Marc Berman of the New York Post reports: Former New York Mets orthopedist Dr. Riley Williams says that with each surgery Antonio McDyess has, his chances decrease of being able to fully heal.

In other words, he says the Knicks may have traded for damaged goods, much like the Orlando Magic may have done with Grant Hill.

"Grant Hill, the poor guy, is a great analogy," said Dr. Williams, the top sports knee specialist at Manhattan's Hospital for Special Surgery. "[Hill] has got this stress fracture that, at the end of the day, it's not going to heal. [The Knicks] are taking it really conservative [regarding McDyess] but each additional surgical reconstruction following an attempt to play decreases the likelihood of a full recovery.

"Would I say definitely he's out or in? No. But the knee undergoing a third surgery in the same local area does give me pause."

Williams believes that McDyess had the stress fracture in his kneecap even before his fatal jump.

"Even the diagnosis was very vaguely presented back then," said Williams, who worked for the Mets from 1996 to 2002. "My take on the initial injury was he had a stress-type fracture all along. The jumping incident was just a culmination. It's not like a trauma was a cause. It's wear and tear. Something about him and his knee predisposes him to this problem."

Knicks doctor Norman Scott concedes that breaking a knee cap by jumping is unusual, but is optomistic that this next surgery could end McDyess's problems.

Williams believes McDyess can still make a comeback, but that whether or not he can come back for an extended period will be in question.

"Antonio is highly athletic, but his bone structure has not responded well to the force he's putting it under in his basketball career - four games a week, practices," Williams said. "This is the culmination and it started with the [patella] tendon tear [in 2001]. It's an overuse problem. The same trouble spot is not healing. The concern is it's not going to withstand the test of time."