nydailynews:Larry Brown said yesterday that he is expecting Davis to rejoin the team but the coach was noncommittal when asked where and when that may take place, raising speculation that Davis may never again play for the Knicks.
Davis, who was reluctant to join the Knicks after being included in the Eddy Curry deal during the first week of training camp, was given permission to return home to Chicago after the NBA suspended the veteran forward for five games for jumping into the stands during a Knicks-Bulls game last week.
Under league rules, any suspended player is barred from an arena before, during and after a game. Davis is eligible to play Monday against the Hawks in Atlanta.
Under the ban, he is allowed to practice with the Knicks but he has already missed three training sessions. Yesterday, Brown was vague concerning Davis' status. When asked if he expected the power forward to rejoin the team, Brown replied: "Yeah ... unless something crazy happens that I don't know about."
Asked if Davis still wants to play in New York, Brown answered: "I don't even think that's an issue."
Brown indicated that Davis may rejoin the Knicks Saturday in Philadelphia. If true, Davis will watch the game from his hotel room before meeting the team at the airport for its late-night flight to Atlanta.
The longer he stays away, however, the more his absence increases the possibility of Isiah Thomas trading or releasing Davis, who is in the last year of his contract.
A Knicks official said yesterday that there continue to be whispers inside the organization that Davis will be released so he can sign with a contending team.
That scenario, however, is unlikely to happen until after the Feb. 23 trading deadline, if at all. Davis, who was also coached by Brown in Indiana, is one of the Knicks' few stable veterans.
I'm pissed....c'mon now we picked him up for veteran leadership and now it's possible he may not be a Knick before trade deadline? I felt like he went through so much and he's being treated horrible by the organization. *sighs* too much going on for the Knicks and it ain't anything positive.
