Raja Bell admitted he has been following the saga surrounding Alex Rodriguez and believes the media scrutiny that is involved with playing in New York could prevent certain free agents from signing with the Knicks.

"It's hard to miss," he said. "It's splattered all over ESPN and even the local channels.

"There are some guys who love the stage and want to be on display, and there are other guys who are really private," said Bell. "It's something people should consider when deciding whether to play here or not."

The soap opera surrounding Rodriguez is largely his own doing and would likely be enormous no matter where he played.

"I'm sure that's something a team competing with New York for a player might bring up," said a former NBA executive. "It's going to be very competitive when 2010 comes around and teams are going to use everything they can to persuade a player to sign with them."