Sep 25, 2008 - 3:55 PM
1 shoutNEW YORK (Ticker) - Guard Allan Houston is making an improbable comeback with the New York Knicks.
Donnie Walsh, the Knicks' president of basketball operations, re-signed Houston as a free agent on Thursday.
New York also signed free-agent swingman Dan Grunfeld on Thursday. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Houston's career was thought to be finished when he retired on October 17, 2005, following two injury-plagued seasons in which he was limited to just 70 games due to an arthritic left knee.
The 6-6 shooting guard is the franchise's fourth-leading scorer all-time. With 11,165 points, he is surpassed only by Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed - all among the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.
Houston, 37, earned just as much fame toward the end of his career for the knee problems and long-term contract that caused to NBA to name a rule after him.
As the face of the franchise at the time, Houston was signed to a six-year, $100 million contract in August 2001. He was still owed nearly $40 million through 2007, including $19.125 million for the 2005-06 season when he called it quits.
As part of the new collective bargaining agreement in the summer of 2005, teams were allowed to waive one player whose salary would not count against luxury tax computations. It was called the "Amnesty Rule" but became known as the "Allan Houston Rule."
When healthy, Houston was one of the top shooting guards in the NBA. In 12 seasons with Detroit and New York, he averaged 17.3 points on 44 percent shooting, including 40 percent from 3-point range. He raised those numbers in the postseason.
Houston's best days came with the Knicks. Signed as a free agent in 1996, he made the All-Star team in 2000 and 2001 and helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals in 1999.
In the first round of the 1999 playoffs, Houston made one of the most famous shots in league history, a runner in the lane that bounced off the rim and through in the final second to give New York a victory at rival Miami in the decisive fifth game of the series.
Houston's best season was 2002-03, when he averaged a career-best 22.3 points on 44.5 percent shooting and led the NBA by making 91.9 percent of his free throws. But the Knicks missed the playoffs that season, and Houston never was the same again.
In 2004-05, Houston played in just 20 games and averaged 11.9 points - the second-lowest total of his 12-year career.
Houston was a member of the 2000 United States Olympic team that won a gold medal in Sydney, Australia.
The 6-6 Grunfeld was undrafted out of Stanford and played the last two seasons overseas. He spent the 2007-08 season in Spain, where he averaged 14.7 points and 3.3 rebounds for Aguas De Valencia.
In 2006-07, Grunfeld averaged 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for Oldenburg in Germany.
Grunfeld is the son of current Washington Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, who was a part of the Knicks organization for over 17 years as a player, broadcaster, assistant coach and general manager (1991-1999).
From the Bleachers
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mark
wait. what? what?!? if there was any doubt before, we're officially the laughing stock of the league.
Sep 25 4:13 PM
