Mike Vaccaro in my opinion, and his piece today is another great read…

“…3. What if the Knicks hadn’t traded Patrick Ewing?

It seemed as if there was a Higher Authority at work. The Knicks initially arranged a four-team trade in August 2000, but when it fell through, Jeff Van Gundy visited Ewing to persuade him to stay. Ewing believed New York had turned on him. The Knicks were under no obligation to deal Ewing, but a few weeks later they did anyway in a complex deal that also involved the Lakers, Suns and Sonics.

So: a) If the Knicks don’t trade Ewing, they have him for the 2000-01 season, a year they won 48 games without him. With him? Do they likely beat the Raptors in the playoffs? They had the year before. And you have to believe they would have had a chance at knocking off the Sixers in the next round. And then . . . well, who knows? b) At the least, Ewing’s $16 million would have fallen off the cap and c) The never-ending spiral of bad players and bad contracts might have been broken before it ever started with the likes of Glen Rice and Luc Longley. And d) maybe Van Gundy doesn’t resign the next season, and e) maybe Isiah Thomas remains a harmless character we only know from a distance, and f) maybe the Knicks never bottom out as completely as they did…”

He also talks about Belichick and the freak Duaner Sanchez injuries and their proverbial “what ifs.” As a Mets fan, there is no doubt in my mind that the Mets would have won the World Series had Sanchez stayed healthy. As far as Ewing, it’s been documented in this space, that the way he was handled was the beginning of the organization’s crumbling for the last decade.

While we’re reading the Post, Peter Vecsey gets on Mike D’Antoni for not keeping Rajon Rondo after he was drafted in Phoenix. More fodder for the anti-D’Ant-ites. Oh, and D’Antoni is the reason for Boston’s push to the Finals.  Not Paul Pierce or the Celts defense, it’s more Nate Robinson.

Gotcha.

Vecsey fails to mention that Rondo could have been a Knick but Isiah Thomas chose Balkman a spot before. Oh, and the player that the Suns took in 2007?  Rudy Fernandez, whom the Suns got a boat load of cash for (they’re small market) from the Blazers. They also got cash for Rondo. That cash was used to resign several key pieces including Steve Nash, who plays Rondo’s position. Small market teams with solid cores give up mid-to-late first round picks in exchange for cash all the time and Rondo couldn’t shoot a lick coming out of college. Of course, the Knicks are hoping to jump into the 1st round in June’s draft.

But it’s NY so it must be D’Antoni’s fault.

Via ESPN-NY

“…If I had it to do all over again,” said Ewing. “I wouldn’t have requested a trade.”

Who knew that a simple yet firm demand, made in 2000, would still be haunting the Knicks today? The franchise brass certainly didn’t. Neither did Ewing, who today serves as an assistant to Stan Van Gundy on the Orlando Magic bench. Speaking before Game 1 of the Magic-Charlotte Bobcats series, Ewing made it clear he still feels bad about leaving New York. In retrospect, the trade of Patrick Ewing caused the same impact as the drafting of Patrick Ewing. Just as the Knicks saw their fortunes soar when former general manager Dave DeBusschere pounded his fist at the draft lottery on the pivotal day that enabled the Knicks to get Ewing, his trade subsequently prompted plenty more clenched fists pounded for altogether different reasons…

In order to trade Ewing, the Knicks had to take Luc Longley and Glen Rice and other lumps of coal; nobody was giving them expiring contracts or talented players for someone who eventually reminded folks of Willie Mays in his final days with the Mets. The Knicks, charging $1,000 for those courtside seats, were in mortal fear of rebuilding in New York, as if their fans wouldn’t understand the reasons for it.

So they swung the deal and spent the next 10 years rebuilding…”

There are many different angles to this story depending on who you talk to. It is true, as mentioned in this very article, that Ewing felt disrespected by the NY media who almost seemed to wait to hammer him for years of being surly towards them. Some writers suggested the FANS thought the Knicks were better off without Ewing.

In December of 99, Ewing hit a big shot against the Raptors that took the Knicks to 17-10 and 6-1 in his return from injury. But I guess they were better without him. No one can question the decline, but the burial was far too soon.

Throw in the Mark Messier factor as well. The Rangers felt that Messier had gone past his prime and decided not to negotiate all that hard with Mess and his father Doug. That led to the infamous Joe Sakic contract signing, which was matched by the Avalanche. Messier would return for big money, and around the same time, Ewing wouldn’t be given an extension. Many had speculated it was the Garden brass’ decision to make amends with Messier because he had won a championship.

One more year. Really, just one more year. That’s all it would have been.

It didn’t take long for fans to realize that even an aging Ewing still made the Knicks a playoff team.

Forget the cap ramifications, that whole situation really left me bitter, considering all that Ewing did in a Knicks jersey. Whether the team was better without him or not. They would have been better with him against the Spurs in the 1999 Finals, that much was obvious.

I know Ewing has to take his share of blame, and reading this makes me feel a bit better. He knows he should have handled things differently. But his emotions, built up by years of coming so close followed by having to hear that he was done and the team should move on without him, I can, always did, understand his frustration.

It’s been a long time ladies and gents, here’s hoping for a successful new beginning.

Great post by aramnath, from frontofficefans.com on the similarities between the careers of Patrick Ewing and Donavan McNabb who, despite 5 NFC Championship appearances and 1 Super Bowl, never won a championship in Philly. He’s now a member of the Washington Redskins.

“…You’re probably wondering how Patrick Ewing is similar to Donovan McNabb.  Let’s take a look.

The Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing with the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.  By the early 90′s, the Knicks were one of the league’s elite teams that had the misfortune of peaking at the same time that Michael Jordan and the Bulls also peaked.  Upon Jordan’s retirement at the end of the 1993 NBA season, the Knicks became the favorite to emerge out of the Eastern Conference and emerge they did earning a birth in the 1994 NBA Finals against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.

Thanks to a combination of Hakeem Olajuwon being a better center than Ewing and Pat Riley allowing John Starks to shoot 2-18 from the field, 0-11 from three and 0-10 in the fourth quarter, Ewing came up short in his championship quest.  Did Olajuwon outplay Ewing? Yes.  This is because he was a superior player not because Ewing wasn’t clutch.

The next season the Knicks were thwarted in their attempt to win a ring by Reggie Miller and the Pacers as Ewing’s game-tying layup attempt rimmed out as time expired in Game 7.  This is remembered as proof as why Ewing sucked as a clutch player and why the Knicks never won a ring…”

Ewing’s issue was that he couldn’t seal the deal and talked a big game. He wanted that pressure, but couldn’t ultimately deliver. It’s a fair knock. McNabb, to me, is a great quarterback who ran into better teams. That’s the biggest similarity for me. Ewing was a first overall pick big man who had impossible expectations to live up to. Ask Greg Oden what that feels like.

David Robinson needed Tim Duncan. Shaq finally realized he needed Kobe because of free throw woes limiting his touches in the 4th quarter. Dream was the best center of all of them in my opinion- and Ewing was just one game away. In the end, despite a tremendous career, he just didn’t get it done. I think his year was 1997, myself.

I’m reading Marc Berman’s report that the Knicks will not “honor” Nate Robinson upon his return to MSG on April 6th with his new team the Celtics.

Didn’t they “honor” him by trading him there?

Video tributes are like retired jerseys, if you retire one, you’re going to get arguments why you don’t retire more.

What did Nate really do to deserve a moment that is most always reserved for greats? Yes, he played hard, yes the fans identified with him and throw in the dunk titles he was a player who could be identified as a Knick.

Call me old fashioned but I think of a weepy Mark Messier returning to the Garden with the Canucks, or Ewing coming back for the first time as a member of the Sonics.

Nate captured many fans’ hearts and admiration, but tributes are deserved of those who were accomplished on the court. And in that sense, Nate was far from great.

Help me out here. Did John Starks get a tribute, I honestly don’t remember. Some fans have said yes, some no. Oakley got one, at halftime,  so did Charlie Ward, two battle-tested core members of winning teams.

I doubt Chris Childs got one, and he was far more accomplished as a Knick than  Nate.

To be fair, Tony Rice Balls informed me that Jamal Crawford got a highlight reel during a time out, but players like Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Latrell Sprewell did not. Maybe the organization should move forward and by doing them for everyone from now on as a classy gesture. It could go a long way in rebuilding the image of the organization.

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Later today, the Knicks will take on the Pistons in their annual Martin Luther King day game.  Since the first one in 1986, there have been a handful of memories both good and bad.

The most significant one is the 1990 game which led to a rule known as the Trent Tucker rule.  That was when Tucker hit a three-pointer with one-tenth of a second remaining.  It was the first year the NBA employed tenths of a second in the game clock and eventually required there to be at least three-tenths of a second remaining before such a shot can be hit.  The only time a game-winner occurred with under three-tenths of a second left was December 2006 when David Lee deflected his own inbounds pass.

Thanks to the archives of the NY Times, we can relive that with Tucker’s comments:

‘It’s the greatest shot I ever made,” Tucker said. ”I just caught the ball and flung it. When the ball left my hands, I knew it was on target. What I didn’t know was whether it had the distance. When it went in, I thought to myself, ‘not bad for a guy who was supposed to be a decoy on the play.’ ”

Three years later, the schedule-makers rewarded us diehards with a potential NBA finals matchup when the revamped Phoenix Suns visited.  I was in the stands for that game, a 106-103 Knick win.  The most memorable moment was afterwards when Charles Barkley chased after referee Jim Clark over a non-call.  I didn’t recall it now, but apparently the incident was escalated when Clark told Barkley that his outburst would cost him money.

“When he said the part to me about money, I went off. Like he can control me with money. You can’t control people with money. I thought he made bad calls all night, but when he said that thing about, ‘It’s going to cost you money,’ like money can control me? Give me a break.”

The call or non-call that ticked off Barkley was on the final play.  Needing a three to tie, Anthony Mason tightly contested the shot, which was an airball.

Other games have been routine wins or losses, including a 16-point win over the Celtics in 1998 that was the Knicks 21st consecutive win in the series.  Two years later represented Patrick Ewing’s final appearance on this day as a Knick.  He scored14 points in 29 minutes in a 105-94 victory over the Pistons.  At that time, Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse represented one the NBA’s higher-scoring tandems but they were a combined 10-of-35 from the field.

And the last time the Knicks had a winning record on this day was 2001 against the Spurs.  It was a blowout win that became memorable when Jeff Van Gundy was clocked by Marcus Camby, who intended to punch Danny Ferry.

Since then, the Knicks have been a losing team in their long struggle to try and reclaim what they once knew.  They’ve had a few good games on this day (07 vs. Sacramento), one heart-breaker (Ben Gordon in 2005 for the Bulls) and one complete embarrassment (02 vs. the Hornets).

So my friend BB from Brooklyn sent me this little ditty from deadspin because he knows how irritated The Celt’s, er, Sports Guy’s take on Ewing makes me. In a nutshell, Celt’s Guy himself was always was REALLY PISSED that Ewing was mentioned in the same breath (OH THE HORROR) as Bill Russell when he came out of college by the basketball media. Yeah, those comparisons stopped after Ewing became his own brand.

Obviously, he must have really hated when Ewing hit the three from the corner against the Celtics on the parquet floor back in 1990, or any other moment pre-millennium where NY had Boston’s numbah. Maybe he felt the need to make New England-ers feel better after coming thisclose to NFL history by renaming The Ewing theory after Tiki Barber.

Very cute. As cute as Brady getting the snot kicked out of him by the Giants D-Line.

You hate New York sports Bill, we get it. But hey, to be fair I have a sense of humor and found this effort to be hilarious.

That shot Ewing hit, much like the Knicks sweeping Barkley’s Sixers, became over-hyped via the NY media because the Knicks never went on to win titles and I understand.

But to flip it the other way and hype up a fictional theory about Ewing to irritate Knicks fans, seems petty. Petty because it’s inaccurate.

The following is an excerpt from an email sent to Simmons that he has has yet to respond to, written by the former star of “Brooklyn Bridge” and HAY-uge Ewing supporter.

If any of you know Danny Lanzetta, please send this along to him. I’d like to shake his hand.

“…There are other flaws in your “theory.” Before the Lang-induced injury, Ewing had missed 20 games in the previous ten seasons. So what is your “theory” based on pre-1997-1998? Just want to discount that entire body of work when there clearly isn’t a large enough sample to say whether the Knicks would’ve been better without him? (Ask Gerald Wilkins and Johnny Newman what they think.) And if your point is that post-injury Camby, Sprewell and Houston were more responsible for the Knicks’ success than Patrick, well, that’s debatable (we can go playoff game-by-playoff-game if you’d like at some point), but at this point you’re also judging Ewing post-injury, in the twilight of his career. (more…)

Just so we are all clear here, what we are trying to express here, in addition to giving you some inside information and knowledge, is that the ship is going in the right direction and that, as fans, patience is a wonderful thing.

Agreeing or disagreeing, as my dad would say, “is what makes a horse race.”

Information aside, I’d also like to think that we give you some insight to help you create your own thoughts, thus staying away from the trap many young sports minds fall into. That major outlets reputation for sports supremacy overrides one’s very own common sense.

Here are a few examples. I’ve been around this team for a while now, and haven’t seen one journalist, outside the NY market, there working on a “season preview.” Now, I’m not there every day, but my point is that the beat writers who are really have this group of Knicks covered and understand the team much more than an outsider looking in. Obviously, it’s impossible for magazine people to be there day in and day out, but I’m baffled at how many outlets can say that a team, who is playing much better defense and has a more structured and selfless roster, can possibly lose more games than they did last year. This team is better and will win more games against the average NBA teams, and there are plenty, this season.

Now, contrary to some belief, I am not waving the blue and orange pom poms. I am merely stating that it is in no way out of the realm of possibility that this team can win 36-40 games.

With that said here are a few pieces of “news” that I found pretty interesting today. One about the Knicks and one about the season, just to give you an example of how, as a fan first, the national media can make me shake my head.

Bill Simmons, who is a pioneer in this space and whose Atrocious GM Summit, to this day, is still one of the funniest pieces of sports ficton I have ever read.

That said, Bill’s take on the Patrick Ewing Era is well-thought, and another excerpt has come out because Sports Guy is promoting a book. As smart as his take is, like most of Bill’s reads, he is a gung ho Boston fan and here in lies the problem.

“…Knicks fans did their damnedest to talk themselves into the Patrick Ewing era. Everyone believed Ewing was the Evolutionary Russell, a destructive defensive force who would own the league someday. Only it didn’t happen … and it didn’t happen … and then it seemed like it was happening, only it turned out to be a tease … and it didn’t happen … and at some point everyone except for the delusional Knicks fans realized that it was never going to happen…”

Now as a Knick fan, I remember the Ewing comparisons to Bill Russell were made, but for those who know me know I hate comparisons for this very reason. Knick fans aren’t upset at Patrick for not winning 100 championships like Russell, they just wanted one. So when a player comes out and they are compared to a Hall of Famer what chance do they really have based on this example? (more…)

Patrick Ewing has been lobbying for the head coaching job with the Wizards, but ESPN is reporting that Washington is already in discussions with former Timberwolves and Pistons’ coach Flip Saunders.

“…Flip Saunders appears to be at the top of the Washington Wizards‘ coaching wish list, according to league sources.

While no deal has been struck, one source said the two sides have had preliminary discussions.

Approaching Saunders makes it clear that the Wizards do not plan to remove the interim tag on Ed Tapscott, their director of player development who coached the team for most of the season. Tapscott replaced the incumbent, Eddie Jordan, three weeks into this season after an injury-plagued 1-10 start.

Jordan, 54, helped the Wizards reach the playoffs in four of his five full seasons as coach but made it out of the first round only once.

Both Saunders and Jordan are expected to be part of this offseason coaching carousel. Jordan, several league sources say, is now a candidate to succeed Sacramento Kings interim coach Kenny Natt, who stepped in for Reggie Theus on Dec. 16 after a 6-18 start. Coincidentally, both Jordan and Theus were fired this season after disappointing losses to the New York Knicks…”

I’m rooting for Patrick to get a job, I just don’t know when it’s coming or where it’s coming from.

Clyde Frazier never received an explanation from the organization as he was unceremoniously dealt to Cleveland back in 1977 and we all know that Patrick Ewing’s battle with the front office, namely Dave Checketts, was the reason he was dealt.

Although jaded, the ever-classy Frazier ended up coming home to be an announcer and has become the ultimate and transcendent Knick. It’s hard not to like Clyde.

And to Patrick’s credit, he seems like a likable guy too, evident by his openly friendly exchange with Mike Breen before last night’s tip.

I understand the argument that Donnie Walsh knows what he’s doing and that there are no legit bigs to maximize Ewing’s talents here. He won’t be the head coach here…probably ever.

I hope he gets a head coaching job, but I hope that he wins that elusive championship here while on the bench much more. Imagine Ewing hugging players (maybe even his son) and waving to the fans finally a champion? That, to me, would be poetic justice. But it’s appears to be a pipe dream at best.

We know life isn’t like that all the time, if ever, so maybe Ewing’s days here are over, forever. I don’t want to think that but it very well may be the case.

I think Chris Sheridan sums it up best:

“…If his big coaching break comes, it won’t come in New York unless the D’Antoni era ends up being a disaster and he’s sent packing in the summer of 2012.

“Unfortunately, we never got to the promised land — but we came close,” Ewing said of his time in a New York uniform.

Now, similar things can be said for Ewing’s new promised land — a head coaching seat — with the one big difference being that the window of opportunity will never close as long as he remains patient, works hard and perseveres.

That’s what he did as a player, and that’s what he’s doing as an assistant coach, too, until the phone call that never came from the Knicks last summer comes from someone else, some day, somewhere down the road…”

It makes sense it comes in DC where he starred in college, but to me, his real home is at 2 Penn Plaza. Too much blood, sweat and tears.

“I’m not trying to needle anybody or tell them their business,” Van Gundy said after Orlando beat the Knicks 106-102. “What’s amazing is they honor the guy, I don’t know, every year. They honor him, but while they’ve got a lot of ex-players in their organization, they’ve never made any move to try to hire him. That to me is amazing.”  – Stan Van Gundy on Ewing. (finger point to P&T)

I mean, the guy is right.

Despite not having much chance to make the playoffs, there are still some storylines surrounding the Knicks.

Speaking personally, I’m agitated that Patrick Ewing is an assistant on another team. I’m tired of honoring the guy when he’s a member of another organization. He should be every bit what Don Mattingly was to that generation of Yankee fans, that is to say he should be the guy who played hard and for whatever reason just fell short of being a champion.

Clearly for Mattingly, it was his back and what hurts even more for Yankee fans is the fact that Donnie Baseball couldn’t hold up a few more years so that he could have been consumed by the Dynasty and headed directly to the Hall of Fame with a few rings in his back pocket. Sure, a strike in 1994 may have hampered DB’s real shot at a ring, I mean the guy was hitting .304 and bringing it at the time, but did the Yanks have any shot against the Expos had the season played out? We’ll never know… But, without question, he goes down as an iconic Yankee.

I use Mattingly as the example because, despite not playing that long in comparision to Patrick, can anyone name a better long-term New York athlete that didn’t become a champion over the past 3 decades? Curtis Martin? Nah, didn’t play long enough. And what are the ramifications on Ewing because he fell short?

I’ve said this far too often. Ewing’s greatness is overlooked. It just is. The guy got everything out of himself and his game despite the lofty expectations. No one worked harder and no one played hurt with more on the line. If you were asked to sign on the dotted line for Ewing’s career stats the day he was drafted you’d have to. Yet, as we all know, players are defined by championships.

Sure he wasn’t a media darling for whatever reason. Who knows why? And really, who cares?

The guy was a warrior who had us at the top of the conference for a decade and he’s been called the “Greatest Knick ever” by Clyde Frazier.

Please feel free to post your thoughts on Patrick.  The good, the bad…whatever.

Should he be a part of this organization? Will he ever? Why hasn’t he? Has the door closed on one of the greatest to wear the jersey? Are you tired of seeing him wave to the crowd from the opposing bench?

I’d love to hear what you guys have to say about #33.

The Knicks think the world of Herb Williams, but when you look at Patrick Ewing’s overall resume the Knicks should actively pursue bringing him back to his house.

Forget the fact that Ewing is the greatest Knick of all-time (statistically speaking), the work that he has done with Yao and Dwight Howard has been outstanding. Now, should the Knicks land themselves a big man, Ewing would be the ideal candidate. Or maybe he could do something with Cheikh Samb?

But Ewing is looking for a head coaching job, and wouldn’t seem to be interested in being an assistant for several more years, which is exactly how long the Knicks would want him to be here.

So with that in mind, it’s a long shot at best that Ewing would make a return here and that’s not even mentioning if #33 is still sour at the organization with how they treated his son this season.

It’s a long shot that the Knicks draft a big man project as well as they could use some help in several areas right away and lumbering big men don’t fit in Mike D’Antoni’s system.

Here is my first column on the NBA for SNY.tv, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

“…Apologies to Hasheem Thabeet, who I don’t believe will have an impact on the NBA — if at all — for several years, but there is a simple reason why the art of shot blocking has become almost extinct. Look at Yao. The guy is a polished post player, but it took the tutelage of one Patrick Ewing to get him to be in a position to be a post dominator. Now, if Thabeet falls to the Knicks and Ewing doesn’t have an NBA head coaching job, well, pencil Ewing to a seat on the pine next to Mike D’Antoni…”

Just a few thoughts, also, on the Tournament.

I like Eric Maynor, and as Alvino noted to me he looks like Marbury a bit, but I was disappointed by his performance against UCLA. Then I realized that Jrue Holiday, once Darren Collison was out with fouls, spent a good portion of the night guarding him.  Holiday is going to be something, although I hope for his sake he stays a year and learns more under Howland.

I’m not a huge Thabeet fan but if Ewing can get his hands on him fine. The question is, do the ties between Ewing and NY still exist, or does he get the head job in Washington? We’ll see.

I think Dejuan Blair could be a Craig Smith type. Undersized, no real position, but has a chance to be a solid NBA player.

Obviously, Patrick is one of my favorite players, but who knows more about getting dunked on than Ewing? Great spot by Snickers, who are always well-equipped with comedy.

Finger point to Gym Rat Mike K., who’s getting it done late at SUNY Albany.