Not one of Demetris' better weeks.
First, news leaks that Nichols is being outplayed in practice by Fred Jones for the final roster spot. This quote certainly didn't help matters:
"Fred Jones has looked really good," Thomas said. "We want the best player. We're not looking at 2-3 years down the road. There was an opportunity we could've kept (Nichols') rights if he went overseas but it's a different story now. That ship has sailed."
To make matters worse, rumors starting swirling that Nichols' was Hepititis C-positive and that's why his draft stock plummeted so much. I don't know the difference between A, B and C off-hand but I'll just assume anything involving a word that ends in -titus is bad. Apparently the positive test was a false positive but the damage was done.
Finally, the rumor of the week in Knicks camp was confirmed yesterday. The Knicks are bringing back Allan Houston to try and make the team. Houston retired two years ago this month due to knee pain but they're willing to give him a shot to regain his clutch form. The Knicks already have a bloated roster as-is so the news that they want to see if Houston can cut is especially bad for Nichols.
Now there's a good chance Houston won't be able to cut it and that will be that but even then there's no guarantee Nichols will make the club. He's already forgone the Europe option, so if he doesn't make the club he either better hope another team has a hole to fill or Gerry McNamara put in a good word for him in Bakersfield.
First, news leaks that Nichols is being outplayed in practice by Fred Jones for the final roster spot. This quote certainly didn't help matters:
"Fred Jones has looked really good," Thomas said. "We want the best player. We're not looking at 2-3 years down the road. There was an opportunity we could've kept (Nichols') rights if he went overseas but it's a different story now. That ship has sailed."
To make matters worse, rumors starting swirling that Nichols' was Hepititis C-positive and that's why his draft stock plummeted so much. I don't know the difference between A, B and C off-hand but I'll just assume anything involving a word that ends in -titus is bad. Apparently the positive test was a false positive but the damage was done.
Finally, the rumor of the week in Knicks camp was confirmed yesterday. The Knicks are bringing back Allan Houston to try and make the team. Houston retired two years ago this month due to knee pain but they're willing to give him a shot to regain his clutch form. The Knicks already have a bloated roster as-is so the news that they want to see if Houston can cut is especially bad for Nichols.
Now there's a good chance Houston won't be able to cut it and that will be that but even then there's no guarantee Nichols will make the club. He's already forgone the Europe option, so if he doesn't make the club he either better hope another team has a hole to fill or Gerry McNamara put in a good word for him in Bakersfield.