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

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NEW YORK – OCTOBER 21: Monty Williams #2 of the New York Knicks drives against Jeff Hornacek #14 of the Utah Jazz on October 21, 1994 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1994 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Charlie Ward, Doug Christie, & Monty Williams

By the 1994 NBA Draft, the Knicks finally had two first round picks. The Knicks drafted both Monty Williams and Charlie Ward with the 24th and 26th picks in the draft. Furthermore, the Knicks acquired Doug Christie from the Los Angeles Lakers for two future 2nd round picks.

Of the three players, only Monty Williams received the most playing time during their rookie campaigns. Williams played in 41 regular season games, but started 23 of those games after a toe surgery in December 1994 sidelined Charles Oakley for nearly 2 months. Ward and Christie played a combined 22 games and 123 total minutes during the 1994-95 season. None of the three rookies played any significant minutes during the 1995 NBA Playoffs.

While Riley had high hopes for both Ward and Williams, he had a less promising tone with regards to Christie. According to Christie, Riley did not see a future for him in NY and thus didn’t receive any significant minutes with the team. With that said, the promising potential of Charlie Ward as a future point guard was an ominous sign for Greg Anthony’s future with the Knicks.

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