[h2]Ewing: Leaving Knicks was a mistake[/h2][h3]A decade later, Patrick regrets the franchise still hasn't recovered from trading him[/h3]
By Shaun Powell
Special to ESPNNewYork.com
Archive
The rolling stone that gathered lots of badmemories as it swelled for 10 years and crushed the dreams and hopes ofa franchise began with a simple push, which
Patrick Ewing feels remorseful for applying.
Thereare many who are far guiltier of creating the Decade of Disaster forthe Knicks. Yet nobody feels worse about it than the one whounintentionally sent them careening.
"If I had it to do all over again," said Ewing. "I wouldn't have requested a trade."
[h4]Wish You Were Here[/h4]
The Knicks have gone downhill since Patrick Ewing left New York in 2000. How bad have they been? here's a statistical look:
| | |
| Seasons | 1985-2000 | 2000-2010 |
| W-L | 668-530 | 327-493 |
| Win % | .558 | .399 |
| Playoff appearances | 13 | 2 |
| Years in playoffs % | 86.7 | 20.0 |
| Playoff W-L | 80-73 | 2-7 |
Win %
in playoffs | .523 | .222 |
| First round | 11-2 | 0-2 |
| Conf. semis | 4-7 | -- |
| Conf. finals | 2-2 | -- |
| NBA Finals | 0-2 | -- |
[th=""]
[/th][th=""]With Ewing[/th][th=""]Since Ewing[/th]
Who knew that a simple yet firm demand, made in 2000,would still be haunting the Knicks today? The franchise brass certainlydidn't. Neither did Ewing, who today serves as an assistant to Stan VanGundy on the
Orlando Magic bench. Speaking before Game 1 of the Magic-
Charlotte Bobcatsseries, Ewing made it clear he still feels bad about leaving New York.In retrospect, the trade of Patrick Ewing caused the same impact as thedrafting of Patrick Ewing. Just as the Knicks saw their fortunes soarwhen former general manager Dave DeBusschere pounded his fist at thedraft lottery on the pivotal day that enabled the Knicks to get Ewing,his trade subsequently prompted plenty more clenched fists pounded foraltogether different reasons.
It certainly isn't an anniversary worth celebrating in New York. Notwhile the NBA playoffs are currently percolating, to use a ClydeFrazierism, in places like Cleveland, Charlotte, Milwaukee and (getthis) Oklahoma City. The sheer damage caused by the horrible decisionto trade Ewing must be assessed, if only to cite how desperately thefranchise has fallen on the eve of the Great Free Agent Summer Chase.
Back in late summer of 2000, the Knicks sent Ewing to Seattle. Itwas a panic move. It was a stupid move. They refused to extend hiscontract beyond the one year remaining on it, were wary about hisskills, and didn't want to deal with the possibility of a grumpy, agingstar in a tabloid city. The Knicks figured: This is
Latrell Sprewell'steam now. So they caved to Ewing, who felt beaten down by the burden ofwinning a championship and beaten up by the only team he ever knew.
"Everybody was talking about how the team was better off without me, so ... " he said, leaving you to finish the thought.
The trade was insane because, even at the time, it didn't makesense. Ewing's final year paid roughly $18 million. All the Knicks hadto do was sit tight, deal with a star in his twilight for one season,then watch as those millions melted off the salary cap. Then theycould've used the money on someone else, as Orlando did that summerwith
Tracy McGrady.
[+] Enlarge
Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty ImagesPatrick Ewing doesn't smile when he thinks of the current Knicks.
Instead, Dave Checketts agreed to take a bag of bad contracts inreturn, removing the Knicks from free agency and laying the foundationfor the worst decade in franchise history.
In order to trade Ewing, the Knicks had to take
Luc Longley and
Glen Riceand other lumps of coal; nobody was giving them expiring contracts ortalented players for someone who eventually reminded folks of WillieMays in his final days with the Mets. The Knicks, charging $1,000 forthose courtside seats, were in mortal fear of rebuilding in New York,as if their fans wouldn't understand the reasons for it.
So they swung the deal and spent the next 10 years rebuilding.
Soon after, Checketts left, in a Garden coup. So did Jeff Van Gundy,escaping before all hell broke loose. Sprewell, the Ewing heirapparent, took a torch to the franchise on his way out, then lit intoGarden boss Jim Dolan in a spiteful return. As Knicks general managers,Scott Layden was bad,
Isiah Thomas much, much worse. And just imagine, the Knicks once floated the idea of selling
Stephon Marbury as the most beloved star since Ewing. Yeah, that turned out well.
How quickly people forgot about the virtues of Ewing. While he didn't deliver the much-desired championship -- and thank
Michael Jordanfor that -- Ewing deserved to spend his entire career with one team, assuperstars of his type often do. He forced their hand, true enough, butthe Knicks controlled the situation. Had they not traded Ewing, he saidhe would've reported to camp and played hard. Like always. He would'vebeen professional about it. Again, like always. And unlike Sprewell andMarbury.
Curiously, the Knicks now are right where they would've been in thesummer of 2001: blessed with ample salary-cap space and a big city tosell to free agents. No telling what would've happened back then on themarket, but we've got a hunch about what will happen now.
LeBron James will probably stay in Cleveland and, unlike Ewing, spend his entire career with one team.
Dwyane Wade will remain on South Beach, where chances are he'll be joined by
Chris Bosh,who's ready to bolt the Canadian winters and a stormy situation inToronto. The top free agents look at the Knicks and just don't seeenough talent to win. Maybe, had the Knicks drafted
Brandon Jennings last summer, or traded up for
Stephen Curry, they would've had a real shot at signing one of the free agent Big Three.
Instead ...
Carlos Boozer, anybody?
Most likely, the decision the Knicks made in 2000 will haunt them at least another year.
And it'll be another year removed from the trade that nevershould've happened. As remorseful as Ewing feels, he has nothing on thefans who are still living through it.
Shaun Powell is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com...ell_shaun&id=5122661
Wow, I didn't think of Patrick Ewing's expiring contract. I really hope the Magic win a championship this year. I'd love to see Ewing getting a ring.
