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NEW YORK -- For the third time in 29 months, Glen Rice has
been traded. This time, he's going to a place where he won't be a
second fiddle, a third option or a sixth man.
The Houston Rockets acquired the three-time All-Star from the
New York Knicks on Friday in a three-team trade. Howard Eisley goes
from Dallas to New York, Shandon Anderson goes from the Rockets to
the Knicks and Muggsy Bogues was sent from New York to Dallas.
In coming to the Knicks, Anderson gets a six-year contract valued at approximately $42 million, ESPN's David Aldridge reported.
The Mavericks, who seemingly made the trade in order to
facilitate a future deal for Tim Hardaway, also sent the rights to
second-round draft pick Kyle Hill to Houston.
While the Knicks created a whole new layer of glut in their
backcourt, the Rockets took a gamble on a player whose production
has dropped steadily and dramatically in the three seasons since he
was traded from the Charlotte Hornets.
A sharpshooter who averaged 26.8 points as recently as 1996-97,
Rice's average dropped to 12.0 last season as he was forced into a
reserve role with New York.
Rice, who had spent two unhappy seasons in Los Angeles as the
third option behind Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, was the
primary player the Knicks received in return when they dealt
Patrick Ewing last summer. The Knicks signed him to a four-year
contract, and the Rockets are liable for the remaining $28.5
million Rice will earn through the 2003-04 season.
A nagging foot injury kept Rice from practicing for long periods
of time last season. He played in 75 games, starting 25.
"Glen gets to go to a place where his minutes will be up and he
can start, and with us getting Shandon we get some versatility,"
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said.
The acquisition of Anderson and Eisley means that the Knicks,
who already had a logjam at the shooting guard and small forward
positions, have a roster heavy on point guards.
Eisley, who mostly played shooting guard for the Mavericks last
season but eventually lost his starting job, has primarily been a
point guard during his seven-year NBA career. The Knicks already
have two point guards, Mark Jackson and Charlie Ward, signed to
long-term contracts.
"It's going to be real interesting to see how this all works
out," Knicks general manager Scott Layden said.
The Mavericks had been eager to trade Eisley and have targeted
Miami Heat free agent Hardaway as his backcourt replacement. Dallas
can now do a sign-and-trade deal with the Heat after acquiring a
so-called trade exception from Houston that makes it easier to
trade players whose salaries are not equal.
The Rockets acquired the trade exception just last week in the
deal that sent Olajuwon to Toronto.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban had said on Wednesday that while his
pursuit of Hardaway was "not over at all," he first wanted to
find a home for Eisley, who had requested a trade.
"They're kind of mutually exclusive. As much as we like Timmy's
experience, it would be tough to have both on the roster," Cuban
said.
It was Dallas' second deal in three days. On Wednesday, the
Mavericks resigned 7-6 center Shawn Bradley and signed backup
center Evan Eschmeyer of New Jersey to a six-year, $20 million
offer sheet.
The acquisition of Rice, along with the re-signing of Maurice Taylor, are the Rockets' first moves of the post-Olajuwon era.
"Glen Rice is a guy I've coveted and this organization has
coveted for a long time because he is one of the premier shooters
in the league," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "He's a guy
that fits with the young penetrating guys we have, and I have a
really good feeling about him."
Rice has averaged 19.5 points in his career, making 46 percent
of his shots and 40 percent of his 3-pointers.
Rice's final game for the Knicks was not a memorable one as he
shot just 2-for-10 and scored only five points in 35 minutes as the
Knicks were knocked out by the Raptors in the first round of the
playoffs for the franchise's earliest playoff exit in a decade.
Anderson and Eisley both started their careers with the Utah Jazz, where they were acquired by Layden -- who has since become
general manager of the Knicks.
"Shandon and Howard are consummate professionals that will make
an impact on this team," Layden said. "Being familiar with their
careers and progress in this league, both players have consistently
improved throughout the years and have thrived in many different
roles on their respective teams."
Van Gundy said, "If Howard and Mark and
Charlie are all here (when training camp begins), I'll feel
comfortable that we have three great point guards."
Anderson averaged 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists for
the Rockets last season, a drop-off from his stats of the previous
season. Van Gundy praised him as being more defensive-minded and
more of a slasher than Rice.
Eisley averaged a career-high 9.0 points and 3.6 assists for
Dallas last season, his seventh. He made 107 3-pointers but shot
just 39 percent from the field.
Bogues, a 12-year veteran, has a chronic knee condition that
prevented him from playing last season.
Hill, a guard from Eastern Illinois, was chosen 44th overall in
the draft.
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