# Mutombo A Knick By Friday?



## Sean (Jun 7, 2002)

By Greg Logan, STAFF WRITER

October 8, 2003

Washington - Breaking with personal custom, Knicks general manager Scott Layden acknowledged the obvious last night. He admitted the Knicks are pursuing 7-2 center Dikembe Mutombo, who was placed on waivers by the Nets late yesterday afternoon.

"Certainly, we have interest in him," Layden said before the Knicks' preseason opener, a 104-86 loss to Washington at the MCI Center. "We've had interest in him for a long time." 

Layden had a deal with Philadelphia for Mutombo a year ago, but it fell through because Cablevision CEO James Dolan didn't want a $50-million obligation over three years. Mutombo was traded to the Nets, who found he didn't fit their running game. The final two years of Mutombo's contract were worth $37 million, but the Nets recently bought him out for a reported $27 million.

The Knicks are expected to offer a two-year deal plus a third year with a partial guarantee. The package would make up for the $10 million Mutombo loses in the buyout. The Knicks still have just over $4 million of their $4.9 million mid-level salary exception to use on Mutombo.

more...
http://www.newsday.com/sports/print...347oct08,0,1345331.story?coll=ny-sports-print


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## Charlotte_______ (May 18, 2003)

So are the Knicks looking to make the Playoffs this year? I thought they were gonna develop Sweetney and Lampe, but if they sign Deke doesn't that just set them back?


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## Perennial All Star (Aug 13, 2003)

By Thursday I think.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

I think it's a mistake, to be honest. If he starts at C that'll slide Thomas over to PF, so in effect he'll take away a lot of minutes from the young guys (IE the Knicks future). That might be okay if he was going to rocket them into the playoffs, but I really don't think he'll make much of a difference in terms of wins. If he was still that great of a player, I would think the Nets would've hung on to the guy. _Maybe_ he'd provide enough to get them into contention for the 8th seed, but is that that important for the Knicks right now? I'd rather give heavy minutes to Lampe and Sweetney personally.


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## Dirtybirds81 (Sep 1, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Charlotte_______</b>!
> So are the Knicks looking to make the Playoffs this year? I thought they were gonna develop Sweetney and Lampe, but if they sign Deke doesn't that just set them back?



If Lampe can score on Deke in the post during practice, he'll score on most any center in the league. He should also help out Sweeteney on the block as well. Dikembe still has enough juice to be effective, but he could also be used as an old wiseman.


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## Charlotte_______ (May 18, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Dirtybirds81</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> If Lampe can score on Deke in the post during practice, he'll score on most any center in the league. He should also help out Sweeteney on the block as well. Dikembe still has enough juice to be effective, but he could also be used as an old wiseman.


Yea but practice isn't really a game situation. The only way Lampe and Sweetney will get better is if they see some PT. Plus if you have Deke at C the Kurt at PF McDyess backs him up, then Sweetney third. It just sits them back farther in the rotation.


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## Jmonty580 (Jun 20, 2003)

Yeah I think that it will really hit lampe and sweetney which is why im not crazy about it. IF we dont trade KT and McDyess comes back healthy then lampe would probably see so decent time backing mutombo at center. Thomas is a natural 4 forced to play the 5 and McDyess is also a natural 4. This way they would be albe to play their positions and Lampe could develop right behind Mutombo. I dont think Mutombo will be able to play more than 25 mins a game anyways, so lampe would be able to get some pretty good pt for a rookie. In two years Lampe would be more ready to take the starting spot as the five. If thomas stays though im positive that sweetney would be completely burried on the bench. Thats why I like the Idea of trading thomas and ward to GS for NVE, im not saying that it is going to happen, but if it did then lampe would be the immediate back up to McDyess and spoon. I think when McDyess starts playing solid minutes sweetney would get the pt over spoon or harrington.


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

Chaney doesn't play rookies. Our only hope that he was going to this year was a depleted roster. After we sign Mt. Mutombo, look for CW and KT or TK and cash or filler to be traded for a decent PG. Look for us to make and exit the playoffs. 


I for one would like to tank a year or two and committ totally to rebuilding, Dolan will never let that happen though.


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

It is impossible for the Knicks to tank because of all the contracts they have right now. As much as the Knicks need to rebuild, they can't. Why can't they? The luxury tax.

The luxury tax is unavoidable for the Knicks. Knick fans proved last year that they wouldn't pay to see a loser, which is why the sellout streak ended. The Knicks need to win as many games as possible to earn as much money as possible.

The Knicks made 29 million in 00-01, 25 million in 01-02, and lost between 3 million and 13 million in 02-03.

If they decide to tank, they are going to lose a lot more than 3-13 million.

Mutombo puts fans back in the seats.

Contrary to popular belief, rookies don't get better only in games. If rookies have to earn court time, and don't see the court, then how would they eventually crack the rotations of teams and such? Playing a rookie doesn't automatically mean they'll get better. Are the Knicks supposed to live with Lampe if he goes 1-7 every night when he's in the rotation? And pray that he'll improve at some point? Is it any fair to established veterans to sit behind kids who supposedly have "potential"? Would Ed O'Bannon and Robert Traylor have been any better if they got 3000 minutes in their rookie years?

In fact, getting minutes because players "are rookies" is dangerous.

A rookies should FIGHT to EARN his playing time. It shouldn't be given to him on a silver platter. 4 years down the line, how is that going to help him? He'll be used to gettng minutes regardless of his ability, how is he going to handle it if someone takes away his job?

If a rookie deserves to play, he'll play. Sweetney and Lampe are good enough to earn minutes, and earning minutes on a playoff team (where the battles for minutes will be more competitive) is better than them getting minutes for free playing on a junkball team. Even if the Knicks get Mutombo, Sweetney and Lampe still need to go through Weatherspoon and Harrington, which I think they will. If a rookie is throwing away the ball and shooting terribly in practice, what makes you think he'll do any better during a game?


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## Jmonty580 (Jun 20, 2003)

See I disagree with you when you say that sweetney and Lampe should have to beat out Spoon and Harrington. I mean I know they do, but it should'nt be that way. Spoon and Harrington flat out suck. They wouldnt even get back up minutes for most other teams. I feel that you get some young talent in with sweetney and lampe and you know that your not going to get any thing more than acceptable play from spoon and Harrington, so why not give lampe and sweetney a try. Obviously spoon and harrington arent that great because we werent even competive last season when it came down to the pf position, so why not give something else a try? Whats the worste that can happen? We lose an extra 5 games and get a better draft pick? At least then we know if sweetney or lampe was worth wasting anymore time on. If they sit on the bench behind Spoon and Harring then three years down the line when they are still sitting on the bench and unproven beucase they havent played, know people are going to complain that the management was stupid to waste these guys talent by making them sit behind two scrubs (yes they are scrubs), or they will say these guys suck also which is unfair because they havent gotten the chance to prove them selves. Doug Christie, I would love to have him playing small forward for our team right about now, wouldnt that be a steal?
Do i think we should just stick them on the court and let them make fool out of themselves? Of course not, if they show no sign of hope after four or five games then you work harrington and spoon back in but atleast give these guys a shot. The spurs gave parker, claxton and ginobili a chance to get some pt and they have a championship team. The nets let Jason Collins get some decent time at the 5 and they made it out of the east. The nets are even going to let this new point gaurd kid Planic or what ever his name is play. And I dont want to here that parker, claxton, ginobili, collins are actaully good because they had to get pt in order to show that they were good. But a team that cant even make the playoffs doesnt have room to play rookies because they have to earn pt over more deserving vets that cant even get thier team to the playoffs, doesnt that speak volumes in itself? Isnt that saying that these more deserving vets might not be so deserving? There is no reason for Frank Williams not to get pt when we have two points gaurds playing ahead of him that everyone says suck daily.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

i dont think deke can help the knicks enough to get them to the playoffs


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## Dirtybirds81 (Sep 1, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>texan</b>!
> i dont think deke can help the knicks enough to get them to the playoffs


It still comes down to a healthy McDyess. Give NY NVE and Deke and they probably dont make the playoffs without a healthy Dice.


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## MPK (Oct 20, 2002)

there no way the mutombo sees more than 20 min a game at his age and health. lampe will get some time at the 5 and 4. sweetney will get time at the 4, and thomas will get time at the 5 and 4. if mcdyess come back thats a nice little (or big) rotation.

i dont see mcdyess coming back though


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

> See I disagree with you when you say that sweetney and Lampe should have to beat out Spoon and Harrington. I mean I know they do, but it should'nt be that way.


Why not? It's like that for everybody else.



> Spoon and Harrington flat out suck. They wouldnt even get back up minutes for most other teams.


You're flat out wrong. Weatherspoon is one of the better rebounders in the NBA, and Harrington's career scoring average is 8.5, and his career FG% is .508. Both players have been in their team's rotations EVERY YEAR of their careers, which is a combined 6 non-NY teams and 13 non-NY seasons. Hating both players because you want the rookies to play isn't going to change that reality.



> you know that your not going to get any thing more than acceptable play from spoon and Harrington, so why not give lampe and sweetney a try.


Because there is no guarantee that Sweetney and Lampe will be any better. Sweetney could be better than Harrington, or he could be worse. Lampe meanwhile is 18 years old. Weatherspoon is the best rebounder out of all of them, and we know how much the Knicks need boards.



> Obviously spoon and harrington arent that great because we werent even competive last season when it came down to the pf position, so why not give something else a try?


Harrington and Weatherspoon combined for 14.3 ppg and 14.0 rpg. That isn't competitive? 
The Wizards got 15.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg from Laettner and Kwame.
The Sonics got 13.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg from Radminovic and Evans.
The Lakers got 9.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg from Horry and Madsen.
If you throw in Medvedenko, the Lakers got 13.1 ppg and 11.7 rpg at PF from 3 guys combined, not 2.
The year the Knicks went to the Finals, LJ and Thomas combined for 20.1 ppg and 10.5 rpg. Johnson was a good scorer, but wasn't a good rebounder.

Spoon and Harrington aren't all-stars, but they're not the worst PF tandem in the league either. Having two quality backups isn't that bad. Weatherspoon and Harrington are good rebounders, which is what the Knicks need. When all is said and done, Sweetney will probably be in the same tier as those guys, maybe a level above.

Weatherspoon was taken 9th overall, and averaged 15.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg as a rookie, and 18.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg in his 2nd year. Yet here you are calling him garbage. Will Sweetney really ever be much better?



> We lose an extra 5 games and get a better draft pick? At least then we know if sweetney or lampe was worth wasting anymore time on.


Unfortunately the Knicks operate from a business perspective. If they don't make the playoffs, they lose a ton of money. It's easy for you to say they shouldn't be competitive, because you're not the one taking a 20 million dollar hit to your pocket. Even if the Knicks play Sweetney and Lampe, they are still a 30 win team, not good enough for a decent draft pick.



> If they sit on the bench behind Spoon and Harring then three years down the line when they are still sitting on the bench and unproven beucase they havent played


You are looking at this a bit unrealistically. For one thing, Harrington is gone next year. He's a FA, and since he's cheap, he is the easiest PF on the Knicks to trade. The only thing stopping them right now is his injury, and they're waiting on the status of McDyess. Since Harrington is injured, and Sweetney has a similar game, it will be likely be Harrington fighting for minutes when he comes back from his injury, not Sweetney. Spoon can play SF. He can guard SFs. Sweetney and Lampe can't. Since the Knicks really don't have any SF besides Shandon Anderson (also the backup SG) on the roster, Spoon will be able to give the Knicks additional rebounding help by playing SF alongside another PF, such as the aforementioned Sweetney and Lampe. And two, if Sweetney and Lampe ARE talented, then they WILL play. Weatherspoon is a rebounder and decent defender at this point, nothing more. If Sweetney and Lampe have any semblence of an offensive game (read: POST GAME), then they will play.



> Doug Christie, I would love to have him playing small forward for our team right about now, wouldnt that be a steal?


The problem was Christie started the year injured, and the Knicks had depth at SG (Starks and Hubert) and SF (Smith, Mason, and Monty Williams). He was only 5-22 from the field that year, so he didn't exactly make the most of his on court time.



> The spurs gave parker, claxton and ginobili a chance to get some pt and they have a championship team.


Not exactly. The Spurs didn't have any options at PG, that's why Parker started. They had Antonio Daniels (more suited to SG) and Terry Porter (too old). To date, Parker is severely overrated due to all the open looks he gets from Tim Duncan, and his play making skills leave a lot to be desired. Still has a teardrop though. Claxton wasn't drafted to San Antonio. He was drafted by the Sixers, and traded to San Antonio after 2 years. Claxton did nothing special - he was a backup PG, in the same class as Ward, Childs, etc. Backup PGs can hit clutch shots in the playoffs too, just ask Ward, Childs, Avery Johnson, Derek Fisher, Anthony Carter, etc. As for Ginobilli, he averaged 20 mpg in the regular season. He got that much PT mainly because Stephen Jackson, the starter, is a backup on pretty much every other team in the league. He averaged 7.6 ppg on the season, and 9.4 ppg in the playoffs with a .386 FG%.

But I like that you picked the Spurs. The Spurs play rookies on a PLAYOFF TEAM (and they do so not becuse they choose to, but because they have to). If the Knicks make the playoffs, Sweetney and Lampe will likely be contributors, which is exactly what I have been saying will be good for them. CONTRIBUTING TO A PLAYOFF TEAM is much better for a young player than contributing to a 20-30 win team.



> The nets let Jason Collins get some decent time at the 5 and they made it out of the east.


Jason Collins is a scrub. The Nets going to the finals had a lot more to do with the rest of the starters. Collins averaged 5.7 ppg with .414 FG%. .414 FG%. The best PG in the league is setting you up, and that's the best FG% you can get? Collins blew countless layups and shots under the basket. He's a much bigger scrub than Weatherspoon and Harrington.



> The nets are even going to let this new point gaurd kid Planic or what ever his name is play


The Nets don't have any other choice. Who else on their roster plays PG? It doesn't hurt that they have been watching Planinic overseas for a while.



> And I dont want to here that parker, claxton, ginobili, collins are actaully good because they had to get pt in order to show that they were good. But a team that cant even make the playoffs doesnt have room to play rookies because they have to earn pt over more deserving vets that cant even get thier team to the playoffs, doesnt that speak volumes in itself?


There weren't any deserving vets in their way. Also, Collins was 3rd string last year behind MacCulloch and Willaims. He started this year AFTER Mutombo got injured.



> There is no reason for Frank Williams not to get pt when we have two points gaurds playing ahead of him that everyone says suck daily.


Eisley and Ward are quite effective. They are among the leaders in A/T ratio and 3pt%, and Ward is the Knicks' best defender at guard. There are many PGs who are worse. The problem is that neither should have to start. As for Frank Williams, he missed all of training camp last year with an injury, and he appeared aboslutely LOST when he played last year. Ward and Eisley didn't suck - Williams sucked. He sucked to the point of making himself look like waive bait. He was 9-33 from the field and had 17 turnovers to go with 34 assists. He had one decent game (against the Nets), that's it. Without that one game, his numbers would have been even worse. When Ward was injured, Williams was given plenty of time to prove he deserved a spot in the rotation, and instead was picked apart by ancient Mark Jackson. Anybody who watched the team could tell you that Williams wasn't ready to contribute last year. PG is the hardest position in the league to learn, and since Williams missed all of training camp (where you learn most of the plays), he was behind the 8-ball from the beginning. He'll be better this year, but not that much better, and not likely to be good enough to unseat Ward.

Is this a bad thing? No. It's called PAYING YOUR DUES. Ward was a 3rd string his first two years in the league. The next year he was Childs' backup. The year after that, he cracked the starting lineup, and was the starting PG when the team went to the finals, and to date he has remained one of the best backup PGs in basketball.

If a player deserves to play, he'll play. It's not neccessarily a good thing if a player is thrown to the wolves. You don't want him losing confidence in his game. It's why Lebron won't be at PG this season. Because Silas feels its too much pressure on him. Being in an NBA rotation means you're SUPPOSED to be pressured. Other guys are fighting you for time. Rookies don't play because they can't or don't know how to handle that pressure. 

You don't throw somebody who doesn't know how to swim into the ocean and say start swimming. They might learn how to swim. Or they might drown. If you teach them how to swim BEFORE thowing them in the ocean, there's a lesser possiblity of that person drowning, especially if you let them "get their feet wet". Let them into the ocean, but not too deep, so they can get a feel for their surroundings, and won't drown. And once they learn how to swim, they won't forget.

Feel free to apply that analogy to the NBA.


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## Jmonty580 (Jun 20, 2003)

Hmmmmmm, what players have the knicks devloped recently? Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing, Charlie Ward. I dont have my hopes high on seeing lampe and sweetney being developed. Lampe has the best chance to develop because he can play the 5 but the question is will he ever get to play the 5 or will the vets doleac and travis knight get the pt over him.

I still dont buy that othella and spoon are any good. sure spoon grabs some rebounds but thats about it. He can gaurd sf's? he cant even gaurd pfs, hes old and slow, I was surpirsed the two or three times last season he actually got up high enough to actually dunk a ball. And i think charles smith taught him how to make layups because he cant seem to make one. The only thing he can do is get some rebounds, give easy points to opponents and not contribute on offense. Harrington I actually like, but half the time he's on the court he seems like he doesnt want to be there, he doesnt have 1/4th of the hustle of a kurt thomas. Overall think he's better than spoon but still not good.

If ward and eisely are so good, why is every knick fan looking for this great point gaurd to come in and help turn things around in NY? The answer is right in front of our face, we need nothing else because we have ward and eisley. You should let all the rest of the knicks and basketball fans in general in on this secret because I not so sure they know how good these guys are. 

We look at things differently which is cool, we'll just agree to disagree. I just pray that lampe and sweetney get a chance to prove themselves worthy or not worthy and i dont think that can happen from the bench or in practices. Didnt postell pay his dues riding behind houston, spree (which i can understand) and anderson? Managment was always talking about how he had great work ethics and how good he was in summer camp. Now his three years are up, the knicks gave up on him because he hasnt proven himself yet (because he never got more than garbage minutes, and even though he payed his dues they wouldnt let him be a back up for houston now that spree is gone) and other teams naturally arent confident in his game ( beucase they have never seen him play ) so he's basically assed out now and he never really got a chance to display his talents. I dont want to see this happen to lampe and sweetney.


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## Jeff van Gumby (Feb 22, 2003)

The Knicks coaches are stupid but they're not retarded. If Lampe plays well, he'll get playing time. The difference between Lampe and Sweetney and every other player they've drafted for a while is they have talent. If they are going to play better than Thomas or Spoon they'll get some PT.


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

> Hmmmmmm, what players have the knicks devloped recently? Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing, Charlie Ward.


Let's look at the Knicks recent draft history.

1985: Patrick Ewing, C, 1st pick
Nothing needs to be said.

1986: Kenny (Sky) Walker, SF, 5th pick
NY's last lottery pick until this year. Averaged double digits his first two years, and won the dunk contest, but his career was killed by injuries.

1987: Mark Jackson, PG, 18th pick
Was rookie of the year. Second all-time in assists only to Stockton. Was traded for Charles Smith. He has led the league in assists at least once, think it was twice.

1988: Rod Strickland, PG, 19th pick
Strickland was 3rd among active players in assists, and I believe he is 5th all-time. The active players ahead of him were Stockton and Jackson. None of the three has a job at press time, and I think Strickland would be a good signing if the Knicks deal Ward and don't get a PG in return.
Was traded to the Spurs for Maurice Cheeks after one season in NY. Strickland's one year in NY he had 8.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, and 1.2 spg. He has led the league in assists once.

1989: No first round pick.

1990: Jerrod Mustaf, PF, 17th pick
4.3 ppg and 3.7 ppg as a rookie in NY, was traded to phoenix after rookie year and scrubbed out after his 4th season.

1991: Greg Anthony, PG, 12th pick
Spent 4 years in NY as a backup PG that couldn't shoot. Good defender though. Was taken by the Grizzlies in the expansion draft. Retired last year with career averages of 7.3 ppg and 4.0 apg, and became an analyst for ESPN.

1992: Hubert Davis, SG, 20th pick
Averaged double figures in 3 of his 4 NY years, but only once in 7 seasons since. Started over Starks under Don Nelson, but was traded to Toronto for a 1st round pick after the Knicks signed Houston and had 3 SGs. Career averages of 8.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, and .441 3pt% (although many of those came the years the line was shortened).

1993: No first round (traded it to Orlando) or 2nd round pick 

1994: Monty Williams, SF, 24th pick, and Charlie Ward, PG, 26th pick.
Ward has been with the team ever since. Monty's irregular heartbeat meant he'd never be capable of starters minutes. Monty was given plenty of chances in NY, he was allowed to start over Charles Smith. He averaged 4.3 ppg and 2.4 rpg in those chances, and was traded with Smith to San Antonio for JR Reid and Brad Lohaus, as the team wanted to free up salary for LJ, Houston, and Childs. Mo-Will has a career average of 6.3 ppg and 2.8 rpg.

1995: No first round pick (traded to Dallas) or 2nd round pick

1996: John Wallace, SF, 18th pick, Walter McCarty, PF, 19th pick, Dontae Jones, SF, 21st pick.
Jones didn't play a minute in NY due to injury, and was suspended for being involved in the Miami brawl, and not allowed to sit on the bench for the rest of the playoffs. He was traded to Boston with McCarty for Chris Mills, and scrubbed out of the league after a mere 15 games. McCarty has career averages of 6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and has never been more than an 8th man. Wallace is like Lee Nailon. A talented offensive player that can't play a lick of D. He was traded to Toronto, but was brought back as a free agent in his 4th year, and then benched by Van Gundy, and traded for Erick Strickland. He has career averages of 8.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and spent last year playing with Greece.

1997: John Thomas, PF, 25th pick
Was traded with McCarty and Jones in the Chris Mills trade. He scrubbed out after 3 years. Mills was one of the players dealt for Sprewell, so you could say the Knicks traded 4 crap rookies, a 3rd string PG (Scott Brooks), an ancient PF (Terry Cummings), and a 6th man (John Starks) for an all-star who was on the All-NBA 2nd team (Spree).

1998: No first round pick (traded to Houston)

1999: Frederick Weis, C, 15th pick
Has not played a minute in the NBA. Vince Carter famously jumped OVER him on a dunk in international play. Before you jump on Scott Layden for drafting him, realize that Layden DIDN'T draft him, interim GM Ed Tapscott did, and Dave Checketts OKed it. Nothing to do with Dolan/Layden. Layden checked him out in a summer league, and concluded that he was not an NBA quality player, period. He was taken one spot ahead of NYer Ron Artest (the Knicks didn't need another SG/SF though, they needed a center. Todd MacCulloch, Calvin Booth, and Wang ZhiZhi were taken in the 2nd round though, and Jeff Foster 21st).

2000: Donnell Harvey, PF, 20th pick
Traded to Dallas in the Erick Strickland deal. Not better than Weatherspoon or Harrington (the man Strickland was later traded for) A good rebounder, that's it.

2001: No first round pick

2002: Nene Hilario, PF, 7th pick, traded for Frank Williams, PG, 25th pick
Nene was probably the best player the Knicks have drafted in years, of course, he was the first lottery pick since Kenny Walker. Williams got hurt in training camp, and nobody knows if he can play a little or if he really does suck. It's worth noting that he was a shoot first PG in college. Nene has the defensive makings of Hakeem written all over him (but NOT the offensive makings, mind you)

2003: Mike Sweetney, PF, 9th pick
Remians to be seen what the Knicks have. Likely a cross between Spoon (rebounds and blocks), and Harrington (some post game)

Maciej Lampe is the only notable 2nd rounder the Knicks have drafted during this whole time span, and he was also acquired as a result of the Nene trade. Most years they didn't have it, or the player scrubbed out and obviously wasn't able to crack any sort of rotation on a playoff team.

I think it's pretty clear that the Knicks aren't guilty of not developing players. They are guilty of drafting players that aren't worth developing. Ewing, Jackson, and Strickland are the only players drafted that had good careers, even after they left NY.

I think there are two players that should be mentioned though. They are two players that the Knicks did not draft, but they DID develop. Their names are John Starks (not drafted) and Anthony Mason (a 3rd round pick taken 53rd).


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

> Lampe has the best chance to develop because he can play the 5 but the question is will he ever get to play the 5 or will the vets doleac and travis knight get the pt over him.


I doubt he is any worse at rebounding than they are, so probably. Doleac and Knight are both in the final years of their contracts, so they will probably be traded (or in Knight's case, waived). Since the Knicks have 16 contracts right now with Dikembe, and because Chaney would like to add Matt Carroll since the team only as 2 SGs (and Houston is recovering slowly from surgery), that will mean 17 players on the roster. A change will definitely happen soon.



> I still dont buy that othella and spoon are any good. sure spoon grabs some rebounds but thats about it. He can gaurd sf's? he cant even gaurd pfs, hes old and slow, I was surpirsed the two or three times last season he actually got up high enough to actually dunk a ball. And i think charles smith taught him how to make layups because he cant seem to make one.


Weatherspoon was 11th in the league in rebounds per minute. Feel free to look at who he's ahead of before you judge him so quickly.
1. Ben Wallace
2. Jeff Foster
3. Vladamir Stepania
4. Kelvin Cato
5. Kevin Garnett
6. Tim Duncan
7. Troy Murphy
8. Brian Grant
9. Carlos Boozer
10. Jamaal Magloire
11. *Clarence Weatherspoon*
12. Donyell Marshall
13. Yao Ming
14. Tyson Chandler
15. Amare Stoudemire
16. Jermaine O'Neal
17. Arvydas Sabonis
18. Jerome Williams
19. Shawn Kemp
20. Shawn Bradley
21. Erick Dampier
22 Adonal Foyle
23 Kevin Willis
24 P.J. Brown
25 A. Henderson
26 L. Wright
27 Brad Miller
28 Brian Skinner
29 Z. Randolph
30 Malik Rose
31 Greg Ostertag
32 *O. Harrington*
33 A. DeClercq
34 Dirk Nowitzki
35 Donnell Harvey
36 Keon Clark
37 Zydrunas Ilgauskas
38 *Kurt Thomas*
39 Dale Davis
40 Mehmet Okur
41 Pau Gasol
42 Eddie Griffin
43 Kenyon Martin
44 Drew Gooden 
45 Theo Ratliff
46 Vlade Divac
47 Kwame Brown
48 Gary Trent
49 George Lynch
50 Shawn Marion

Harrington's .508 FG% is behind Eddy Curry, Shaq, Boozer, PJ Brown, Nesterovic, Nene, Duncan, Harpring, Gasol, and Brian Grant, but was good enough to be 11th in the league, ahead of Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, and Richard Jefferson.

Spoon and Harrington aren't all-stars, but they clearly don't suck as much as you make them out to.



> If ward and eisely are so good, why is every knick fan looking for this great point gaurd to come in and help turn things around in NY? The answer is right in front of our face, we need nothing else because we have ward and eisley. You should let all the rest of the knicks and basketball fans in general in on this secret because I not so sure they know how good these guys are.


Like I said, they're not all-stars, they're both quality backups. Despite that fact, they combined for the best PG play NY has seen since Derek Harper/Greg Anthony in 94-95. It isn't saying much, considering Harper is the last good PG the Knicks have had, but it still rings true. Eisley/Ward were definitely better than the tandem of Jackson/Ward/Eisley the year before.


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