SNY.tv: Online Home of All Things Sports

Talking to the media before his Boston Celtics edged the Knicks, 107-105 in overtime, on a buzzer-beating 19-foot jumper by Kevin Garnett, Rivers said he could relate to Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's situation.

D'Antoni is trying to walk a tightrope in which he tries to win games with a limited roster this season while also looking ahead to the Summer of LeBron James.

While Rivers coached in Orlando, the Magic added Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady through sign-and-trade deals in 2000 after going 41-41 the year before.

"It's funny. I thought the reason we got McGrady and Grant Hill was because we went 41-41 that year and they said, 'You know what, they're not that far off,' so I thought the winning actually was as important as anything," said Rivers, who played for the Knicks in the early '90s. "Obviously, the money was very important as well. But I thought us winning allowed those guys to even look at our franchise."

The Knicks recently opted not to sign Allen Iverson because they believed he might interfere with the development of their young players.

Yet Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chanlder, Toney Douglas and the rest of roster seem unlikely to finish with a .500 record this season.

The loss to Boston dropped the Knicks to 3-9 entering a three-game western road swing that begins Tuesday night against the Lakers.

Rivers said he could empathize with D'Antoni, who has opted not to talk about 2010 anymore after getting hit with a barrage of questions early in the season.

"It's tough," Rivers said. "With Mike, that's tough because every night you're coaching to win the freaking games and everybody else is talking about -- our year Grant Hill, McGrady, Tim Duncan -- and I'm trying to get the guys to commit to playing a role and they're thinking, 'Why, I'm not going to be here next year?'"

Rivers added that it was important for the Knicks to show they can win enough this year to attract free agents.

"It's important," he said. "It's probably a lot tougher for Mike than it was for me because of the market. No one talked about Orlando every night on every newscast and they do about the Knicks."

Rivers is just the latest person outside the Knicks to make the case that winning attracts quality players.

Former Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, now with Atlanta, said New York had to "compete" this season in order to draw the interest of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

"Honestly, I wouldn't say they have to make the playoffs," Crawford said recently. "They just have to compete. Both those guys are on really good teams right now so who knows what the future holds? It would be tough for them to leave that."

And then there's James himself, who has said repeatedly that his top criterion for choosing a team next summer will be the all-important winning factor.

"All I'm saying is winning is more important to me than money, at the end of the day," James said recently. "And it is. All I care about is winning. Money and all the max contracts will take care of itself when you do win."

It seems painfully obvious that the Knicks need to do more winning -- and less losing -- if they hope to attract James.