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Knicks: Most significant draft day trades since 2000

By Andrew Pistone

AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 26: Antonio McDyess #24 of the Detroit Pistons watches from the bench during the final minuet while playing the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 26, 2009 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Cleveland won the game 99-78 to win the series 4-0. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 26: Antonio McDyess #24 of the Detroit Pistons watches from the bench during the final minuet while playing the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 26, 2009 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Cleveland won the game 99-78 to win the series 4-0. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 30: Zach Randolph #50 of the Sacramento Kings reacts during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on January 30, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

2007: Steve Francis, Channing Frye, second rounder 2008 (which Became Omer Asik), for Zach Randolph, Fred Jones, Dan Dickau and the rights to Demetrius Nichols

This was quite the blockbuster of a trade, as both the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers had a bit too much redundancy at the ballhandler and big man positions respectively.

In his two seasons with New York, Steve Francis was anything but Stevie Franchise, but the team didn’t bring him in to light up the scoreboard with Stephon Marbury already carrying the team in that department. Francis averaged around 11 points a game in two largely injury riddled seasons, and never did play well enough or long enough to compare favorably to Knicks’ backcourts of yesteryear (see Frazier, Clyde and Monroe, Pearl).

Zach Randolph, on the other hand, had been a talented player for Portland since ascending out of the Rasheed Wallace shadows in the Pacific Northwest, but the organization had a different approach heading into the 2007 draft. They were fixated with Ohio State big man Greg Oden, and didn’t feel like Randolph was a fit for them at that time.

"“We felt like with Zach, he’s a heck of a player. He’s probably going to be an All-Star in the East. But with (Greg) Oden and LaMarcus (Aldridge) and Channing Frye we have a group of young guys we can build around. … We felt we were going in a different direction,” Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. Via ESPN.com"

Randolph ended up spending one full season with the Knicks in 2007-2008, and Z-Bo did for New York what he did in basically every other season of his career—put up 20 and 10 in his sleep. Unfortunately, he had some blips in his tenure with the orange and blue, including a public feud with then head coach Isiah Thomas as that season spiraled out of control for the team.

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