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Knicks Introduce Chris Duhon | Knicks Sign Chris Duhon

Searching for an established veteran to help run new Head Coach Mike D'Antoni's signature high-octane offense, Knicks President, Basketball Operations wasted no time signing veteran Chris Duhon to play in New York on Wednesday -- the first day that NBA teams were eligible to add free agents.

"Chris has established himself as a solid point guard in our league, making him a good addition to our roster," Walsh said. "He plays hard on both ends of the floor and makes good decisions with the basketball.

"You take Mike D'Antoni and the way he is going to play, this guy can get the ball up quickly, get it to people. In the same vein, he can pick up 94 feet and pressure. Those are things that I think are good options to have in your guard core."

Duhon entered the NBA as a second-round draft choice, selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft following an outstanding college career at Duke, where he left as the school's all-time leader in minutes and steals. In addition to winning the national title in 2001, he is the only player in ACC history to finish with at least 1,000 points, 800 assists, 475 rebounds, 300 steals and 125 three-point field goals.

In his four-year stint with the Chicago Bulls, Duhon averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 assists in 300 career games, including 159 starts. Last season, he averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 assists, and ranked sixth in the league with a 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"I had a great conversation with Coach D'Antoni," Duhon said Wednesday after being introduced to the media at Madison Square Garden. "To have the opportunity to play in his system is going to improve my game. It's a challenge. Are the Knicks one of the best teams in the league? No, but the opportunity to be a part of a change is great, and is something I am looking forward to. When I went to the Bulls, we were in the same situation, and we were able to turn that around. That was a great feeling, and a great experience for me."

His new head coach believes Duhon, who will wear No. 1, will play a pivotal role in his team's turnaround.

"Chris will strengthen our backcourt and help us in several areas," said D'Antoni. "He is a smart player who always plays with intensity, and I look forward to working with him."

D'Antoni will get a chance to check out his newest playmaker shortly, because Duhon plans on flying out to Las Vegas to practice with the Knicks during the NBA Summer League.

"This is a new thing for everybody," said Duhon, referring to the Knicks' stylistic transformation. "With everybody being there, it gives us an opportunity to be more familiar with one another and also with the coach. It pretty much starts us out getting ready to be on the right path."

Duhon said he wants to help instill a new identity at The Garden, and he hopes to help cultivate that out in Las Vegas.

"I'm going to go out, bring leadership here and help us become a team," he said. "We need to become a team and be confident every night that we're going to compete and give our best effort.

"We're going to get an identity of a team that's going to come out, compete and give themselves a chance to win every night... I'm going to take a lot of responsibility to try to get this team to go out and compete every night... (My game) can go as far as I want it to go (under Coach D'Antoni). He gives guards a lot of freedom to be themselves and express themselves. That's what I'm working on now. To have that confidence and have your coach have confidence in you makes things easier. He has confidence that I'll flourish in this type of system."

When his new teammates join him on the court for the first time next week, they will find in Duhon a slick ball-handler that is extremely adept at pushing the tempo of the offense. Known for being cool, calm and collected, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder is a true floor general who thrives at creating open shots for his teammates, which is the exact reason both Walsh and Duhon saw this as the perfect marriage.

"We thought we needed somebody that was a true point guard, could facilitate and somebody that was defensive oriented as well as distribute the ball," said Walsh. "He was the best name out there. That's what we zeroed in on. He had other options, but he wanted to take the challenge of coming here."

Meanwhile, Duhon saw his playing style as the ideal fit in D'Antoni's system.

"His (D'Antoni's) style of play is great for point guards," said Duhon. "He gives them a lot of freedom and the opportunity to make decisions on the run, and I feel like I've been prepared for that. I'm looking forward to that opportunity and that type of control."

Duhon is also excited to play with the current team's roster, and looks forward to reuniting with Eddy Curry, who was a teammate during Duhon's rookie season in Chicago.

"Eddy and I have a great relationship," he said. "It's going to be good to play with him again. Eddy has a lot of upside, and I'm just going to continue to keep motivating him, and let him know that he can be better and better every year."

Duhon is also revved up to join sharpshooter Jamal Crawford in the backcourt and anticipates that the two will form a formidable tandem.

"I'm very excited to play along with Jamal," he said. "I've seen the things he can do out there on the court with the ball. He's offensively gifted, and there's things that I can try to learn from him.”

In addition to being a capable distributor, Duhon is also a proficient scorer with a sweet stroke, shooting 38.7 percent from the field over his career. He is particularly deadly from behind the arc, where he shoots 35.6 perecent.

On the other side of the ball, Duhon is a lockdown defender, often asked to shut down the opposition's top gun. It is a role he has both thrived in and covets.

"I take a lot of pride in my defense," he said. "In Chicago, I had the opportunity to guard a lot of positions, from the one to the four. So I think that I've got a lot of depth (in playing defense) to guard a variety of positions. As a point guard, you're a catalyst of that. You're the guy that's pressuring the ball, and you can set the tone defensively."

Duhon is also known for his off-the-court efforts in the community. The Slidell, La., native organized the "Chris Duhon Stand Tall Foundation" in 2005 -- immediately following Hurricane Katrina -- to aid Katrina's victims with primary needs and to assist in the rebuilding of his hometown. In the process, he raised over 2,000 boxes of supplies in the process.

Most recently, Duhon won the November 2007 NBA Community Assist Award.

In his first free agent maneuver at the helm of the Knicks, Walsh said he was thrilled to add a solid citizen who excels both on and off the court.

"He's a good kid, and I think he's going to be a good representative of the New York Knicks," said Walsh. "I'm happy to have him."

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