The Knicks Fix

While most of Boston was either at Fenway or glued to their televisions watching the epic Red Sawx comeback Quentin Richardson was watching a preseason NBA game between the Celtics and Nets.

Q was looking out for his old Clipper buddy (and fellow Van Wilder cast member) Darius Miles, who is trying to resurrect his career with the Celtics. In a 111-108 win over the Nets, D-Miles played 9:10 and scored one point.

The former phenom out of East St. Louis, who was supposed to go to St. John's until the SAT scores were revealed, once scored 47 points in an NBA game and yet also was a notorious face (yes, along with our very own Zach Randolph) among Portland's "Jail Blazer" era. After he was dumped by the Blazers, Miles was signed by Danny Ainge for a tryout. Right now the feeling is he's the 16th man on a team that can only keep 15 players.

Richardson and Miles were the subject of a 2004 documentary, The Youngest Guns, which intended to show the impact -- both positively and negatively -- that is felt by young basketball players who from urban neighborhoods and are thrust into the blinding spotlight of NBA stardom.

Richardson has done well for himself as an NBA player, where he's had success (though modest) in each of his stops from the Clippers to the Suns and with the Knicks. He is a widely-respected player among his peers and isn't someone who generates much news off the court, aside from his brief romance with Brandy and connection with the Jordan Brand (check him out trying to look all 'Clyde' in the black fedora).

After mostly a troublesome NBA career on and off the court, Miles, now 27, is trying to show he can still play at a high level after microfracture surgery. And there is evidence that he has found some refreshing humility, along with a newfound appreciation for what he has...or make that, had.

"Whether I'm here two months or a whole year, I thank Danny and Doc for bringing some sunlight on my life," Miles said recently. "I kind of needed that. It was like a dark cloud hanging over me the last two years."

Though he insisted that Miles is "nowhere near the person they portray him to be," Richardson didn't try to excuse anything off Miles' mile-long NBA rap sheet. He instead suggested that Miles' career should be a cautionary tale for young NBA players.

“I think the thing people never understood about Darius was that he was a young kid that was a phenom," Richardson said. "He was out of high school from a small town in East St. Louis, he wasn’t used to a lot of the things that we got exposed to right away. To ask an 18-year-old kid to be what they were asking him to be was kind of tough.”

His chances to stick with the World Champions are slim, but Q is hoping he can catch on somewhere in the NBA.

“I certainly hope so, I hope somebody is watching him in the preseason," Richardson said. "I’d really like to see him get a chance here because this is a great organization, he’d be playing with a group of champions who know what it’s all about.”

Maybe something good will finally rub off on him.

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* - Mike D'Antoni said the D-League was a possible destination for Danilo Gallinari, at the start of the season, if anything to get him extended minutes in game action to help him better prepare for his debut in the NBA lineup. The Knicks' affiliate in Reno is coached by Jay Humphries, who was on D'Antoni's staff in Phoenix and will run the D'Antoni system.

Another potential D-Leaguer could be Patrick Ewing, Jr., though D'Antoni also mentioned the idea of sending Ewing, Jr. to Europe for the year. They would retain his rights until next training camp. Same goes for Dan Grunfeld.

D'Antoni isn't against the idea of using the D-League. In fact, unlike Isiah Thomas, D'Antoni doesn't like the idea of carrying 15 players throughout the season. He prefers to practice and work with smaller numbers. Less people sitting around.

* - David Lee and Malik Rose are starting to get like Ferris Bueller. After scoring behind-the-plate seats at The Bank for Game 1 of the NLCS in Philly, the duo were mugging for the centerfield camera with front-row hookups at Fenway for Game 5. They split before the Sawx won the game, but Lee said there was no doubt that Boston was making the comeback after Big Papi's home run disappeared into the Beantown night.