New York Knicks: What happened to the young core of the 1990s?
Aftermath of 1996 NBA Free Agency
As a result of creating extra cap space from trading Christie and Williams, the Knicks had the potential to sign a max free agent in 1996. The Knicks were close to signing Jordan and even Charles Barkley, but both players spurned the Knicks.
Instead, the Knicks used their cap space to sign Chris Childs and Allan Houston. Additionally, the Knicks traded Anthony Mason to the Charlotte Hornets for Larry Johnson. Johnson was in the sixth year of a 12-year, $84 million contract that the Knicks fully absorbed into their cap room.
The Houston signing made Davis redundant and the Knicks subsequently traded him to the Raptors for a 1997 1st round pick. Charlie Ward remained as the lone Knick draft pick from the first half of the decade. He cemented himself as Childs’ backup for the 1996-97 season. The rest is history.
As for the departed Knicks youth of the early 90s, the team really didn’t regret letting any of them go. Greg Anthony mostly remained a backup point guard after his run with the Knicks. Charlie Ward’s presence on the team would have made Anthony redundant. Houston’s presence on the team made Christie and Davis largely redundant even though both players had decent NBA careers. Monty Williams served as a decent role player, but not someone the Knicks desperately needed.
Next. Grading every Steve Mills transaction. dark
In the pursuit of a championship, teams must consider every conceivable option to maximize value. Front office executives must take calculated risks on retaining or trading youth. While it was tough to let go of younger players in Anthony, Christie, Davis, and Williams, these decisions were necessary to maximize cap room so the team could acquire more talented players on the quest to win a championship.