The New York Knicks have mostly been a laughingstock under owner James Dolan. They reached the NBA Finals in his first year, but have made the playoffs just eight times since 1999. Gone are the days of the Knicks being a perennial contender, but they could be returning after their run to the second round of the playoffs in 2023.
The Knicks’ woes under Dolan have stemmed from mismanagement. There was Isiah Thomas’s horrific reign (subscription required) as president of basketball operations in the early 2000s. After his departure, New York churned through six lead executives in 12 years, including an abysmal reign by Phil Jackson, before Leon Rose took over in 2020.
The Knicks have been plagued by poor decisions, including holding onto talent for far too long. This piece looks at some regrettable choices management made with their talent in franchise history.
Players the New York Knicks held onto for too long
13. Derrick Rose
Rose will be one of the great NBA what-ifs after tearing his ACL in the 2012 NBA Playoffs altered his career. He was the youngest MVP in league history and a three-time All-Star before suffering the injury at 23 years old. Rose never fully recovered and the injuries continued to pile up.
The Knicks originally acquired D-Rose in 2016 with Justin Holiday and a second-round draft pick for Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant, and Robin Lopez. Rose averaged 18.0 points per game, but the Knicks won just 37 and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
The 28-year-old departed in free agency only to be traded back in 2021 for Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick. Rose was a backup by this point in his career, and he had a productive 35 games with the Knicks to close the 2020-21 season. The 32-year-old even turned back the clock in the playoffs to average 19.4 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 35.0 minutes per game as the Hawks bounced New York in the first round.
Rose became a free agent after that run, and New York rewarded him with a three-year, $43 million deal, which quickly became a regret. He played just 53 games over two seasons, including falling out of the rotation entirely for stretches. The Knicks declined their team option in 2023, and Rose departed for Memphis in free agency.
The New York Knicks should have let him walk in free agency, but they overpaid to keep him and regretted it.
12. Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani was the number one overall pick by the Raptors in 2006, but he is largely viewed as a bust. The seven-footer spent seven years in Toronto, but he struggled to stay healthy as he entered his prime. Bargnani’s best season came in 2009-10 when he averaged 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 35 minutes per game over 80 contests. His scoring went up over the next two years, but his defensive numbers slipped, and he played just 97 games combined.
His minutes and productivity dropped off in 2012-13, but that did not stop the Knicks from trading Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, one first-round draft pick, and two second-rounders for the former number-one overall pick. New York had made the playoffs three straight years and just advanced to the second round for the first time in 13 years right before acquiring him.
Bargnani failed to bounce back as he played just 42 games in his first season in the Big Apple. It marked three straight years with fewer than 45 contests played, and the Knicks could have cut ties with the 28-year-old after that. Instead, they kept him for a second season where his scoring increased, but he only played 29 games.
Andrea Bargnani departed in the summer of 2015 after two seasons with the New York Knicks, but the damage was done. He played just 71 games and the Knicks won just 54 of a possible 164. It was a regrettable move by the franchise, and New York should have cut their losses after one season when it was clear things were not going to work.
11. Truck Robinson
Truck Robinson went from a second-round draft pick in 1974 to a two-time All-Star in 1981. The 6’7 forward led the league in rebounding in 1977-78 and he scored over 21 points per game in back-to-back seasons to close out the 1970s. He was an elite forward that earned the nickname “Truck” because of his physicality.
The New York Knicks did a challenging trade with the Suns in 1982 as Robinson went to the Big Apple for Maurice Lucas. Both players were 30 years old and were multiple-time All-Stars. Robinson struggled in the playoffs for the Suns and the Knicks missed the postseason in Lucas’ lone season in the Big Apple.
Phoenix certainly won the trade as Lucas was an All-Star in 1983 and helped the team advance to the conference finals in 1984. The Suns traded him to the Lakers in 1985 for two second-round picks.
Robinson’s production dropped off mightily with Knicks, but the team reached the second round of the playoffs in back-to-back years. Injuries limited him to just two games in 1984 before the forward retired at 33. It was a regrettable trade, but New York could have traded Robinson before the tires completely fell off at the end of his career.
10. Courtney Lee
Lee was a steady role player throughout his career. He was the 22nd overall pick in 2008 and helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals in his rookie season. Lee was traded to the Nets in 2009 for Vince Carter and he played for six different teams before joining the Knicks as a free agent in 2016.
New York had missed the playoffs three straight years, so they rewarded Lee with a four-year, $48 million contract as they searched for steady role players around Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. The 31-year-old guard was a plus shooter and floor spacer that filled a need.
Courtney Lee had two productive seasons in the Big Apple, including arguably the best year of his career in 2017-18. He averaged over 30 minutes per game and was mostly a starter before falling out of the rotation entirely to start the 2018-2019 campaign. Lee was traded as part of the Porzingis deal to Dallas that netted the Knicks two first-round picks. Still, Lee alone would have had value if the Knicks traded him in the summer of 2018.
Instead, New York held on too long, and the Knicks had to throw in Lee, Trey Burke, and Tim Hardaway Jr. as salary dumps in the KP trade.
9. Pat Cummings
Cummings was the 59th overall pick in the 1978 draft. He spent his first three years in Milwaukee playing behind a talented cast of big men that included Bob Lanier and Marques Johnson before being traded to the Mavericks in 1982 for a second-round pick. Cummings became a starter and key contributor in Dallas as he helped the expansion franchise climb the standings.
The Knicks signed Cummings as a free agent in 1984 and were forced to give the Mavericks two compensatory draft picks. The 6’9 forward followed with arguably the best season of his career where he averaged 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game. Cummings was well on his way to following it up in 1986 when an ankle injury ended his season after 31 games.
Unfortunately, Cummings was never the same. He averaged just 21.6 minutes per game the following season and his playing time dipped to just 15.3 minutes each night the following year. The Knicks cut bait in 1988 and Cummings played just 94 games over the next three seasons before retiring from the NBA in 1991.
The New York Knicks missed the moment to sell high on Pat Cummings and were ultimately forced to release him with zero return.
8. Carl Braun
Braun is one of the all-time great Knicks, so throw shade on this selection if you wish. The Hall of Famer is sixth in franchise history in win-shares and was a five-time All-Star. He lost two of his prime seasons to military service, but that did not stop Braun from being one of the greatest players of the 1950s. He was an elite scorer that rarely missed a game.
Why did he make this list? Braun started showing signs of slipping in 1958-59 as his minutes dipped to 27 per game. The 6’5 guard was 31 years old, and he finally missed significant time in 1960 for the first time since his military service. The Knicks still held on, and his production dipped further. New York finally waived him in 1961, and Braun played his final season for the Celtics where he won his first championship.
The Knicks cut ties with him, but it was at least two years too late. Braun was one of the league’s best players for more than a decade, and New York should have tried to sell high when he began to decline. Instead, they held onto the legend until they were forced to waive the 33-year-old.
Carl Braun became a Wall Street broker in his retirement, and he died in February 2010 at 82 years old.
7. Carmelo Anthony
The ten-time All-Star and member of the NBA 75 squad may be a surprise addition to this list, but the Knicks gave up four players and four draft picks to acquire him in February of 2011. They traded him away in 2017 for two fringe role players and one second-round draft pick, which sounds like the definition of hanging on too long.
Beyond that, the Knicks paid Carmelo $147.4 million over seven years for three playoff appearances and one trip to the second round. New York won 117 games over the final four years combined with Anthony, and it started a seven-year playoff drought for one of the NBA’s all-time great franchises.
Carmelo continued to produce outstanding numbers throughout his tenure in New York. He was an All-Star every year and never averaged fewer than 21.8 points per game, but the Knicks did not win. Blame Anthony. Blame the front office. Blame his supporting cast. It does not matter. Things simply did not work. Teams acquire superstars to compete for championships, and the Knicks never did that with Carmelo Anthony, despite paying him like one of the league’s elite players.
The 6’7 forward’s production immediately dropped off after leaving the Big Apple, and he quickly became a bucket-getting role player over the final four years of his NBA career.
6. Kenny Sears
The Knicks drafted Sears fifth overall in 1955, and the 6’9 forward quickly took off. He was an All-Star by year three and averaged 21 points per game in his fourth season as New York lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was his lone playoff appearance with the Knicks and things took a wild turn after that.
Sears led the league in field goal percentage for the second time in 1960, but his minutes and production dropped in 1961. He also missed time after breaking his jaw in a fight with Detroit Pistons guard George Lee. Things got so bad for Sears that he left the Knicks to play for the San Francisco Saints in the ABL in the 1961 offseason. The new league disbanded after one year and Sears returned to the Knicks.
His play significantly dropped off, and he was traded to the Warriors after just 23 games. The New York Knicks got Tom Gola in return, who was an All-Star in 1963 and 1964. Still, they failed to trade Sears at the peak of his value when he was one of the league’s best and most efficient scorers.
Kenny Sears struggled in his final year with the Warriors before retiring in 1964. Credit to the Knicks for getting back strong value in the trade, but they certainly held onto the 6’9 forward for a bit too long.
5. Kiki VanDeweghe
VanDeweghe was the first draft pick in Mavericks history, but he refused to play for the expansion franchise. The 6’8 forward was traded to the Nuggets in December of 1980 and quickly became a two-time All-Star and one of the best scorers of the decade.
The Knicks chased VanDeweghe for years, and they finally acquired him for a first-round draft pick at the trade deadline in 1989. The 30-year-old’s minutes and production were down in Portland, but the Knicks needed another scorer on their bench under Rick Pitino.
New York made the playoffs four straight years with VanDeweghe, including advancing to the second round three times, but the 6’8 forward struggled to stay healthy and was no longer the feared scorer he was in his 20s.
VanDeweghe had an outstanding 1990-91 season where he averaged 16.3 points on 49.4 percent shooting from the field in 32.3 minutes per game over 75 contests. They were swept by the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, but the Knicks had a chance to offload VanDeweghe after a strong season.
Instead, they kept him only for his production to dip further. The Knicks waived him after the 1991-92 season, and he played just 41 more games before retiring from the NBA.
4. Stephon Marbury
The Knicks gave up five players and two first-round picks to acquire Marbury and an aging Anfernee Hardaway in 2004. It was a homecoming for the Brooklyn native and fans were instantly excited only to suffer immense disappointment. Starbury played four and half seasons with the Knicks, and the team had just one playoff appearance to show for it.
His time in New York is better remembered for off-court feuding with Knicks coaches and front-office members than his on-court play. Marbury averaged 21.7 points per game in his first full season in the Big Apple, but his production steadily declined.
At the start of the 2008-09 season, Marbury lost his starting point guard job to Chris Duhon. The 31-year-old guard refused to play and was suspended by the team until being released in February 2009.
Marbury played just 23 more NBA games with the Boston Celtics before finishing his career in China. It was a disastrous tenure that the New York Knicks should have ended long before they did. In his four full seasons with the franchise, they won just 111 games and were dysfunctional both on and off the court.
The Stephon Marbury era was a massive bust that led to a six-year playoff drought, and it is a time Knicks fans would prefer to forget about.
3. Joakim Noah
Knicks fans do not want to hear about Noah after his four-year, $72 million contract from 2016 haunted the team for seven years.
There was plenty of opposition from the moment he signed it. Noah was Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and had two All-Star nods under his belt, but his playing time and production dropped off significantly during the 2015-16 season in Chicago. A shoulder injury limited him to just 29 games, but that did not stop the Knicks from giving him a massive contract.
It was clear from the start that the 6’11 big man was not the same player, but he was starting and producing solid numbers until the injuries hit. Noah played 53 games over two years with the Knicks before the team waived him. They had space and a desire to spend in 2016 because of the cap spike, but the Knicks missed badly on Noah.
The front office used the stretch provision on Noah’s contract, which meant he made $6.4 million in the 2021-22 season, despite not playing in the NBA for two full years. Noah got all $72 million after averaging 4.6 points and 7.9 rebounds over just 53 contests. It was an absolute disaster and one the New York Knicks desperately wish they could have back.
2. Jerome James
The Knicks gave James a five-year, $30 million contract in 2005 in one of the worst free agent signings in NBA history. He was not one of the highest-paid players in the league, but James was 29 years old and had never averaged more than 17 minutes per game for a season. The seven-footer got the contract after a strong playoff run with the SuperSonics where he averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.
Those 11 games were all it took for the Knicks to offer a massive salary and it blew up in their face. In year one of the contract, James averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game over 45 contests and things got worse from there. He played a total of 90 games over four years with the Knicks before they dumped his contract on the Bulls in 2009 to get Larry Hughes.
It was clear from the start that the deal was not going to work, but the Knicks held on for four and a half years. Even after he played just two games in the 2007-08 season, New York kept him on the roster. They survived another two games played the following year.
Unsurprisingly, the New York Knicks missed the playoffs every year with Jerome James on their roster and they were one of the worst teams in the league during that stretch.
1. Eddy Curry
Curry was the fourth overall pick in 2001, and he steadily improved in his first four years with the Bulls before being traded to the Knicks in 2005. A possible heart problem was at the center of the sign-and-trade, but the Knicks gave up three players and four draft picks, including two first-rounders to get Curry, Antonio Davis, and a first-round selection in return.
The Knicks hoped Curry would continue improving, but it did not happen. The seven-footer had the best year of his career in New York where he averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game, but his production quickly dropped off. Injuries, conditioning, and playstyle issues helped him go from a promising prospect to virtually out of the NBA in three years.
The Knicks could have received a significant haul for Eddy Curry after the 2006-07 season, but he was ultimately salary dumped and waived in 2011. It was a stunning fall that made his six-year, $60 million contract with New York one of the worst in league history.
The New York Knicks handed out a lot of regrettable contracts in the 2000s as the franchise became a laughingstock. They appear to be getting back on track, but the Knicks must learn from the past that hanging onto a player for too long can certainly set the franchise back.
9 Players the New York Knicks gave up on way too soon
The New York Knicks gave up on these nine players way too soon, chasing win-now options and living to regret it in every case.