Fat Chance

It's nice to see Eddy Curry finally get back down to his fighting weight, particularly after all he's been through in recent years. But I can't really get too excited about it, one way or another. Once considered the centerpiece of the Knicks, Curry has been nothing short of a disaster ever since he arrived in New York, practically dogging it from day one. He alienated fans and members of the Knicks' front office to such an extent people started to seriously question his desire to play professional basketball. His off-the-court issues didn't exactly help dispel this perception. To his credit, though, Curry's always said he wants to have a long career in the NBA. Judging by his appearance alone, he's finally doing something to help him reach his stated goal, even if it's way too late to make good on the promise he once demonstrated as a teenager. 

I doubt very much Curry can make much of difference this season. A bad team is a bad team, after all. Ironically, Curry's only real chance of helping the team that basically mortgaged its future for him is to show the rest of the NBA that he can still perform on the court, so the Knicks can trade him and his salary to make a real run at LeBron or any other free agent from the celebrated class of 2010. Regardless of his body shape, Curry's playing days in New York are probably numbered. 

Eddy Curry is Vestigial

Yesterday, Eddy Curry, the man once considered the cornerstone of the New York Knicks, was diagnosed with a torn right plantaris muscle, a vestigial sheath of tissue located between the calf and the ankle. Only 40 percent of the world's population even has this muscle. Curry, who missed the better part of the past two seasons due to various ailments and poor conditioning, is now injuring parts of his body that are, medically speaking, no more useful than an appendix or a human tail. Which begs the awful, yet inevitable question: how much longer can Eddy Curry last in the National Basketball Association?

Curry's professional career has been a complete disaster. It's sad, but true. Diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat at the end of the 2004-2005 season, Curry was traded to the Knicks for an expensive package of expiring contracts and future draft picks. The trade, compounded by a number of horrendous organizational decisions (See Thomas, Isiah), continues to cripple the franchise. Curry, believe it or not, is still under contract next year, which could very well prevent the Knicks from signing a second free agent in the much-heralded class of 2010. 

I'm not about to put this on Curry, though. I honestly feel bad for the guy. His most recent setback caps off a horrible 2009. In January, Curry's former driver filed a bizarre sexual harassment suit against Curry alleging Curry exposed himself and tried to solicit sex from his former employee. That same month, Curry's former girlfriend was killed in her home, along with the couple's daughter. Their three-year-old son witnessed the murder. In June, Curry's home went into foreclosure, which prompted Curry to ask the Knicks for an advance on his $8 million-salary. The Knicks denied his request. There's nothing funny about his current personal or professional situation. The man obviously needs a lot of help, financially, professionally and emotionally.  

Still, at this point in his career, Curry is quickly running out of time and chances, and is in serious jeopardy of losing everything.  

Today's Knicks Sexual Harassment Story Brought to You by the Letter "E"

Not a good week for Eddy Curry. After pulling himself out of Sunday night's game against the Rockets, he gets nailed with this ridiculous sexual harassment suit from his former driver, David Kuchinsky, who claims Curry, on two separate occasions, exposed himself and told Kuchinsky "to look and to touch him," according to Kuchinsky's attorney. 

The suit also alleges Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive terms.

Curry denied the charges, presumably from the Knicks' bench, where he's been planted for all but 158 seconds this season. "This is absolutely false," he said. "It's incredible. I can't even believe it."

In Curry's defense, this sounds like total crap. Kuchinsky has been trying to extort money from Curry since late last year, when Curry fired Kuchinsky. Explains Curry:

He had approached my friends and me a while back trying to get money and stuff like that. I just never thought -- especially with the past that me and him had -- I never thought that it would go past where it did, which is idle threats; 'I want some money or else' kind of stuff. I guess it's just like a prime example of you just got to watch who you have around you. This is a guy who I really thought was my friend up until the last four or five months. I can't even believe this has happened.

Teammate Malik Rose put it even more succinctly: "I know for a fact Eddy’s not gay." 

Way to lend a hand, Malik. You're about as good a character witness as you are an on-the-ball defender. 

Still, Kuchinsky's lawsuit will probably go away, unlike Anucha Browne Sanders' very real sexual harassment charge against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, which cost Knicks owner James Dolan $11.5 million and helped put the final nail in Isiah's coffin. That, and the 56-109 record as head coach. And the $100 million salary cap.

If Donnie Walsh really did have an inkling to trade Curry, he has even more work cut out for him than I originally feared. Which team wants to add an overweight, unmotivated center who doesn't rebound or defend, with a sexual harassment suit hanging over his head?

“Eddy’s brand is tarnished forever,”said Rose. “People are always going to associate those words and those actions with him."

But he's totally not gay. 

Ready Eddy?

Eddy Curry, who was once considered the cornerstone of the Knicks franchise, made his season debut the other night against the Dallas Mavs, and the reviews aren't good. Writes Jonathan Abrams in the NYT:

During his two-plus minutes on Thursday night, Curry scored a basket and grabbed a couple of rebounds. He also seemed out of sorts on a high pick-and-roll, where the big men usually position themselves in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, rather than the back-to-the-post spot Curry is familiar with.

Curry also lacked game conditioning, a point that was illustrated when Dallas’s James Singleton grabbed two offensive rebounds before Curry made his way into the play.

Curry played a grand total of two minutes and 38 seconds, or about 158 seconds too long.  If Walsh's plan is to showcase Curry for a future trade, he might have to come up with a plan B, C and D.