Amaechi in Line for £3.5m to Get Out of New York

John Amaechi is to receive a £3.5m pay-off after not playing all season. His NBA career may be over at the age of 33.

The New York Knicks acquired Amaechi on Tuesday in a trade with the Houston Rockets but they see the former England captain not so much as a makeweight as a deadweight.

The Knicks sent the veteran forward Clarence Weatherspoon to Houston in exchange for Moochie Norris. They also picked up Amaechi's contract, which Houston had come to regard as a burden and which will now be paid off in full - $5.5m for the remaining 18 months.

The Knicks president Isiah Thomas said that the club would waive Amaechi. The NBA's other clubs would then have a chance to sign him but age, injury and his openly expressed opposition to the invasion of Iraq are likely to deter them.

The 6ft 10in centre-forward from Stockport signed for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University. He was released after one year with Cleveland, then played three seasons for European clubs, including Panathinaikos and the Sheffield Sharks, before returning to the NBA in 1999 with the Orlando Magic.

After a year in Orlando in which he averaged more than 10 points a game he turned down a lucrative offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. But his second season with the Magic was not as productive and he ended up signing for the Utah Jazz in 2001 for far less money than the Lakers had offered. He was traded to Houston in September but has been on the injured list almost all season.

In 294 NBA games he averages 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds a game. Among various charitable works he spent £2.7m building the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester.

Robert Archibald, the only other Briton in the NBA, was also traded this week. The 6ft 11in Scottish centre-forward made his debut for Orlando on Monday, playing six minutes and scoring his first field goal of the season, in a 114-86 home defeat by the Knicks.

The Scottish Rocks have signed the England international Michael Martin on loan in time for the BBL Cup final in two weeks' time. The 6ft 7in forward, who averaged 13.8 points and eight rebounds a game playing for St Etienne last season, has been turning out for North West London in the English League second division after undergoing knee surgery in October. He replaces Niki Arinze, the Rocks forward who tore his anterior cruciate ligament 10 days ago.