Marc Berman of the New York Post reports: It is now one week and counting until the knicks $4.5 million Disabled Player exceptions runs out and Head Coach Don Chaney says that there are "some interesting concepts" on the power-forward front.

The Knicks, who have spoken to Chicago about Marcus Fizer and to Memphis about Stromile Swift, have long had interest in Portland's Dale Davis, who would need to come along in a package deal for Latrell Sprewell. The Hawks also have an extra forward available in Alan Henderson as does Minnesota in Marc Jackson.

Chaney said the preference is for a center but no one good is available. "Once again we have an overload of power forwards. We need somebody big," Chaney said. "I would one time like to see a 7-footer come in who can play.

Chaney also said the Knicks have to be careful. Asked how many teams were "eager" to make a trade, Chaney said, "Teams are looking at it the other way. . . nobody's knocking our door down."

The Knicks have until December 2nd to use the exception.

Allan Houston shot the ball 11-for-13 in the first half against the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, yet he went scoreless in the second half and overtime as the Knicks crashed once again.  How can a player have such a change of form so quickly?

If you ask Houston the answer is simple.  His third-quarter benching caused him to lose his first half momentum which he never regained.  Knicks coach Don Cheaney, however, felt he had no choice but to bring his star off the court after Houston picked up his third foul early in the third period.

"I just got to do a better job," said Houston. "I'll take it upon myself. I don't want to shy away from it. I have to do a better job. Teams do make adjustments. I have to be able to adjust to their adjustments. When you're out of the game, it's hard to do that. I have to get back in the game and do something else."

Marc Berman of the New York Times reports that Chaney benched Houston early in the third to prevent him from getting into more severe foul trouble.  New Orleans guard David Wesley was attacking Houston every possession, restricting Houston to just three minutes in the third quarter. The move backfired, but Chaney knows Houston's got to regain rhythm after bench stints.

"You can't play a whole game," Chaney said.

Dave D'Alessandro of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports: The clock is still ticking on Scott Layden, who has nine days (until Dec.2) to use or lose the $4.5 million Disabled Player Exception granted him after losing Antonio McDyess.

However, he might end up not using it at all.

"There's no guarantee," Layden said. "Certainly teams are aware that it's there. You don't want to use it to make a bad deal, so we'll use it in a prudent fashion to make the team better if we can.

That was our goal when we first got it, but we can't just use it to take a player." Indeed, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan reiterated yesterday that "Scott has the resources to use, but not to waste," meaning that if the team cannot get a useful, rotation-worthy player in exchange, there is no reason to use it, since the Knicks would have to pay another $4.5 million in luxury tax in a money-for-player deal.

RealGM note: We will just have to wait and see what happens but deals have had a history of materializing around the expiration date of Disabled Player Exceptions.

New York shooting guard Allan Houston yesterday refused to get into a war of words with former teammate Marcus Camby over exactly who should be to blame over the Knicks struggles this season.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that Camby defended Knick Latrell Sprewell by saying, "He comes late to a couple of games but you can never question what he brings to the game each night." But then Camby added: "He's not the guy with the huge, huge contract. He lays it on the line every night so he's not to blame."

The huge contract comment is an obvious dig at Houston, who's $100M contract is the largest in Knicks history.

"The only thing I'll say is ... we're not blaming Latrell for anything. We know what Latrell means to the team," said Houston, agreeing with Camby in his only comment on the issue.

Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that Knicks GM Scott Layden admitted the $4.5M exception he must package in a deal for a young player by Dec. 2 comes at a time when teams aren't necessarily in trade mode. But, Layden said, "It's tough to predict our chances of using it. It does expire early in the season. We'll work hard to see if we can use it. It's a chip and teams have expressed interest in getting involved in a trade."

Christian Red of the New York Daily News writes that Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere, as well as former Knick player and announcer Cal Ramsey, gathered at the New York Athletic Club last night for a dinner to toast New York, which has been selected as the U.S. candidate for the 2012 Olympic Games.

But Knick fans everywhere probably wish they would suit up and provide the elixir for a season gone wrong.

"Well, they're struggling," Reed said. "But everyone goes through this. The Lakers did. The Celtics did. I thought when they got (Marcus) Camby and (Kurt) Thomas that there was a unique possibility. They'll have to do some rebuilding."

DeBusschere pointed to more specific Knick problems. "They need a center," he said. "And there is a cap problem, but they knew what they were getting into with that."

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News writes that despite the fact that the Knicks are 1-0 since Latrell Sprewell returned to the starting lineup, the trade rumors swirl faster.

Responding to a report from ESPN Insider, Isola writes that a proposed trade with Detroit that would send Clifford Robinson, Corliss Williamson and Hubert Davis to the Knicks for Sprewell is ?not true?. Isola states that the Knicks and Pistons discussed a trade for Sprewell over the summer before Jerry Stackhouse was traded to Washington.

Ohm Youngmisuk of the New York Post reports that Marcus Camby believes in karma. He believes that Antonio McDyess? injury may be some sort of cosmic payback for him and the Knicks. Camby is rehabbing his own injuries as a Denver Nugget.

"I do believe in karma," said Camby. "I just shook my head (when McDyess got hurt). I read some comments when I was home. I guess somebody asked (McDyess) if he was surprised when I was out. He had a little slick comment. Two days later, he goes down. That's the karma stuff I'm talking about. I mean, nothing against him. It's sad to see him go down like that. Hopefully he can rebound from that."
 
Camby also criticized the Knicks for their treatment of Latrell Sprewell. He doesn?t think Sprewell should be singled pout by the franchise when he isn?t even the team?s highest-paid player. comes late to a couple of games, but you can never question what he brings to the game each night," Camby said. "If they can only say he comes late to the game, they have to come up with something better than that. He's not the guy with the huge, huge contract. He lays it on the line every night, so he's not to blame."

Camby was not happy when he was traded by the Knicks to the Nuggets. He was also disappointed when it was discovered by the Nuggets that he needed surgery after rehabbing his hip injury with the Knicks all summer. He was disappointed, but he didn?t blame anybody.

"I never once blamed anybody, which I saw was being printed out here, that I directly blamed Dr. Scott (Knicks team doctor Norman Scott)," said Camby, who did think that he underwent unnecessary surgery on his injured right knee during the 1999-2000 season. "He's a good doctor. ... They should have sent me to a hip specialist, like they did when I got to Denver. I could have had surgery over the summer or when it happened, and I could be playing right now."

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reminds us that the Knicks are running out of time with their disabled player exception. They received a $4.5 million exception to replace Antonio McDyess who is out for the season after knee surgery. The exception must be used by December 2nd of it will expire.

Knicks president Scott Layden hopes to use the exception to trade for a point guard or a center. He has had preliminary talks with Memphis, who is looking to make moves after an 0-10 start. The Knicks are interested in Memphis big men Stromile Swift or Lorenzen Wright.

The Blazers and Timberwolves are two other teams that could be willing trade partners. Charlie Ward is one of the few Knicks that teams have expressed interest in because of his partially guaranteed salary next season.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that Lee Nailon is confident that he can contribute if given the minutes. Nailon had been a spark off the bench for the Knicks, but with the return of Latrell Sprewell to the lineup, his playing time has been drastically reduced.

"If I averaged 35 minutes a night, I'd probably be an All-Star here," said Nailon. "One day, I'll be playing 35 minutes and we'll be talking about something else."

Currently, Knicks Coach Don Chaney is starting Shandon Anderson at the small forward spot. Sprewell has been relegated to "sixth-man duty" while he works himself back into shape. Nailon is third on the small forward depth chart.

Chaney was pleased to hear Nailon?s confident remarks. If he shows all-star potential, it could allow the Knicks to trade Sprewell for some frontcourt help. He has confidence," Chaney said. "He doesn't lack that at all. I want guys to think that way. He can score. He's a scoring machine."