New York Knicks: What happened to the young core of the 1990s?

A review of the New York Knicks young core of the early 1990s and how they all intertwine with both the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft and 1996 free agency.

The New York Knicks of the 1990s were perennial playoff contenders. Veteran players led the Knicks to two NBA Finals runs in the decade, a stark contrast from recent times when the Knicks have often packed their belongings by Tax Day.

While many people remember Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and Charles Oakley, the nineties Knicks teams had some young players on their roster, too.

From 1991-1995, the Knicks drafted four first round picks – Greg Anthony, Hubert Davis, Charlie Ward, and Monty Williams. New York also acquired Doug Christie in a trade in 1994. The Knicks had zero first round picks in 1993 and 1995 due to the Charles Smith and Derek Harper trades, respectively.

While Anthony and Davis were rotation mainstays, the other players waited on the bench to receive an opportunity for playing time in the future, or perhaps garbage time.

But by the summer of 1995, the upcoming NBA Expansion Draft tested the Knicks’ patience with some of their youth. Furthermore, the Knicks, like many other teams, had their eyes set on 1996 NBA Free Agency.

The purpose of this article is to look back at these young players, understanding how the NBA landscape impacted their tenures in New York, and evaluating whether the Knicks regretted not doing a better job developing any of them as long-term pieces in New York.