The 7 Worst free agent signings in New York Knicks history

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Jerome James of the New York Knicks, Mehcad Brooks and Ronald McDonald (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage) /

3. Jerome “Big Snacks” James, 5 years, $30 million

This honestly might be one of, if not the funniest contracts in league history. Not only did Isiah Thomas sign Jerome James to a massive 5 years $30 million deal that he was nowhere near deserving of, but he did so because of one playoff run in which he averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

So due to these eight games of solid play from “Big Snacks” the Knicks rewarded him with a monster contract despite the fact that he never averaged more than six points a game in the regular season.

The Knicks very quickly learned that this playoff run was a fluke, as during his four seasons in New York, James averaged an abysmal 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting an even worse 44.5% from the field.

In these four seasons, James would appear in just 90 total games before suffering an Achilles tear and getting traded to the Bulls where he would eventually get cut, and never play in the NBA again.

This was a deal that everyone knew wasn’t going to work out at the time and is just another example of how horrific of a GM Thomas was for the Knicks. This wasn’t the first deal made by him to appear on this list, and it certainly isn’t the last.