ESPN recently ranked the worst decision that every NBA team's front office has made in the 2020s, listing them from least costly to most costly. The Knicks were ranked 28th, meaning their front office has been one of the best over the last five seasons. It is another reminder of just how far this front office has come, considering the first two decades of the 2000s are riddled with costly errors.
The rankings, created by ESPN's Zach Kram, listed the Knicks' most costly move of the last five years as signing Evan Fournier to a four-year, $73 million deal back in 2021. The sharpshooter had a solid first year in New York before missing time to injuries and eventually being traded to Detroit before the contract was up.
The fact that the Knicks are listed among the three teams that have made the least-damaging decisions this decade would have been something that fans could only dream about over the first two decades of the 2000s, when the team's front office was synonymous with poor decisions.
Revisiting some of those poor decisions
To realize just how far the Knicks have come as a franchise, it is helpful to look back at some of the poorer decisions the team has made in the earlier years of this century, and there are many to choose from.
There was the decision to acquire Eddy Curry in a sign-and-trade back in 2005. Two of the picks that were used to land the big man turned into Joakim Noah and LaMarcus Aldridge. Curry's contract turned into a disaster over the final three years.
Speaking of Noah, there was the 2016 decision to sign him to a four-year, $72 million contract after he was coming off numerous injuries with the Bulls. Noah appeared in only 53 games for the Knicks before being eventually waived.
Then there are all of the poor draft picks, which stack up quickly when looking back. There was the decision to draft Jordan Hill in 2009, one pick before Toronto took DeMar DeRozan. There is also the 2017 draft, where they selected Frank Ntilikina over Donovan Mitchell, Malik Monk, and Bam Adebayo.
Those poor decision make the recent choises even sweeter
For all the bad that has happened, their recent decisions have been fantastic. From bringing Leon Rose in to be the team's president, to landing Julius Randle, to signing Jalen Brunson, the team's decisions have been excellent.
The cumulation of these good decisions? The Knicks are now poised to seriously compete for a championship. They have an All-NBA duo, an excellent supporting cast, and now a solid bench. It is a new era in New York, and fans couldn't be more excited.