On September 22nd, 1992, Center Stanley Roberts was traded by the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Clippers; the Los Angeles Clippers traded Bo Kimble, Doc Rivers and Charles Smith to the New York Knicks; the Los Angeles Clippers traded a 1994 1st round draft pick (Brooks Thompson) to the Orlando Magic; the New York Knicks traded Mark Jackson and a 1995 2nd round draft pick (Constantin Popa) to the Los Angeles Clippers; and the New York Knicks traded a 1993 1st round draft pick (Geert Hammink) to the Orlando Magic. Smith was the key to the deal for New York. He was a proven low-post scorer, a strong rebounder and a player who could play both forward positions and backup center. He was also in his prime at the age of 27.
Smith’s knees were the only question mark. He missed 32 games last season with various knee ailments, and he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his right knee in October 1991.
In 49 regular-season games last season, he averaged 14.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG, shooting 46% from the field and 79% from the free-throw line. Smith is also known for having a 50 Point Game in 1990 as a member of the Clippers.
Mark Jackson was in the best shape of his career in the 1991-92 season and averaged 11.3 PPG and 8.6 APG. He was the National Basketball Association Player of the Week in late March, and he was one of the team’s locker-room leaders. Jackson was hurt by the trade, especially considering his ties to New York Basketball from his childhood.
Rivers averaged 10.9 PPG and 3.9 APG in 59 games with Los Angeles, and was expected to compete for the starting position in New York with Greg Anthony.
New York had to renounce the rights to free-agent guard Gerald Wilkins to have enough salary cap room to make the trade. Wilkins had an eight-year tenure with the Knicks, and this trade eliminated any chance the Knicks had to re-sign him.
The trade was made weeks ago, but was held up because Stanley Roberts initially vetoed the trade. His veto left three teams and five players in limbo. After meeting with Clippers’ officials last weekend in Los Angeles, Roberts changed his mind and the trade eventually was completed.
The reason Roberts vetoed the trade was due to the fact that Roberts signed a five-year, $15 million offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks in July, but the Magic matched the offer and promised Roberts that they wouldn’t trade him. A month later, that promise was broken.
The outcome of the trade is shaky for Los Angeles and New York at best. Jackson only played two years with the Clippers before being traded to Indiana for Eric Piatkowski, Malik Sealy, and Pooh Richardson. Jackson went on to become a Knick nemesis eliminating the Knicks in the playoffs in 3/4 playoff series.
The Knicks went all in with this trade putting them in a tough position in terms of the salary cap. Smith never lived up to expectations in New York. He will forever be remembered for his inability to score under the basket against Chicago in Game 5 of the 1993 Conference Finals. Smith had solid numbers averaging 11.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 241 career games with New York.
Doc Rivers was solid, but unspectacular for New York. He averaged 7.7 PPG and 5.2 APG in 99 Games. Rivers played a full first season with New York, but tore left knee ligaments in December of ‘93. This forced the Knicks to acquire Point Guard Derek Harper from Dallas who started on the Eastern Conference Champion Knicks, and the Knicks waived Rivers the next season.
Stanley Roberts was consistently out of shape. His first season with the Clippers was relatively successful. He averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. After that season Roberts’ play drastically decline due to injuries and weight issues. He was completely out of the league in 2000 after bit roles and quick stops with Minnesota, Houston, and Philadelphia.
None of the draft picks panned out in the league, and Bo Kimble played a total of none games for the Knicks.
Charles Smith:
"My knee is fine. We can definitely be considered a contender in the East. I can score. Patrick Ewing can score. Rolando Blackman can score. Tony Campbell can score, and we have a lot of weapons."
"Doc can bring leadership and he knows what it takes to win. Doc and Rolando are dying to get a championship ring. And Patrick, in my eyes, is one of the best centers in the league. Playing with him is any forwards dream."
On contract situation:
"Dave Checketts has committed himself verbally to me and I have basically committed myself to him to try and get something done. Dave and my attorney have spoken. I think we’ll work it out."
Doc Rivers:
"I’m thrilled to death. This is a chance for me to win a world championship. If Charles is healthy, and I hope he is, New York is getting a hell of a player. I played with him a couple of times this summer and he looked great. He can play small forward. He can play power forward. He can even play center. He’s an extremely versatile player."
“This is what every player wants: a chance to win a championship. We’ve got a shot.”
Stanley Roberts on his veto of the trade:
"I don’t like the way they handled it. They’ve known about this for a while and they didn’t mention it to me. They told me when they signed me that they weren’t going to trade me. They took me from a team I wanted to go to. They should have let me go. They can offer me how many deals they want. I’m staying this year. Whether they play me or hold this against me, that’s fine."
Lawyer of Stanley Roberts Oscar Shoenfelt on veto of trade:
"We weren’t even notified by the Magic that there was a possiblity of a trade until Friday. As of now, Stanley will not be traded. Anything’s possible. But Stanley usually means what he says."
Knicks Vice President of Player Personnel Ernie Grunfeld:
"It’s not very often that you have a player with Charles Smith’s ability become available to you. We feel very comfortable with our ball club right now. We have five very good players in our frontcourt. Maybe we can get another backup center, but we feel very comfortable. And the thing we like about our team now is that all our players are versatile. It was very difficult to give Mark up because of his leadership, and that was the toughest part of this trade for us. I know it must hurt him, being a New York product. Mark has meant a lot to our franchise and I feel for him. But in this league, in order to get quality, you must give quality."
Mark Jackson’s Agent Don Cronson on initial rumors:
"Mark is hoping he’ll be in New York, but if he goes to a club that will give him the ball and let him run the show — hey, that’s life. There’s not any point in me saying anything about a trade until it actually happens. Mark is in great shape and he’s getting ready for the season, hopefully in New York. But if it’s not New York, he’ll deal with it."
On official trade announcement:
"Mark is obviously disappointed in the sense that he was looking forward to playing with the Knicks this year. It’s always a shock when you’re traded, when a team, for whatever reason, says they don’t want to keep you. But having said that, Mark also understands the business end of it. It’s certainly no disgrace to be traded for three players. And he’s joining a young and talented group of players. I expect his feelings to become more positive as time goes on."
Orlando Magic General Manager Pat Williams:
"Stanley’s attorney called us this morning, saying that Stanley would agree to a trade to Los Angeles. We still didn’t have to make this trade, but after discussing our options, we finally decided to go ahead with it. It made sense for everybody. We wanted draft picks and from our standpoint, having both Stanley and Shaquille O’Neal here playing center this year would’ve been difficult."
Magic Director of Player Personnel John Gabriel:
"We feel we’ve had some tremendous success in the past college drafts."
Clippers General Manager Elgin Baylor on Stanley Roberts:
"He did not like the way it was handled originally. He had been told he would not be moved. He was angry, he was mad. He just had reservations about L.A. When Stanley got an opportunity to come out, once he got here and… got a chance to see the city, he loved it. That was his major concern, the lifestyle. He’s from a small city."
Rod Strickland.......
12/4/2014 2:27 PM