Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks will be holding on to Latrell Sprewell? for a while. After almost being traded to the Bucks for Glenn Robinson earlier this summer, Sprewell will come into training camp with the Knicks.

According to a friend who spoke to Sprewell within the last two weeks, Sprewell said he was excited about playing for his hometown Bucks. He also laughed at the irony of the Knicks trading him to finally add size to their roster. "He thought it was a done deal," the friend said. "He was ready to move on."

Sprewell had lobbied for the Knicks to add frontcourt size for two seasons and in the trade that fell through, they would have added a forward in Robinson and a legitimate center in Earvin Johnson.

But Sprewell is back - perhaps until the February trading deadline - and no one can honestly predict how Sprewell will react and perform for an organization that tried so vigorously to trade him.

"It's not that we're just trying to get rid of him," coach Don Chaney said Friday. "I think he understands that one of the reasons why he, and not only Spree, is included in trades is that somebody out there thinks you're a pretty good player. At the same time, coming off a subpar year, as a player you have to understand there are going to be changes and he's mature enough to understand that.

"The one thing about him, which is different from a lot of NBA players, is that he has an unbelievable amount of maturity when it comes to the business of the game. He's not afraid of being traded. Naturally, he would love to be in New York. He made additions on his house. But I think he's one of those guys, if he's traded, he's traded. He knows that it is beyond his control. He also understands that this is a business."