3. Eddy Curry: Six years, $60 million
If Jerome James was a disappointment, Isiah Thomas acquired Eddy Curry in that same 2005 offseason and signed him to a six-year, $60 million contract. Productive during his time with the Chicago Bulls, the Thornwood High School product hardly earned this top deal at the time, averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in the 2004-05 season.
Curry was seven feet and did not use his size for rebounding advantages. His shot-blocking skills tumbled, as well, and that was before the Knicks sent a package of players and two-first-round picks that eventually landed in the lottery, only dampening this trade and signing.
Curry played two full seasons in New York, and he topped out at 19.5 points and seven rebounds in 2006-07. It was his age-24 season, and while the Knicks were not a playoff team, it was a small sign in development.
Everything changed the next year. Injuries contributed to Curry’s nosedive, and his pairing with Zach Randolph never worked out. Weight issues kept him out of the rotation in 2008, when he played just three times and seven in 2009-10.
Curry remained on the roster in 2010-11, but never played. He was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves as a salary piece in the three-team trade for Carmelo Anthony. 16 games over the next two seasons later, the big man was out of the NBA at age 30; a letdown contractually and on the court.