Ewing 'shocked' by trade to Seattle

<br>Patrick Ewing knew all along it was time to start over. Yet, when the trade actually came down, he was jolted, as if he had taken a hard hit under the boards. <br><br>``I was shocked it happened,''

Saturday, September 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Patrick Ewing knew all along it was time to start over. Yet, when the trade actually came down, he was jolted, as if he had taken a hard hit under the boards.

``I was shocked it happened,'' he said on ``The John Thompson Show'' on WTEM radio in Washington. ``I've been stunned for two days walking around.''

Ewing, who spent 15 years with the New York Knicks, was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics earlier in the week in a four-team deal that also involved the Lakers and Phoenix.

Ewing spoke with Thompson, his former coach at Georgetown, Friday night.

``I never thought I'd end my career somewhere else,'' Ewing said.

He said he understood the Knicks were going in a new direction, trying to become a more fluid team with Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and Marcus Camby.

``I didn't feel as wanted as I did before,'' Ewing said. ``It was time for me to go. Seattle showed a lot of interest. They wanted me.''

He got that feeling from the Sonics last month when another four-team trade _ this one involving Detroit _ fell apart. He said the Sonics flew to his home in Washington.

``They told me they needed me and wanted me there,'' he said.

The 7-foot center was often blamed by fans and the media for not bringing a championship to New York. Ewing, his career nearing an end at 38, acknowledged that failure.

``The only regret I have is that I didn't bring a title to New York,'' he told the Daily News in New York. ``I'll carry that regret with me the rest of my life.

``I wish we could could've won in 1994. I wish I could have played the Finals in '99. I'm not saying we would've beaten the Spurs for sure if I had played. But I'll always believe in my heart that I could have made a difference.''

A torn Achilles' tendon kept Ewing from playing in the 1999 Finals.