Kelenna Azubuike is hoping to compete for a starting job for the Knicks in t 2010-2011 season. The former Wildcat's quest for a starting job is up in the air while he is still recovering from a knee injury. Azubuike tore his his patella tendon while playing with the Warriors last season. Golden State traded Azubuike to New York over the summer.
As the training camp start dates are approaching, the Knicks are taking a catious approach in dealing with Kelenna. Howard Beck has an update on Azubuike's status in this article for the New York Times. Here is an excerpt.
Kelenna Azubuike, who was expected to compete for a starting job, may start training camp on the sideline, because of lingering concerns over his surgically repaired left knee.
Azubuike tore his patellar tendon last November while playing for the Golden State Warriors. He missed the rest of the season, and the Warriors expected he would need a full year to recover.
The Knicks are taking a similarly conservative approach.
“We’re not sure,” said the team president Donnie Walsh, who described a torn patellar tendon as “one of the worst injuries in the league.”
Azubuike spent most of the summer rehabilitating with a private trainer. He just began working with the Knicks’ staff this week, so team officials do not yet have a firm assessment. Azubuike is not yet running or jumping, which suggests that he is a long way from playing high-level basketball.
“I think it’s 50-50 whether he’ll be ready for training camp right now,” D’Antoni said. “He thinks he will be.”
When healthy, the 26-year-old Azubuike is probably the Knicks’ top candidate to start at shooting guard, because of his athleticism, his strength and his steady 3-point stroke. At 6 feet 5 inches and 220 pounds, Azubuike is built “like a brick,” D’Antoni said, and is an above-average defender.
