The Knicks need Curry to heal quickly and be back on the court without any issues, not only to give the offense a desperately-needed focal point, but also because you can't showcase a player you're trying to trade if he's not on the court.

--Kobe Bryant is one superstar with an opt-out in 2010 who is never linked to the Knicks. That's mainly because no one expects Bryant to leave Los Angeles and money is never an issue for the well-run Lakers.

But ask about 2010 and if the Knicks could lure a big-name free agent such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to New York, and you see the Kobe smile flash across his face.

"It will be interesting," he said. "I know those guys are going to sit back and evaluate their options. New York will definitely be one of them. Whether they go or not? I don't know."

Ron Artest, a Queensbridge native and devout New Yorker, suggested that NBA players are "scared" to come play in New York. But Bryant said that doesn't apply to the game's greatest players.

"Nah, I know both of those guys and they don't give a damn about that stuff," Bryant said. "It wouldn't bother them at all. At all."

While the Lakers have regularly had a roster with star-quality names, the Knicks' last great player was Patrick Ewing (though you could make a case for Latrell Sprewell). Bryant took it a step further when he said the Knicks "never had one of the flashy, marquee guys, going back even to the teams that won championships. They always were teams that kind of never had one star. So this would be the first time they had one of those guys."

Of course, Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe might beg to differ.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I definitely want to get out there, but we've got to see. We've got to be smart about it." -- Eddy Curry on his left knee injury, which sidelined him from Wednesday's game in Sacramento.