<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Speedy quick to notice Knicks By FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Speedy Claxton has a visit to Orlando scheduled for today. There is a possibility of future trips to Seattle, Utah, Denver, Washington, Cleveland and Detroit. "There are a lot of teams interested," Claxton said. Such is life when you are a free agent point guard who outplayed Jason Kidd in the most important fourth quarter of the NBA Finals. Claxton's performance last month piqued the interest of general managers everywhere, including the Knicks' Scott Layden, who has liked Claxton since the guard's days at Hofstra. Claxton has yet to arrange a meeting with Knicks officials, but then one may not be necessary. As a Knicks fan who grew up in Queens, Claxton doesn't need a sales pitch, just a contract offer. "I've always dreamed of playing for the Knicks," Claxton said yesterday. "That is definitely something that would interest me." Claxton is the free agent point guard the Knicks have targeted. His quickness and his abilities to change the pace of a game and penetrate into the lane are qualities that none of the team's current point guards has. Layden was prepared to draft Claxton in 2000 until Philadelphia selected him with the 20th overall pick. Two picks later, the Knicks drafted Donnell Harvey only to trade him and John Wallace to Dallas for Erick Strickland and Pete Mickeal. "I was aware that they wanted me so I was surprised when Philadelphia picked me," said Claxton, who attended Christ the King High School. "I didn't even work out for them." Layden considered trading up in last week's NBA draft to get Texas point guard T.J. Ford, who like Claxton is 5-11 and quick but has neither the jump shot nor the experience Claxton has. Claxton proved his worth in the last three games of the NBA Finals when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich began to play him over starter Tony Parker. In Game6, Claxton played the entire fourth quarter as the Spurs recovered from a 10-point deficit and defeated the Nets to win the NBA championship. That night, Claxton had 13 points, four assists and just two turnovers in 23 minutes and made the Nets pay for double-teaming Tim Duncan. In the final period, Claxton scored five points, including two jumpers, during in a decisive 19-0 run. "That helped me a ton," he said. "Those last three games were the most important games of the series." The knock on Claxton is his durability. He has appeared in just 97 of a possible 246 regular-season games. "The one thing I have to prove is that I can play all 82," said Claxton, who wants to be a starter. Claxton is a candidate to replace Charlie Ward, whose contract can be bought out for $2 million. However, the Knicks have only their $4.8 million exception as leverage, and Layden's top priority is to sign a big man. Agent Bill Duffy, who represents Claxton, also lists Michael Olowokandi and Rasho Nesterovic as clients. The Knicks would like to add either center, but the asking prices will be too high. One possible scenario - albeit an unlikely one - is Duffy negotiating a sign-and-trade deal for Olowokandi or Nesterovic to be shipped to the Knicks, with the understanding that the Knicks would then give Claxton the $4.8 million exception. Originally published on July 3, 2003 </div>
