20 People who turned their backs on the New York Knicks

Scott Layden

Scott Layden was named New York’s GM in 1999, right after the No. 8 seed Knicks made it to the NBA Finals. He’s yet another person who joined the front office and propelled the organization backward instead of forward. 

In his first season at the helm, the Knicks made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, but that wasn’t because of Layden. It’s painful to say that 2000 was the last time fans watched New York in the ECF. 

Under Layden, the Knicks went from being a top team in the conference to a lottery-bound team, which is impressive, but for all the wrong reasons.

Layden is most remembered for the Patrick Ewing trade and his disastrous transactions, including the sign-and-trade involving Shandon Anderson, who had signed a six-year, $40 million contract. Anderson was bought out by New York less than a year after Layden left after he started in only 46 of the 215 games he played.

In 2003, Dolan fired Layden and replaced him with Isiah Thomas, who was terrible in his own right but did inherit a dumpster fire.