In the days that have followed the five-player, three-draft pick deal between the Knicks and Chicago Bulls that brought young center Eddy Curry to the Garden and sent young power forward Michael Sweetney to the United Center, there was a consistent refrain among the local press: The Knicks had nabbed their best post player since Patrick Ewing.

That may be true, and that is certainly an indictment of the team’s roster construction during the last five years, but before we compare Curry to Ewing, it might be instructive to compare him to the Knicks’ best post player last year: the man he was traded for, 22-year-old Michael Sweetney. In this light, the Knicks traded the player they think they’re getting.

The Knicks’ bizarre roster construction, which stocked half the team with undersized power forwards, makes it easy to overlook Sweetney’s contribution and potential. The Georgetown product shared the power forward slot at various times with Kurt Thomas, Malik Rose, and Maurice Taylor, and his numbers were by far the best of the bunch. His per game averages of 8.4 points and 5.4 boards may look a little light, but consider that he averaged only 19.6 minutes per game last season. Give him 35-40 minutes a game and you’re looking at a nightly double-double.

The knock on Sweetney is his size. At 6-foot-8, 270 pounds, he was a little short and a bit wide for the four spot. But his points and boards – as well as his superb 53.1% shooting percentage – argue that he’s not vertically challenged in the paint. His weight may have made him a bit slow to switch out on pick-and-rolls last year, but he’s entering his third season, and recognition of changing defensive responsibilities is a skill that most players develop as their game matures. Sweetney isn’t likely to spend many All-Star weekends in uniform, but he projects to be a solid contributor for many years to come.

In Curry, the Knicks think they’re getting a future All Star, and a quick glance at the numbers fuels that hope. Curry’s also 22, and last season in 30 minutes per game he averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 boards, and shot 53.8%. Curry, who was known as “Little Shaq” in his high school days, is 6-foot-11, 285 pounds. If he improves at the rate most 22-year-olds do, he could be the Knicks’ solution at center for a long time.

But this trade is a classic case of the numbers failing to tell the full story.

Curry missed the final 13 games of the regular season and the Bulls’ brief playoff run after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Although he was cleared to resume playing by a series of specialists during the off-season, Bulls president John Paxson insisted that Curry take a DNA test as a condition for signing a one-year deal. Paxson wanted to insure that Curry wasn’t susceptible to cardiomyopathy, a heart ailment that resulted in the on-court deaths of Boston Celtic guard Reggie Lewis and Loyola-Marymount star Hank Gathers. Curry’s contract – he signed a huge six-year, $56 million deal with the Knicks as part of the trade – is uninsured. Curry angrily refused to take the DNA test, making it a certainty that he would leave the Bulls via free agency next summer, thus forcing Paxson’s hand.

The major issue with Curry isn’t his literal heart but his figurative one. For most of his four-year career with the Bulls, Curry was a cautionary tale against drafting big men straight out of prep school. During his first three years in the league, he was one of the NBA’s most immature players. He showed up for training camp badly overweight, and his conditioning was so poor that even in midseason games he was unable to play starters’ minutes effectively.

His defensive disinterest was such that many times after scoring a hoop, he’d jog down the court celebrating while his opponent dribbled right by him to an unobstructed rim. Curry’s conditioning improved last season, but he remained a defensive liability who often sat or was situationally substituted late in close games. By contrast, Sweetney’s intangibles are nearly unassailable. His sturdy work ethic dates back to his Georgetown days. Curry and Sweetney have similar Player Efficiency Ratings (a per-minute measure of a player’s productivity), 16.28 and 16.35 respectively, but the former Knick seems like a better bet to improve.

Given the risk the Knicks are taking, the rest of the trade is simply mystifying. Knicks president Isiah Thomas gave up three draft picks – second-round picks in 2007 and 2009, and a likely first-rounder next year. The two teams also swapped bad, expiring contracts belonging to Tim Thomas and Antonio Davis, but the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Knicks will waive Davis and the Bulls will reclaim him. The Bulls also acquired reserve guard Jermaine Jackson, who may be their contribution to a NBA Development League roster.

The trade further solidifies the Eastern Conference preseason playoff picture. With the Curry mess cleared up, the Bulls look assured of a second-tier playoff spot, and if their core of young talent, particularly Sweetney, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng progress offensively, the Bulls could soon find themselves among the Eastern elite.

The situation is much less clear for the Knicks, who diminished their logjam of power forwards, but added another young, extremely expensive player (i.e. nearly untradeable) who dislikes playing defense to a roster coached by a man who likes veteran, defensive-minded types. With a roster that includes Curry, Jerome James, Jamal Crawford, and three rookies, Larry Brown’s “dream job” is looking more like a nightmare. If anything, the over/under on the duration of Brown’s tenure in New York just shrank a little.

mjohnson@nysun.com