# Ewing: "I Should Have Retired A Knick", Questions Curry's Desire



## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

> On MSG's Boomer Esiason Show, Patrick Ewing said he should have finished his playing career where it started.
> 
> "It was both our faults, the Knicks and my own,'' Ewing said. "I should have ended my career with the Knicks.''
> 
> ...


http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/sports/allan_hits_net_at_espn_sports_andrew_marchand.htm


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## 0oh_S0o_FreSh!! (Jun 3, 2006)

At this state, id question his desire as well. he doesnt show the intensity he should show, maybe thats why, but he maybe should step it up.


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## EwingStarksOakley94 (May 13, 2003)

I would say that's his #1 problem


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## Gotham2krazy (Nov 22, 2005)

Lol at Ewing's remark, "Does he want to be greater than myself?" Hey buddy you were great for the Knicks, but you wasn't no God. I'm sorry if I offend any Ewings fans, but it's the truth.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

Gotham2krazy said:


> Lol at Ewing's remark, "Does he want to be greater than myself?" Hey buddy you were great for the Knicks, but you wasn't no God. I'm sorry if I offend any Ewings fans, but it's the truth.


Trust me, I do not believe your statement is groundless. Maybe if he shot better than 38% against Olajuwon in 94 I might have stopped you. Despite him being a great player, it just sounds inappropriate of him sounding off when he's screwed up chances to be remembered more than just being a perennial all-star that played on the Knicks. Ewing also seems to have a short memory of how hard it was for him to adjust over here with the media.


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## Gotham2krazy (Nov 22, 2005)

TwinkieFoot said:


> Trust me, I do not believe your statement is groundless. Maybe if he shot better than 38% against Olajuwon in 94 I might have stopped you. Despite him being a great player, it just sounds inappropriate of him sounding off when he's screwed up chances to be remembered more than just being a perennial all-star that played on the Knicks. Ewing also seems to have a short memory of how hard it was for him to adjust over here with the media.


I won't claim that I've been a Knicks fan forever, more like a late 90's Knicks fan, honestly, how much did a 5 year old know about basketball back in '94? So IMO, the best Knicks squad has to be the one that went to the finals in '99, which Ewing wasn't even playing during the post-season. So tell me Mr. Ewing, what great accomplishment have you achieved lately?


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## EwingStarksOakley94 (May 13, 2003)

I would agree that Ewing is out of line here with his comments. And he's really kinda asking for it because he just opened himself to some ridicule that could be buried.

At the same time, this man carried the Knicks single handedly for years. Yes, we had some great role players, especially in '94. But Ewing never had a partner in crime like Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe, Robinson/Duncan, etc. He was a year or two away from teaming with Bernard King (we can only imagine how good they could have been) and when they began to add other all-star caliber players (Houston, LJ, Camby) he was on the decline. Unfortunately when NY got to the finals in '94, they had to face Olajuwon who just so happened to be in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. 

Sure, maybe things would have been different if Pat would've made some better decisions along the line (dunk, don't finger roll, dunk!) or even just stepped up a little more (Twinkie, it kills me about that 38% man, cause he shot so well against everyone else!). But Ewing was a warrior, and if Curry was a warrior, well we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Sorry but Ewing on his worst day was better than Eddy Curry's best. If he was better than Ewing, he would lead the Knicks to a championship. That's how good Patrick was.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Things would have been different if Pat Riley took out John Starks and put in Rolando Blackman in Game 7.


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

HKF said:


> Things would have been different if Pat Riley took out John Starks and put in Rolando Blackman in Game 7.


I know that's right HKF! :cheers: Or at east give Hubert Davis some burn, jeez!


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

EwingStarksOakley94 said:


> I would agree that Ewing is out of line here with his comments. And he's really kinda asking for it because he just opened himself to some ridicule that could be buried.
> 
> At the same time, this man carried the Knicks single handedly for years. Yes, we had some great role players, especially in '94. But Ewing never had a partner in crime like Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe, Robinson/Duncan, etc. He was a year or two away from teaming with Bernard King (we can only imagine how good they could have been) and when they began to add other all-star caliber players (Houston, LJ, Camby) he was on the decline. Unfortunately when NY got to the finals in '94, they had to face Olajuwon who just so happened to be in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history.
> 
> Sure, maybe things would have been different if Pat would've made some better decisions along the line (dunk, don't finger roll, dunk!) or even just stepped up a little more (Twinkie, it kills me about that 38% man, cause he shot so well against everyone else!). But Ewing was a warrior, and if Curry was a warrior, well we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.


Hey ESO, remember during Ewing's interviews he used to rock that dirty looking blue bath robe and tell the reporters after a loss this same quote over and over: "We didn't get the job done." LMAO


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Rolando Blackman was finished. I don't think he even stepped on the court once during the entire Finals. 

But yeah, some of you Knicks fans are really underrating Ewing. His comments aren't out of line at all. In '94, he was already declining. A prime Ewing ('90-'93) would have been the best player in the league last season. 

It doesn't have to come down to being a warrior. Ewing was clearly a better player than Curry in every way imaginable.

And the '93 and '94 Knicks sides were far superior to the '99 one. It's not even debatable.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> Rolando Blackman was finished. I don't think he even stepped on the court once during the entire Finals.
> 
> But yeah, some of you Knicks fans are really underrating Ewing. His comments aren't out of line at all. In '94, he was already declining. A prime Ewing ('90-'93) would have been the best player in the league last season.
> 
> ...


No one here is saying that Curry is as good as Ewing. I do not believe anyone is that foolish. What we are saying is that Ewing should not be walking out with his chest held out when he's kind of messed up in big situations. It's hard to explain personally. All I can say is that you'd never here a guy like Jordan (and I'm not a fan) calling players out and questioning whether they can play this game. It just seems tasteless.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

TwinkieFoot said:


> What we are saying is that Ewing should not be walking out with his chest held out when he's kind of messed up in big situations.


He's one of the greatest players of all time. A few late-game mistakes don't change a decade of domination. He has every right to walk with his chest out.



> It's hard to explain personally. All I can say is that you'd never here a guy like Jordan (and I'm not a fan) calling players out and questioning whether they can play this game. It just seems tasteless.


I don't think it's tasteless at all. In fact, it seems like he's paying Curry a tremendous compliment by implying that he can become a greater player than him. And it's not like he's hitting below the belt. Pretty much every NBA fan in the world has questioned Curry's desire at some point. Ewing simply said it in the nicest way possible.

Hakeem Olajuwon recently said a similar thing about Yao Ming. Everyone was thrilled that he was at least showing an interest.

Jordan doesn't criticize individual players, but didn't he call out an entire generation on their fundamentals? Anyway, he's terrified of soiling his image. He's usually unbelievably bland and evasive when interviewed.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

In point of fact, there are only two Knicks centers who have the requisite prestige to question Curry's desire in a way that might get through to him. One is Willis Reed, and the other is Patrick Ewing. If Curry wants to actually develop his potential, he _has _ to want to become the greatest center in Knicks history, at the very least. And there's nobody better than Patrick Ewing to put it out into the open for Curry to dwell upon.


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## mmmdk (Jul 16, 2002)

When Curry was drafted by the Bulls I asumed Curry, in worst case scenario, would be a new Elden Campbell. Curry is not even as good as Campbell - yet. Ewing was not out of line, Curry hasn't shown a desire to be great or even good. Time is running out, baby Shaq.


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## knicksfan (Jan 4, 2003)

TwinkieFoot said:


> No one here is saying that Curry is as good as Ewing. I do not believe anyone is that foolish. What we are saying is that Ewing should not be walking out with his chest held out when he's kind of messed up in big situations. It's hard to explain personally. All I can say is that you'd never here a guy like Jordan (and I'm not a fan) calling players out and questioning whether they can play this game. It just seems tasteless.


COUGH Kwame Brown COUGH Jordan single handidly ruined the kid, and it will be a miracle if Phil Jackson can fix him.


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## Banjoriddim (Aug 14, 2004)

Hakeem said:


> He's one of the greatest players of all time. A few late-game mistakes don't change a decade of domination. He has every right to walk with his chest out.
> 
> 
> I don't think it's tasteless at all. In fact, it seems like he's paying Curry a tremendous compliment by implying that he can become a greater player than him. And it's not like he's hitting below the belt. Pretty much every NBA fan in the world has questioned Curry's desire at some point. Ewing simply said it in the nicest way possible.
> ...


Well said! I don't see how anybody is claiming that Ewning is arrogant here... I mean if Curry would defend himself I would say he is arrogant. I don't care what he does until he: becomes something else than blackhole-stats pad for first 2 quarters... until he atleast gives some effort and shows some new skills that he has learned over summer.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

Hakeem said:


> He's one of the greatest players of all time. A few late-game mistakes don't change a decade of domination. He has every right to walk with his chest out.
> 
> 
> I don't think it's tasteless at all. In fact, it seems like he's paying Curry a tremendous compliment by implying that he can become a greater player than him. And it's not like he's hitting below the belt. Pretty much every NBA fan in the world has questioned Curry's desire at some point. Ewing simply said it in the nicest way possible.
> ...


Maybe the intention of Ewings comments are not as apparent to me as others. He just came across to me as though he was bragging and trying to shed light on his own career. It would have been one thing to critique a guys game but to use yourself as a measuring stick to me sounds a bit arrogant.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

knicksfan said:


> COUGH Kwame Brown COUGH Jordan single handidly ruined the kid, and it will be a miracle if Phil Jackson can fix him.


Your actually right but the thing about it is that MJ did it behind closed doors where the purpose may have been to motivate the player to do better rather than embarrass him in the media. Although Jordan really did screw the kid's confidence up (and I know this very well since I'm no MJ kiss ***), Brown has shown that he can play ball. He just needs to do so consistently. The Lakers should look to keep him at the 5 and let Chris Mihm walk.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

mmmdk said:


> When Curry was drafted by the Bulls I asumed Curry, in worst case scenario, would be a new Elden Campbell. Curry is not even as good as Campbell - yet. Ewing was not out of line, Curry hasn't shown a desire to be great or even good. Time is running out, baby Shaq.


Campbell would have been all-star material had it not been for the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, etc, so I would not be critical of Curry for not being on the man's level as of yet. Curry is just 24 years old, so I do not understand how people assume that that means his career is somehow almost over with. Time is something Curry has plenty of and the fact that he has shown the ability to hang with the big boys in the league (check the stats) gives me hope that he'll be a known player in this league. Think about it, the only things most believe to hold him back are conditioning and fundamentals both of which could be fixed in a season.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

TwinkieFoot said:


> Maybe the intention of Ewings comments are not as apparent to me as others. He just came across to me as though he was bragging and trying to shed light on his own career. It would have been one thing to critique a guys game but to use yourself as a measuring stick to me sounds a bit arrogant.


You could be right. He might very well have been trying to remind people that he's still around. I think it's a given that these superstars are arrogant.


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## Gotham2krazy (Nov 22, 2005)

Okay, for all those who didn't think Ewing's comments were out of line, let's put it in a better perspective to understand how Twinkie and I feel. Let's take Charles Barkeley, the most arrogant and obnoxious person ever, who thinks he's tough ****. Let's say if Amare didn't turn out to be the fantastic player he is today, Charles says to him, "Amare, do you ever want to be as good as I was?" Now change up the characters in the scenario, Jordan goes up to a struggling young Ben Gordon, "B-Go, do you ever want to be as good as I was?" Now look it at in this perspective and you tell me the difference.


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## mmmdk (Jul 16, 2002)

TwinkieFoot said:


> Campbell would have been all-star material had it not been for the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, etc, so I would not be critical of Curry for not being on the man's level as of yet. Curry is just 24 years old, so I do not understand how people assume that that means his career is somehow almost over with. Time is something Curry has plenty of and the fact that he has shown the ability to hang with the big boys in the league (check the stats) gives me hope that he'll be a known player in this league. Think about it, the only things most believe to hold him back are conditioning and fundamentals both of which could be fixed in a season.


What's your point? Campbell was a could've been, good, but still. Sure, Curry has time...to collect big paychecks. Curry's not going to change, he's still going to score but that's it. I don't blame you for dreaming - if Curry had your desire, for Curry to succeed, he'd be an All Star. That's a compliment.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

mmmdk said:


> What's your point? Campbell was a could've been, good, but still. Sure, Curry has time...to collect big paychecks. Curry's not going to change, he's still going to score but that's it. I don't blame you for dreaming - if Curry had your desire, for Curry to succeed, he'd be an All Star. That's a compliment.


And what proof do you have that can ultimately decide a big man that is only 24 years old can not improve or expand his game? There was an interesting website that actually taken the stats of players his age and expanded them over the course of their careers. It showed that there is a clear improvement in play in general. Marcus Camby for one was actually a rather poor rebounder with the Raptors and has transformed into one of the primer rebounders in the league today. Camby had entered the league when he was 23 years old. Curry is only a year older than him and already a better rebounder compared to a Camby that averaged 6 REBOUNDS PER GAME OVER THE COURSE OF 30 MINUTES PER GAME. Curry averages that in just 24 minutes per game. He can and will improve just as Camby improved. Camby averaged 8 DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS PER GAME LAST SEASON IN 30MPG. That is more than the total rebounds he averaged during the same amount of time his rookie season.


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