EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Acknowledging "it's good to be
home," Patrick Ewing made his first New York-area appearance since
leaving the Knicks.
|  | | Patrick Ewing is wearing strange colors for fans who have watched him his whole career. |
"It was time for me to go," he said of his departure from New
York after 15 seasons. "The feeling was mutual, and I'll make the
best out of the rest of my career.
Ewing's new team, the Seattle SuperSonics, lost to the New
Jersey Nets on Saturday afternoon in the fourth stop of a five-game
road trip. Following a game in Detroit on Sunday, the Sonics return
home to face the Knicks on Tuesday night at Key Arena.
Ewing doesn't return to the Garden until Feb. 27.
"Either way, I have to come back and play," he said. "I don't
really think about that, I try to do the best job I can and help my
team win."
The Sonics have struggled to a 2-5 start, with Ewing averaging
slightly less than 10 shots per game as the third or fourth option
in Seattle's offense.
It's the type of reduced role Ewing was being forced into with
the Knicks that brought about much of the discomfort and eventually
led to the four-team trade that sent the 7-footer to Seattle.
Ewing is averaging 10.8 points -- more than four points
lower than his career-low average of 15.0 from last season.
"I'm enjoying it. We're not winning as much as we would have
liked, but it's still early," he said.
Fewer than two dozen media members -- a small crowd by local
standards -- were on hand as the Sonics held a workout Friday
afternoon at the Nets' nondescript practice facility nestled in a
neighborhood of industrial buildings a few miles from the
Meadowlands.
Ewing seemed in good spirits, calmly answering many of the same
questions he's heard all week while being followed up the East
Coast by writers from the two main New York tabloids.
"After reading what all you guys write about him, I expected
him to be a jerk. That's a joke," Sonics coach Paul Westphal said.
"He's a great guy. The thing that has been pleasing is that he
really does have a lot of basketball left in him. He can still
play.
"When we saw what he did in Game 7 against Miami -- 15 points
and 18 rebounds against Alonzo -- three months later you're not all
of a sudden old after that. The only concern was whether he'd have
a lot of injuries, and so far he's been real healthy, his knees are
holding up well."
Ewing, who lived in New Jersey when he played with the Knicks,
did not stay with the rest of the team at their hotel in Manhattan.
He said it was good to be able to see family and friends.
It will be a strange sight for folks in the New York area to see
Ewing wearing another uniform, but at least they'll have company.
Ewing himself did a double-take.
"I didn't really look in the mirror, but when I first saw a
picture of myself it looked weird," he said. "I was still
accustomed to being in the Knicks' colors."
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