Pat explanation for Knicks' salary-cap disaster
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider

If you go back more than a half-decade to the immediate aftermath of the Patrick Ewing trade, none other than Charles Barkley opined that the Knicks should be eternally confined to hell for dealing away a player who meant so much to the franchise.

Fast forward to the end of Year 1 of the Isiah Thomas/Larry Brown partnership, and the Knicks indeed find themselves in the eternal torment of salary-cap hell.

New York's payroll is projected to be upward of $125 million next season, and the Knicks have no possibility of getting underneath the salary cap for the rest of this decade.

Owner James Dolan has endorsed the string of trades that have brought more financial burden along with fewer victories, and there has been no sign whatsoever that the Knicks might stop perpetuating the formula of dealing off their expiring contracts for other high-salary players with multiple years left on their deals.

It all might have been different, however, if the Knicks had allowed Ewing to finish his career in a New York uniform. His $14 million salary would have come off the cap in the summer of 2001, and the Knicks could have dropped below the salary cap and rebuilt the standard way.

Instead, a litany of bad deals has flowed from the assets New York acquired in the Ewing trade, and that doesn't even include other deals that brought in cap killers Malik Rose (under contract for $23 million through 2008-09), Maurice Taylor (owed $9.7 million in 2006-07), Jalen Rose (owed $16.9 million next season), the $57 million extension given to Allan Houston that is now being paid by insurance or the sign-and-trade deal for Eddy Curry that will cost the Knicks their first-round pick this year and possibly next year (when the Chicago Bulls will have the right to swap picks with New York).

But beginning with the Ewing trade, the acquisition of bad contracts has snowballed. Here's a look back:

Sept. 20, 2000: Ewing is shipped to the Sonics in a four-team, 12-player trade for Luc Longley, Glen Rice, Lazaro Borrell, Travis Knight, Vladimir Stepania, two No. 1 picks and two No. 2 picks. At the time of the trade, Longley is owed nearly $21 million over three years and Rice is due roughly $8 million over each of the next two years. Ewing had asked for a trade after learning New York was shopping him, and former Garden president Dave Checketts acquiesced to his request.

Aug. 10, 2001: After he failed to fit in under coach Jeff Van Gundy, Rice is shipped off by then-general manager Scott Layden in a three-team deal with Dallas and Houston that brought Shandon Anderson ($54 million contract) and Howard Eisley ($28 million) to the Knicks. Anderson eventually took a $19 million buyout after feuding with new team president Isiah Thomas.

Jan. 5, 2004: In Thomas' first blockbuster deal, Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe and two first-round picks are shipped to Phoenix for Stephon Marbury and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. At the time, Marbury is owed more than $85 million and Hardaway still has two full seasons left at almost $30 million.

Feb. 22, 2006: Hardaway's expiring contract is shipped along with Trevor Ariza to Orlando for Steve Francis, who is owed $49 million over the next three seasons.

Summer, 2006(?): Thomas will try to find a taker for Marbury, with the Minnesota Timberwolves perhaps the likeliest destination for two reasons: (1) The Wolves need to placate Kevin Garnett, who wants talent brought in, and (2) the Wolves also have a bevy of the type of bad contracts the Knicks specialize in acquiring. A package of Marko Jaric (signed through 2010-11), Mark Madsen (signed through '09-10) and Trenton Hassell (signed through '08-09) would work under the cap.

yep, i personally think letting go one franchise player has given us the bad luck jinx ever since..

It's the other way around for NJ Nets.. Instead, they pick up a franchise player in Jason Kidd and it's been uphill for them..

They too, had let go a franchise player in Dr. J. and had to suffer until yrs later picking up Jason kidd.

I'd rather go with marbs then take back MORE bad contracts, which is everyone's explanation for why we can't rebuild and why zeke sucks.

How about we actually try to use patience and wait out the next 3 years? Marbs may turn around, brown may learn how to get through to this spoiled bunch.

Q rich may learn to shoot, Qwoods may not turn the ball over, Franchise and Rose play up to their all star history, the rooks take the second year by storm, curry shows up in shape.

You never know...