Peep this story from the New York Post.
NBA pranks are second to none. They need to show that on MTV.
A SICK KNICK TRICK
By BRUCE GOLDING
KNICKER BALKER: Leandro Barbosa reportedly was "frantic and near tears" at the prospect of playing in New York.
January 20, 2008 -- Traded to the Knicks? Oh, the horror!
A prank pulled on Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa last week revealed just how wretched the world's regard for New York's Knicks is - especially among other basketballers in the league.
Talk About It On The Knicks Blog
After receiving a message at his hotel to meet Suns general manager Steve Kerr in the lobby because the team wanted to ship him off to New York, Barbosa saw his career tanking.
The news that he could be en tering hoops hell left the nor mally smiling and upbeat Bar bosa visibly upset, Suns Assistant Coach Dan D'An toni told The Post.
D'Antoni said he ran into the long-faced Barbosa in the lobby of the Beverly Wilshire hotel before Thurs day's game against the Los An geles Lakers.
The "Brazilian Blur" told his mentor about the chilling phone message, saying, "I hear they're trading me."
Even the promise of caipirinha cocktails and grilled churrasco in Midtown's Little Brazil restaurants wasn't enough to put the 6-foot-3 Sao Paulo native at ease after hearing he was headed to basketball purgatory.
"My heart was hurting," Barbosa told the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix. "I went a little crazy."
D'Antoni tried to calm the star, who was described as "frantic and near tears" by the newspaper. "They're not even talking about you," he told him.
But even hours after he was let in on the joke, it was no laughing matter for Barbosa. "That was a terrible thing," he said.
The prank apparently lit a fire under him. Barbosa scored 22 points that night, leading the first-place Suns to a 106-98 win over the Lakers.
A spokeswoman for the cellar-dwelling Knicks declined to comment.
But many in the NBA were chuckling over the hardwood horror story.
"Imagine being traded from the Suns (or anywhere, really), to New York? I could almost feel his stomach drop," wrote a blogger at the Web site slamonline.com.
D'Antoni said of the prankster, "I guess they picked out a team that needs him."
bruce.golding@nypost.com
