OPINION

By Sean Deveney

updated 7:28 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2008

Sean Deveney

It has been an interesting 24 hours for Al Harrington. On Thursday, it looked like he was a sure bet to be traded from the Warriors to the Knicks in a straight swap for Jamal Crawford. In fact, there was a trade call with the NBA set up, which is the penultimate step to finishing a deal.

But then the Knicks, evidently, got cold feet, concerned about the state of Harrington's back. Harrington has been out since Nov. 5 with a back injury, and though it has been suggested Harrington's back wasn't all that bad and that he was simply sitting out until Golden State traded him, the Knicks got worried. The trade call was canceled, which is a step from which trades are rarely resuscitated. It sounded like the death knell for the Harrington-to-New York deal.

Once word was out that the Knicks deal might fall apart, things got complicated. The Clippers, a source close to the situation said, tried to make it a wider deal to involve Zach Randolph. The Spurs swooped in with a late offer for Harrington. Indiana was said to have put forth an offer to bring Harrington in for a third tour of duty. Toronto wanted him, too, possibly offering big man Andrea Bargnani.

These other teams weren't exactly what Harrington wanted. He is a native of Orange, N.J., only about 15 miles outside of New York. He wanted to be a Knick and, cold feet and all, the Knicks wanted him — this deal first started percolating back in the summer, when the Knicks expressed interest in Harrington. As an athletic, versatile forward, Harrington figured he would fit nicely with Mike D'Antoni's coaching style. The disintegration of the Knicks deal had to be a big concern for him.

But the Knicks quickly climbed back aboard, and the deal was brought back to life — finally, after the trade call took place this afternoon, the Crawford-for-Harrington deal is complete.

And, to top even that, the Knicks made a second deal, sending off Randolph's contract (and Mardy Collins) to the Clippers for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley.

That deal is great news not only for Harrington, who will suddenly find himself in a starting role with an up-tempo coach, but also for Knicks fans. In fact, this should go down as one of the best days in recent Knick history, which might sound strange seeing as it's also the day New Yorkers gave up the two leading scorers on a team that was, surprisingly, over .500 and looking like a playoff possibility in the East.

Crawford had played well under D'Antoni, shooting 45.5 percent from the 3-point line, putting up seven 3s per game. Randolph, too, had been a consistent post presence. With a solid start to the season, it would have been easy for D'Antoni and general manager Donnie Walsh to scrap their long-term rebuilding plan and start putting their eggs in the 2008-09 basket. Anyone who has watched this franchise over the last five or so years knows that's the kind of short-term thinking that usually has ruined the Knicks.

But dealing Crawford and Randolph shows that the team's brass is sticking with its plan. It wants major cap space for the Summer of LeBron (or Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, etc.) to build a championship contender in 2010, which happens to be when the contracts of Harrington, Thomas and Mobley — totaling about $25 million — expire. The Knicks are shedding bad contracts, even if the players holding those contracts are key contributors to this year's success. Crawford may have played well, but he has a deal that runs through 2010-11, and no matter how well you play, if your deal cuts into future cap space, you're out.

These deals might cost the Knicks the No. 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs this year. But Walsh and D'Antoni have bigger things in mind than a No. 6 or 7 playoff seed. Today, they showed they're serious about rebuilding. Knicks fans should be happy about that.

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