Orchestrator:

• Scott Layden

Highlights:

• Traded Patrick Ewing for Glen Rice
  • It was a 3-team trade with Seattle and the Lakers with multiple players involved, but that essentially was the trade for the Knicks. Ewing had demanded a trade but it seemed the Knicks management were pushing/instigating him at the time.
• Rice was later traded for Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson
• Traded Marcus Camby AND the #7 pick in the 2002 draft (Nene), and Mark Jackson for Antonio McDyess, Frank Johnson, and 2nd round pick in 2003 (ended up picking Maciej Lampe)
• Signed free agents Clarence Weatherspoon, Dikembe Mutombo
• Acquired Othella Harrington in trade for Erick Strickland and late 1st round pick
• Traded Jeff Van Gundy to Houston for a 2nd round pick
• Traded Latrell Sprewell for Keith Van Horn in a 4-team trade
• Drafted Mike Sweetney, Slavko Vranes

Result:

• Horror show — set the Knicks back 10 years. The full effects wouldn’t be felt until Layden left — the remnants of the former regime kept the Knicks treading water while Layden spun his magic — creating an unathletic, undertalented, massively overpaid roster
• Scott Layden came in with the reputation of being a “Boy Genius” GM — the NBA equivalent of Brian Cashman of the Yankees. Dave Checketts, still president of the Knicks, had worked with Layden in Utah — so brought him in.
• Instead of allowing Ewing to play one more year in NY, retiring to fanfare, and having his salary come off their cap so they could sign another free agent, he traded him for Glen Rice, who was washed
• Layden compounded the problem by trading Rice for Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley — two guards who had done well for him in Utah, but whom he then signed in Utah to overly large contracts that they didn’t play up to.
• Draft night 2002 was tragic — going in Knick fans were anticipating what star power forward they would pick — it was considered a “can’t-miss” draft with 4 possible future all-star power forwards expected to be available for the Knicks at #7: Stoudemire (thought to have highest ceiling but both his parents were in jail and he was suspended for smoking marijuna in high school), Nene (the mystery 7 footer from Brazil), Caron Butler, or Chris Wilcox.
  • The Knicks picked Nene but then shocked Knick fans everywhere by announcing they were trading Nene WITH 27-yr-old Marcus Camby — the one Knick who played above the rim — for 28-yr-old, two-knee-operations-behind-him Antonio McDyess. Nobody expected McDyess to blow out his knee two more times — but at best he was a star — not a franchise player that one hoped Stoudemire would be. And to throw in the All Star Camby — devastating.

• By the end of his 4 years, Layden had compiled a horrific team that had only one player of value that anyone wanted (Kurt Thomas whom previous GM Ernie Grunfeld snatched up in 1999) — despite a massive team payroll of over $102 Million in 2004, almost twice the cap of $52 Million at the time, with contracts signed 4 years out into the future. The Knicks had:
  • Dikembe Mutombo at center — 37 yrs old and couldn’t move 2 inches left or right anymore
  • The most incredible assemblage of undersized, undertalented power forwards ever — headed by Clarence Weatherspoon who seemed to get his shot blocked every time he tried to do a layup inside; Othella Harrington — the decent lefty power forward; Mike Sweetney the #9 overall pick who the Knicks weren’t playing (before he ate himself out of the league); and Marcel Lampe who Layden was telling Knick fans was the steal of the draft and would be the Knicks franchise player of the future.
    • the undersized 6’6″ power forward Weatherspoon had been an 18 ppg/10 rpg player when he was 23 in Philly, but Layden signed him to the big free agent contract when he was 31 — his lift was gone
  • Keith Van Horn at small forward
  • Allan Houston at shooting guard — whom the Knicks needlessly resigned to a multi-year massive contract extension ($100 million for 6 more years in 2001) even though his knees were shot
  • Charlie Ward at point — who was about to retire
  • Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley also in the backcourt — undertalented and overpaid

The End

• After 4 years, owner James Dolan pulled the plug, firing Layden and replacing him with Isiah Thomas. According to the NY media at the time, Thomas was given an impossible job — turn over this roster — unathletic with players nobody wanted and signed 4 years into the future. And so it was on to Rebuild #8…

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The post The 13 Knicks Rebuilds Since their Last Title: Rebuild #7 appeared first on Knicks.City.

Orchestrator:

• Ernie Grunfeld

Highlights:

• Grunfeld replaced Pat Riley with Don Nelson and THAT didn’t work — Knicks were 34-25 under Nelson but it didn’t feel that way. Nelson liked a guard oriented team. Patrick Ewing was unhappy. Nelson was fired, and assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy was named coach. The post-Riley, Van Gundy era was on.
• In the summer of 1996 the Knicks were at a crossroads — while the media focused that summer on Michael Jordan‘s future, and him only signing a 1-year, $30M deal with Chicago — the under-reported big story was that Shaquille O’Neal was a free agent — and this was before any salary caps. Ernie Grunfeld later admitted that the Knicks were considering going after Shaq — that would have meant trading Ewing — but Grunfeld decided to make one more run with Ewing. Shaq signed with LA, shifting the center of power in the NBA to the West (which soon became the best), and the Knicks retooled around Ewing:
  • Signed Allan Houston and Chris Childs to free-agent contracts (shooters to help Ewing),
  • Traded Anthony Mason for Larry Johnson.
• One more final retool was accomplished before the 1998-99 season:
  •  John Starks was traded for Latrell Sprewell — when he became available after choking his coach PJ Carlesimo
  • Charles Oakley was traded for young Marcus Camby

Result:

• 57 wins in 1996-97 for the Houston-Childs-Larry Johnson retool, with Van Gundy coaching — but then came the bitter, infamous 7-game loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semis, where Ewing was suspended a game for simply stepping onto the court while a fight broke out.
• Knicks slipped to 43 wins in 1997-98 and were wiped out by Indiana in the semis, 4-1. Another retool was needed..
• The Sprewell-for-Starks-&-Camby-for-Oakley retool got the Knicks to the finals in 1998-99.

• The 1999 Finals Run:
  • It was a strike season, and that Knick team started slowly but ended strong.
  • Too late for GM Grunfeld as he was fired during the season just before the run.
  • News also broke that head of basketball operations Dave Checketts was interviewing Phil Jackson to become Knicks coach. Van Gundy became the hero and Checketts the villain.
  • Ewing was injured in the 1999 Conference Finals vs Indiana — and limped noticeably on the court the first two games, still leading the Knicks to a game 1 victory and close game 2 loss. Indiana’s players were quoted as thinking he was faking it. After game 2 it was discovered he was playing with a torn achilles.
  • Still, Larry Johnson’s big 4-point play won game 3 to give the Knicks momentum over Indiana.
  • Marcus Camby played above the rim, and Sprewell and team led the Knicks to the Finals.
  • (Note: Indiana’s guards (Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller) said it seemed the league refs gave the Knicks every call to get them to the finals.)
  • Ewing missed the finals; San Antonio collapsed on Camby and won easily 4-1.
  • (Note: Tim Duncan was injured just before the next season’s playoffs and missed them completely. A year late for the Knicks.)
• A lot of Knicks fans think Ewing’s Knick title hopes ended with the 1999 finals — and they essentially had. Not to forget in 1999-2000 the Knicks won 50 games and went the Eastern Conference Finals again. This time Indiana won the series 4-2. By that time the Lakers had become dominant (67 wins) with Shaq O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in place, with Phil Jackson as the coach (see above).

The End:

• Ewing was 37. His window had closed. It was on to Rebuild #7…

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Your thoughts on any of the above? Additional comments? Please feel free to provide your feedback below.

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