New York Knicks: What happened to the young core of the 1990s?
1995 NBA Expansion Draft
The NBA introduced two new franchises- the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies – for the 1995-96 season. The draft was held on June 24th 1995, four days before the 1995 NBA Draft. The Dallas Mavericks owned the Knicks’ first round pick due to the Rolando Blackman trade in the 1992 offseason. Therefore, the Knicks would not be able to offset anyone lost in the expansion draft.
Per the expansion draft rules, the Knicks could only protect 8 players, excluding any unrestricted free agents heading into the 1995 NBA Free Agency. At the time of the expansion draft, the Knicks had eleven players under contract, as both Anthony Mason and Anthony Bonner were unrestricted free agents. The Knicks were forced to leave three players unprotected to the expansion teams.
At the outset, it was clear that no one in the mainstay rotation would remain unprotected. Therefore, Harper, Starks, Oakley, Ewing, Davis, and Charles Smith were protected. The final two protected spots had to be filled between Anthony, Christie, Ward, Herb Williams, and Monty Williams.
The Knicks’ safely left Herb Williams unprotected because there was a very slim chance the Grizzlies or Raptors needed him. Subsequently, the Knicks felt Anthony’s lack of an offensive game, plus his long-term contract, were a deterrent in keeping him on the roster long-term. Therefore, the Knicks left Anthony unprotected. In comparison, New York felt Monty Williams had potential to develop, so the team protected him with one of the two final spots.
The biggest debate was whether to keep Christie or Ward. Internally, the Knicks liked both players, but felt that there was more of a priority to keep Ward due to Derek Harper’s old age. However, the Knicks kept their fingers crossed that Christie would survive the expansion draft. In the end, the Knicks left Christie unprotected alongside Greg Anthony and Herb Williams.
To the Knicks’ delight, the Vancouver Grizzlies selected Greg Anthony in the expansion draft, freeing up cap space for the summer of 1996. And neither team selected Christie or Williams so both remained on the Knicks.