Where would the Knicks be with Z-Bo?

by Tommy Dee on March 25th, 2009 at 7:25 am

As the Clippers enter NY to face the Knicks tonight, there are a few familiar faces wearing Clipper red, white and blue.

One is an ex-Knick who despite being traded for one of the most popular men in team history, a player who personified the fans in many ways, became a fan favorite in his own rite. Replacing Charles Oakley is not a small feat in the world of New York sports.

The other is a player was often defended by fans yet never played much defense.

When the Knicks traded Oakley for Marcus Camby in 1998 my first sense was that of shock. Like every other Knick fan, I loved Oak as did his coach, who took a long time to warm up to the lanky Camby. I remember hearing stories about Marcus in college and his propensities and his overall lack of maturity hampered his early career.

But it was his play in 1999 that endeared him to the fans of this city as he was an integral part of the Cinderella 8th seed. Many highlights show a high-flying Camby protecting the hoop and finishing with thunderous dunks on the other end.


There were always questions coming from Knicks management regarding Camby’s durability yet ironically, or fittingly for the Scott Layden Era, Antonio McDyess, whom the Knicks received in return, broke down right away in New York shortly he arrived from Denver for Camby and the 9th overall pick.

Zach Randolph’s stay in New York was a dubious as McDyess’ in a lot of ways, which is to say that he was a wonderfully talented player who fans never really connected with. Unlike McDyess, Z-Bo played plenty but he never seemed to mesh in a culture that wreeked of negativity.

Randolph was brought in as part of a trade which sent Steve Francis and Channing Frye to Portland, a one-sided deal from a talent standpoint as his career 20 points/10 rebound totals had fans believing in a possible “double post” tandem with Eddy Curry, or so that was the vision of then-president Isiah Thomas.

Randolph was the center of plenty of trade rumors this off season and was almost shipped to Memphis. Here’s what we know about that situation. Memphis wanted the Knicks to fork over a first round pick along with taking on the brutal contract of guard Marko Jaric and disappointing center Darko Milicic in exchange for Z-Bo. The ever-patient Donnie Walsh wanted one of Memphis’ young guards back in the deal and when that didn’t happen talks broke down.

So Walsh, who seemed intent of ridding Z-Bo’s contract sooner before later, finally shipped Randolph to the Clippers, the only team interested in taking on his contract, for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley on November 21st. It was a huge weight off the cap for the Knicks, yet the deal bothered some fans who felt Walsh had received too little in return. The Knicks, who were 6-5 at the time of the trades would finish the new year 6-13.

The short-sighted fan would like to believe that Walsh could have held longer and got more out of the Clippers than just Mobley, who never suited for the Knicks, and Thomas who would be shipped out months later. In fact, they blame Walsh for not bringing Camby back. Our moles have told us that Camby was very much the bounty, but the Clippers balked, and Walsh realized that in this economy if he walked away from a deal with the Clippers, he probably had lost his only chance to get his team in a much better cap position for 2010.

And there is a lot to that. Had Walsh kept Z-Bo where would the team be? Would they, in this economic environment, found any other takers for that contract without having to surrender a first round pick? With all the negative news about the lowering of the salary cap, how would you feel about the Knicks prospects of any future success with $17 plus million on the books for the next few years?

The patient fan is thankful that Walsh was able to create some roster flexibility.

How about on the court? Does a 6-5 record make you truly believe that the team could have made a playoff push with Z-Bo?

Are you happy the Knicks traded Z-Bo when they did?


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  • Mucha

    Interesting. I think the Knicks would be clearly over 0.500 with Zach Randolph, who was playing great under D’Antoni, but I never really cared about the playoffs. I wanted Eric Gordon when he wasn’t playing or DeAndre Jordan (at least a piece for the future) but at the end of the day that was great deal in this economy – now I understand that.

  • BiggieSmalls

    If Z bo was still here we would have no hope of a future of a championship. We would still have a selfish player who is not easy to like or root for. I would have been happy to send him to the Clips in the offseason for a second rounder. But obviously not to give up a first to send him away.

    DW did a good job in moving him and crawford. He didnt do a good job in marketing Lee and Nate at the deadline in combo with our other anchor weights to push us further under the 10/11 cap and accumulate assets.

  • Chris Alvino

    I think in terms of this season, and this season alone, this team would have been better with Zach. He was playing out of his mind with the Knicks. And not only did he show talent, but he showed heart. He gave 110% on the court for the Knicks every night. True he was a poor defender, but he put more effort into defense than Lee does.

    That said, the cap ramifications of the deal should not go unnoticed. Also, Zach has had a tough year this year with his father passing away and with other injuries.

  • Chris Alvino

    By the way, Big… I have to assume that you are the same BiggieSmalls on Hahn’s blog and over at the giantsfootballblog.com….. Am I right?

  • aknickted

    A point to make about zack, with the knicks he pretty much stayed out of legal trouble,which for him seemed a pretty hard thing to do through out his career before coming to the knicks. Had he been on the knicks this whole season,it his highly doubtful david lee would be putting the rebounding numbers he has all season,with zack in the post.

  • Chris Alvino

    You’re probably right. That is a testament to how much of a beast rebounder Zach is.

  • http://www.knicksfan.net/?p=1160 The Shortsighted Fan vs. The Patient Fan | The Knicks FanBlog

    [...] Tommy Dee really nails it I think. There isn’t much to add, except that we’ve had this debate over in this space before, and I think the patient fans know who they are, and the shortsighted fans can figure out who they are by Tommy Dee’s description: The short-sighted fan would like to believe that Walsh could have held longer and got more out of the Clippers than just Mobley, who never suited for the Knicks, and Thomas who would be shipped out months later. In fact, they blame Walsh for not bringing Camby back. Our moles have told us that Camby was very much the bounty, but the Clippers balked, and Walsh realized that in this economy if he walked away from a deal with the Clippers, he probably had lost his only chance to get his team in a much better cap position for 2010. [...]