was one of the last players from the 90s playoff teams to welcome a physical challenge, as he was always asked to guard the opponent's top perimeter player.

Van Horn on the other hand, comes in with a well-deserved reputation for being soft. And also, he's a poor defender because he's the ultimate tweener. He can't throw his muscle around inside against power players, but he's also too slow to keep up with cat-quick small forwards.

Under Chaney, the Knicks have regressed at the defensive end. Last year, they were ranked 26th in points allowed and 26th in field-goal percentage. The world-famous "dee-fense" chant goes unheeded these days, and Van Horn isn't going to help in an area the franchise once prided itself on.

"He's a great offensive rebounder and he can hit open shots," Chaney said. "He creates situations. But a lot of people dwell on the negatives."

Nowhere more than in New York, where the fans won't be rolling out the red carpet for Keith Van Horn.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.