Curry deal gets OK from NBA
The New York Knicks are ready to take a chance on Eddy Curry. And while they want doctors to sign off on the health of the 22-year-old center's heart first, they won't be looking at Curry's DNA profile.
The NBA approved a trade yesterday that sends Curry and veteran center Antonio Davis from Chicago to the Knicks for forwards Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, and Jermaine Jackson.
The trade, like all others, requires players to pass a physical. In Curry's case, it will involve tests by a team of doctors to determine whether an irregular heartbeat that forced him to miss the last 13 games of last season and the playoffs was an isolated incident or an indication of a serious problem.
''Believe me, if there is something there, the people we have examining him -- they will find it," team president Isiah Thomas said after the Knicks practiced at the College of Charleston (S.C.).
The Bulls had demanded Curry take a DNA test to see if he is susceptible to cardiomyopathy, the ailment that killed former Celtics guard Reggie Lewis and Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers.
But Curry refused, saying the test violated his privacy because it could also be used to determine if he was predisposed to a host of other conditions.
Thomas said the Knicks couldn't give Curry a DNA test because of New York's privacy and employment laws. Doctors will continue to perform other tests today, and Thomas hopes to know by the afternoon whether Curry is clear to play.
Raptors unload Alston
The Toronto Raptors traded temperamental point guard Rafer Alston to the Houston Rockets yesterday for former Celtics guard Mike James. Alston was involved in several scrapes last season. He threatened to quit the team and the NBA after a Dec. 3 game against the Celtics in Boston and was suspended by the Raptors for two games for conduct detrimental to the club after he walked out during practice . . . The Trail Blazers signed forward Sam Clancy to a one-year contract . . . Restricted free agent forward Reggie Evans signed a one-year contract with the SuperSonics, rejoining the team he started 79 games for last season.
