THIS retirement business won’t be easy, Patrick Ewing said, not easy at all for one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

　　The next stop for the 40-year-old center will be a seat on the Washington Wizards bench as an assistant coach for Michael Jordan’s franchise.

　　Ewing is somewhat amused to be working with Jordan, who played on six NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and often deprived Ewing of the prize he wanted most — an NBA title. The Bulls eliminated Ewing’s New York Knicks from the playoffs four times.

　　The NBA championship was the missing piece of the puzzle for the man who led Georgetown to three NCAA finals, including the 1984 title, before becoming the No. 1 pick in the first NBA lottery draft.

　　Ewing finishes his 17-year career with 24,815 points and 11,606 rebounds. He was an 11-time All-Star and holds a number of Knicks records, including leading scorer (22.8 points) and leading rebounder (10.4).

　　What happens if next season some team decides it needs help in the middle? Is Ewing available?

　　He laughed at the question.

　　“Unless one of the Wizards goes down and they tell me: Put down the pad, we need you to go get some shots ...”

　　Dave Checketts, longtime president of the Knicks, remembered Ewing’s work ethic. In a game against Milwaukee, the center banged his knee and, with the Knicks comfortably in front, went to the dressing room. Checketts came down to join him.

　　As the two men sat, talking about basketball and families, the Bucks sliced the Knicks’ lead to single digits. Ewing, watching on TV, removed the ice from his knee and stood.

　　“Look,” Checketts recalled him saying, “I’ve enjoyed talking to you, but I’ve got to go. He pulled the sleeve over his knee, went back out to check into the game, and we won it.”(SD-Agencies)