Another rumor wafted in on the trade winds yesterday, hardly creating a Another rumor wafted in on the trade winds yesterday, hardly creating a stir at Knick practice. Some Laker players had mentioned to an L.A. reporter they expected Kobe Bryant to become a Knick next season, and then a New York paper hypothesized that it could only happen if the Lakers sign and then trade Bryant for Allan Houston.

So there was Houston in Tarrytown yesterday - a month after the trade deadline, more than three months before any deal can even be discussed - answering to flimsy deductions based on logic and wishful thinking. He has heard these trade reports forever, and he was asked whether his health might determine his future with the Knicks.

"I don't worry about it, because it's not in Isiah's control, and it's not in the Knicks' control," Houston said. "I've always said that. If God wants me to be somewhere else, that's where I'll be. If He wants me to be here, that's where I'll be."