The Patrick Ewing Curse

Some tend to blame the Knicks downfall on the addition of Isiah Thomas as the coach and General Manager of the team. Others think it has to do with Stephon Marbury joining the team. Some are clueless as to what went wrong. Some think it has something to do with Scott Layden. If that's what you guessed would've been my reasoning for why the Knicks are the way they are today, you WOULD be close...

The Knicks current downfall begins at Scott Layden. Layden set the foundation for what is currently known as the horrible Knicks squad we have today. While Layden set the foundation, one person poured in the cement. And that person is...

... Patrick Ewing?

Unquestionably, I think Ewing is the reason for the Knicks current downfall. Well, atleast the biggest. Isiah, Dolan, Layden, Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley and others sure haven't helped. But the core of it all starts with the man who is the greatest Knick of the current generation, the centerpiece of the great squads of the mid 80's, all the way to the late 90's. Patrick Ewing.

And don't get me wrong, I'm one of the biggest Ewing fans out there. To me, he is the greatest Knick of all time, in a field of MANY strong candidates, and I was one of his biggest fans, all the way to when everyone else was screaming for his head in 2000, after the Knicks as a team blew game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at home. Even when he was in Seattle and Orlando, I always rooted for him. He was the hero of my generation for me, just one of the best big men I've ever seen. When I get old and grey, one of the things I'm going to miss the most is the Garden crowd roaring as Marv Albert makes the call: "Ewing got the step... YES! It counts, AND the foul!"

But he is the biggest reason why the Knicks are the way they are today.

If you've ever seen Basketbawful's fantastic two part series on the curse of the Boston Celtics, you'll know what I'm doing here. If not, what are you waiting for? It's one of the finest pieces of work I've ever seen. Check out the two parter here, and here. And now, we'll start from Ewing's last season... the 1999-2000 season.

1999-2000: To start off the season with a "bang", in June of 1999, Ed Tapscott (Iterim GM for the recently fired Ernie Grunfield,) drafts Frederic Weis with the Knicks pick in the draft, infamously snubbing Garden favourite and St. John's prospect Ron Artest. Weis says before the draft that he'd never play in the NBA anyway, and the Knicks still draft him. They pick J.R. Koch in the second round, who never plays a single NBA game. Scott Layden is named General Manager of the Knicks. The Knicks sign old, washed up has-beens such as Andrew Lang, David Wingate, and a horrible never was in John Wallace. Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell both single handly carry this team, due to injuries by Patrick Ewing (62 games, 15.0 ppg), Marcus Camby (59 games,) and the major off-season aging of Larry Johnson (10.7 ppg). The Knicks start off the season slow before posting a 50-32 record, falling second in the Atlantic Division behind the rival Heat team. The two teams face off in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, with the infamous illegal behind the backboard shot by Anthony Carter being one of many notable moments. The Knicks get passed them, make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, only to lose to the Indiana Pacers in 6 games. The final game hurts the worst for the team, as the Knicks lose at home by 13 points. The blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of Patrick Ewing, with fans the local papers calling for the Knicks to get rid of the center.

2000-2001: The Knicks draft Lavor freakin' Postell. Seriously. Even worse, they have no first round draft picks. Our center position becomes so pathetic, that Luc Longley, Travis Knight and Felton Spencer are our back-up centers during the season. I'm not kidding. Ewing requests to be traded, after everyone around him places the blame on his shoulders when it comes to the Knicks shortcomings in the playoffs, and Layden agrees to trade him, in one the biggest trade in NBA history, in which we lose fan favourite scrap player Chris Dudley and a first round pick. We get Lazarro Borrell (Who never plays,) Vladimir Stepania (Who never plays,) Vernon Maxwell (Who never plays,) and Glen Rice. And thus, the heart, soul and passion slowly as of now, begin to get sucked out of the life of Madison Square Garden and its fans. Rice actually proves to be a solid sixth man during the season, averaging 12 ppg. Marcus Camby has his best season of his career at that point, averaging a double double. Longtime Knick fan favourite Chris Childs is sent to Toronto for Mark Jackson, already a former Knick himself, looking way past his prime. Larry Johnson struggles to finish a season with multiple injuries. Erick Strickland and Othella Harrington are picked up. Strickland plays decently, but doesn't play after the season ends, while Harrington stays for a little while. Kurt Thomas begins to become a surprisingly good center-forward. The Knicks play the Sonics in a February game, which is Ewing's return to MSG, in which he gets a huge standing ovation. Ewing tallies 12 points in a loss to the Knicks (I used to have a nice copy of the game, but the tape has unfortunately detoriated over time.) Marcus Camby gets into a fight with old and crappy Danny Ferry of the San Antonio Spurs, missing a punch that WALLOPS Jeff Van Gundy, which gives Van Gundy a nice shiner for the next few weeks, another embarassing moment in Knick history. It was not a good year for Marcus Camby. And to cap it all off, longtime Knick fan favourite Charlie Ward makes embarassing comments about Jews, and is looked at as Anti-Semitic, until he later apologizes. The Knicks make it to the playoffs with a solid 48-34 record, and face the Raptors in the first round. Marcus Camby's sister gets kidnapped during the series, rendering him missing as the Knicks lose Game Five at home in the Garden, a humiliating loss and the first first round exit for the team since the 1990-1991 season.

2001-2002: Larry Johnson finally retires. Another downfall, as Layden signs Allan Houston to the infamously huge $100 million multi-year deal. And thus, the Knicks' salary cap woes begin. The Knicks get two second round picks again, neither of them play a single minute of NBA action. Or even a second. Or even make it to the pre-season. Or summer camp for that matter. Clarence Weatherspoon is signed to a big money contract, and he proves how important he is by, well, sucking. Scott Layden makes ANOTHER stupid deal that ships out Glen Rice for Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley, commonly regarded as one of the worst deals in franchise history, as we take two horrible money clogging salary cap contracts. To make matters worse, Anderson and Eisley REALLY suck. I mean, they were absolutely terrible. Mark Jackson becomes starting point guard, and surprises all by playing much better than expected. Kurt Thomas becomes a fine third scoring option for the team, and its best rebounder. Marcus Camby misses 53 games due to various injuries. Jeff Van Gundy quits on the team after they go 10-9, another nail added to the Knick coffin. Don Chaney takes over in his place. The Knicks look awful and begin to struggle. The team finishes with a 30-52 record, its worst record since the 1986-1987 season, and the first time the team doesn't make the playoffs since that season, also. Dark days are now upon us.

2002-2003: The Knicks draft right, getting Nene (Then Maybyner Hilario), but then they trade him to the Nuggets for Frank Williams, who really sucks. Nene is sent to the Nuggets with Camby for Antonio McDyess, who gets stupidly gets hurt in the pre-season, missing the whole season with the Knicks. That's another nail, as one of the biggest energy guys on the team (Camby) gets shipped away for overrated, bad contract crap. Scott Layden LOVES Utah guys, so we sign Michael Doleac as our back-up center behind Kurt Thomas. Yes, THAT Michael Doleac. Lee Nailon is signed, and shows great potential and nice offensive skills in the minutes he's given, but Don Chaney refuses to play him. Howard Eisley has his finest season as a pro, averaging 9 ppg and hitting 131 three pointers. Houston, Sprewell and Thomas continue to carry the team on their shoulders. Sprewell breaks the record for most three's made in a game without a miss, going 9-9 against the Clippers (Thanks, Seth!) Don Chaney surprisingly is a solid coach, and the Knicks have a winning formula and end the season hot, finishing with a respectable 37-45 record. Knick legend Dave DeBusschere dies. Don Chaney receives a contract extension. Keep this in mind as we go along.

2003-2004: Michael Sweetney is drafted by the Knicks in the first round... and to be honest he wasn't too bad of a pick, as compared to Rick Brunson, Frank Williams, Walter McCarty (OK fine, I'd rather have Walter at this point than Mike...) and others. The Knicks had a major shake-up and overhaul during this season, with TWENTY TWO players suiting up to play throughout the season. The first major shake-up occurs early, where Latrell Sprewell is sent away in a four team deal, in which we get Keith Van Horn in return. Umm... yeah. But shockingly, Van Horn has a solid half year with the Knicks. Meanwhile, Spree becomes a big piece of the puzzle for Minnesota in them reaching the Western Conference Finals. Training camp sees future Bobcats sharpshooter Matt Carroll (!!) on the team, before he gets waived. Dikembe Mutumbo is signed, in what is one of the few positive things Layden did during his tenure as Knicks GM. Antonio McDyess plays for the first time as a Knick, and comes off as a major dissappointment, and a waste of money. Meanwhile, Camby flourishes in Denver. James Dolan, ever the master of class, fires Scott Layden three days before Christmas. Isiah Thomas is named new GM of the Knicks, and right away he starts making deals. One sees Clarence Weatherspoon traded to Houston for John Amaechi (Who never plays,) and Moochie Norris (Who really sucks.) Isiah then makes a HUGE trade, where Eisley, McDyess and Ward are shipped elsewhere, and we get Stephon Marbury and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway in return. Isiah Thomas appears on Letterman a few days later, and someone asks if Don Chaney will be fired. Isiah laughs and ignores the question. A few days later, Don Chaney is fired with a 15-24 record, replaced by legendary coach Lenny Wikens. Kurt Thomas moves out of the limelight as a scorer on the team, and focuses on rebounding again. DerMarr Johnson is signed for the season. Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac are shipped out, and Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammed are taken back in exchange, in what turns out to be another great deal. Vin Baker is also signed, in a move that causes many heads to be scratched. Baker is, not surprisingly, a bust. Unfortunately, the one piece of bad news is that Allan Houston is hobbled and hurt, playing only 50 games that year, in what would be a dark shadow of what was to come. The Knicks finish with a 23-19 record under Lenny Wilkens, ending the season at 39-43, and making the 8th seed in the playoffs. They would get swept mercifully in four games by the Nets, but things were looking very up!

2004-2005: The Knicks draft Trevor Ariza out of the 2nd round (Their only pick that year.) The Knicks ship out Othella Harrington and Dikembe Mutumbo to get Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams in return. Both become big fan favourites in New York. The Knicks break my heart by signing Mengke Bateer, only to waive him. CURSE YOU!!! Shandon Anderson plays only one game in the season, mercifully getting waived. Jamal Crawford impresses a national television audience on TNT by hitting a buzzer beating game winner against the Houston Rockets. The Knicks start out slow, but get strong later, at one point being 16-13! However, the team goes on a small losing streak, with Isiah impatiently firing Lenny with the team at 17-22, in the first big stupid decision Isiah would make. Really, the team just had to go on a small 2-3 game winning streak, and they'd be back in the playoff hunt. Herb Williams is named Lenny's successor, and he surprises a lot of people, doing better than expected. The Knicks have a busy trade deadline: Nazr Mohammed is sent to the Spurs for Malik Rose and some picks, in what seemed like a good trade at the time... ohhh how wrong we'd be. We also trade Moochie and Vin Baker for Maurice Taylor... in what again, seemed like a good idea at the time. Jackie Butler is also signed as a free agent. Allan Houston plays only 20 games, before finally calling it a career and retiring due to injuries, with a few years still left on his bloated contract. He was paid to do nothing. Penny Hardaway also gets hurt, and requires immediate surgery. Kurt Thomas and Stephon Marbury begin feuding often in the locker rooms after games. The team finishes 33-49, with high hopes for next season. Marv Albert is fired by James Dolan for asking for a raise, and for attacking the Knicks' poor play on the air. Thanks, Dolan.

2005-2006: The Knicks draft well, getting Channing Frye and David Lee, while also snagging Nate Robinson from the Suns. Speaking of the Suns deal, Kurt Thomas is sent to Phoneix, along with draft picks, for Robinson and sharpshooting Quentin Richardson. Jerome James is... *shudders* signed to a five year deal *vomits*. It is marked down as the worst signing in Knick history, bar none. Isiah fell for the old "I have no contract, so I'm going to play extra hard so some schmuck signs me to a big money deal" trick. Vince Carter is the master of this. Larry Brown is hired as the Knicks head coach, and right away everyone thinks he'll do a perfect job as coach. There's NO WAY this would screw up. Really, I swear. Heh heh... In another defining moment in Isiah's GM career, Tim Thomas, Mike Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson, and the Knicks first one draft pick are sent to the Bulls for Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis. Seriously, even in 2005, did ANYONE believe this was a good deal? No one was even sure that Eddy was healthy enough to play a full season, and the Knicks losing their first round draft pick? Turns out it was the 2nd pick that year (Oops!). The Bulls happily drafted Tyrus Thomas in 2006. Matt Barnes is signed as a free agent, only to be waived. Nate Robinson shows off his skills in an overtime victory over the Sixers, hitting a huge clutch three pointer at the buzzer to win the game for the team. In another moment of the harsh reality of Life After Ewing is for the Knicks, Jerome James is suspended for a few games for "Conduct detrimental to the team." Antonio Davis jumps into the stands to attack a guy who was trying to get Davis' wife to shut up. Jalen Rose is received from the Raptors for Antonio Davis (Probably for the reason above,) in what was actually a good trade by Isiah... even though the Knicks refused to play him. Trevor Ariza, and the I think declared legally dead Anfernee Hardaway (He played in all of 4 games that year,) are sent to Orlando for disgruntled point guard Steve Francis, in essence giving the Knicks two point guards battling for the starting position. A then unknown Anucha Browne Sanders is fired from her position in Madison Square Garden. Ime Udoka is also signed. The rookies all look good, and they all have great potential. Especially Channing Frye, who makes the All-Rookie team. Nate Robinson becomes hard to control, with Larry Brown at one point wanting to send him to the D-League to cool him off. Instead, they bench him for the remainder of the season. The Knicks finish the season tied for its worst of all time, at 23-59, and the Knicks reach an all new low.

2006-2007: Larry Brown is fired, and Isiah is named the new head coach, with James Dolan threatening to get rid of him if things don't turn around. The Knicks refuse to pay Larry, leading into an embarassing cat and mouse game that is played over the Summer. The Knicks draft OK, getting Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins. Balkman shows some potential, as does Mardy in the late stretch of the season. Jared Jeffries is signed, and it's the same old story, as another under achiever gets a big contract. Kelvin Cato is signed as a free agent, another huge waste of money. Isiah begins to look more and more like Scott Layden before him, as the Isiah of old rears his ugly head. Jalen Rose is waived, and signed by the Suns. Another black eye of the Knick franchise happens, as the infamous Knicks-Nuggets brawl occurs. Mardy Collins, Jared Jeffries, Jerome James and Nate Robinson are all suspended. The Knicks contend that noted NBA crybaby George Karl kept his guys in for too long, and it turns out they were sort of correct. The Larry Brown contract issue is finally settled. Anucha Browne Sanders files her lawsuit against James Dolan, Madison Square Garden, and the New York Knicks. David Lee becomes the Knick fan favourite, cementing his status with a game winning tip in with 0.1 seconds on the clock, only the second time a tip in has been counted with less then 0.3 on the clock since the Trent Tucker rule was first instituted in 1990 (Tyrone Hill did it the other time.) The Knicks are constantly on the hunt for the 8th seed in the playoffs, getting close everytime. Eddy Curry plays like an All-Star, averaging almost 20 ppg and 7 rpg. The decline of the once mighty Steve Francis becomes sad and tragic to watch. Quentin Richardson produces well, but has problems staying healthy. Jamal Crawford has the best season of his career, averaging 17 points for the team, before hurting his ankle and missing the rest of the season. March 10th, 2007 becomes a fools gold day for Knick fans, as Steve Francis drains a buzzer beating three point shot to beat the Wizards, to make the Knicks 29-34, and giving them the 8th seed in the playoffs. One year ago today (March 12th), Isiah Thomas is signed to a contract extension from James Dolan, with Dolan making the cryptic quote: "I believe we have clearly seen significant and evident progress." After that date, the Knicks begin the ultimate chokejob. They go 4-15 in the final stretch of the season. Randolph Morris is signed. Stephon Marbury had one of his finest seasons, playing 100% every game, before injuring his ankle. The point guard situation becomes so bad that Mardy Collins takes the starting job in Stephon's place, and does a shockingly decent job, before hurting HIS ankle. The Knicks finish 33-49, which Dolan believes is significant enough progress, letting him stay.

2007-2008: The Knicks draft Wilson Chandler, who looks good so far, but hasn't been played enough for me to give an opinion on him. The Knicks get Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones for Channing Frye and Steve Francis, in a move that still to this day looks good. Dickau of course gets waived and plays for his 4626354th NBA team. Stephon Marbury makes a complete ass out of himself on television. Jared Jordan is acquired from the Clippers for cash, and gets waived anyway. Allan Houston is signed for the pre-season, and plays one game, going 0-1, before bowing out and accepting a buy-out. Even worse, his #20 jersey is currently worn by Jared Jeffries, so he wears a #7 jersey. Randolph Morris is arrested for speeding. The Knicks start the season strong, before going back to their old ways. Isiah refuses to play Renaldo Balkman, and even Nate Robinson at first. The fans chant "Fire Isiah" every night at the Garden for a long while. The Anucha Browne Sanders trial reaches its ugliest point, MSG is found liable for all sexual harassment claims. Isiah is shown on camera saying that he wouldn't find it offensive if a black man called a black woman a bitch. James Dolan is shown on camera looking like an idiot. Stephon Marbury admits to cursing out Sanders, and having sex with an intern in the back of a pick-up truck Isiah and Stephon walk out of the court room smiling. Stephon Marbury has the worst season of his career, having fights with Isiah, getting exiled from the team, missing tons of games due to multiple deaths, and missing the rest of the season for surgery. The Knicks embarass themselves by losing by 45 points on national television to the Boston Celtics. They crap that off with a 40 point loss to the Sixers a few months later. As of today, the team is 18-46, and on the verge of having its worst season in franchise history. But a bright future is ahead, as Chandler, Robinson, Lee, Balkman and Morris are getting a lot of playing time now. Isiah may be fired, who knows?

As you can see, the Knicks have pretty much gone from good, to bad, to worse. While this can be blamed on many people, many events, many moments, there's only one that stands out in my mind, as the pinnacle thing that turned this team from contendors to lottery ball hopefuls. And that's the Ewing trade. But, who's to blame?

Well, for one, the fans. Why the hell were you guys booing and screaming for his head after the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals? Was a scapegoat needed that badly? And also, Scott Layden. What kind of idiot trades away Patrick Ewing for Glen Rice and a bunch of junk that never plays for the team?

One thing's for sure, I'll be watching the lottery balls drop closely, no idea what we'll get. Maybe Beasley? Rose? Hibbert?

All I know is that, whomever it is, they've got a lot of work ahead of them.

The Knicks are a franchise that needs tons of re-working, from the bottom up.