By Kieran Darcy
Page 2

When I went on the New York Knicks' Web site to refresh my memory about everything that has happened to the franchise over the past few years, I found it rather appropriate that the "History" section of the site only covers through the 2000-01 season.

That was the Knicks' last winning season. And as a Knicks fan, I've tried to forget basically everything that has transpired since.

But it's not that easy. In fact, I can't decide what's been worse.

The Scott Layden era? Highlights include: trading Patrick Ewing for a package including Glen Rice, Luc Longley and Travis Knight -- instead of letting Ewing's enormous contract expire; attempting to acquire every overpriced bad player from the Utah Jazz (see Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson).

Or the Isiah Thomas regime? Highlights include: bringing in big-talent players (like Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Steve Francis) who collectively have perhaps the least amount of chemistry in NBA history; acquiring his own fair share of overpriced (Maurice Taylor, Malik Rose, Jalen Rose) and overpriced and just plain awful (Jerome James) players.

Too (achingly) close to call.

Knicks: Past Five Years
Year 	Record 	Pct.
2006 	22-58 	.275
2005 	33-49 	.402
2004 	39-43 	.476
2003 	37-45 	.451
2002 	30-52 	.366
Last winning season: '00-'01
Last playoff season: '03-'04

All I know is, Jeff Van Gundy looks like a genius for jumping ship on Dec. 8, 2001, when the Knicks had a record of 10-9. They haven't had a winning season since. They qualified for the playoffs once, with a record of 39-43 in 2003-04. But they were swept by the Nets in the first round.

Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams all got a crack at turning things around -- with little success. So Isiah threw $50 million at Larry Brown, hoping the master of the turnaround could work his magic one more time. And in Season 1, all Brown has done is lead the Knicks to a 22-56 record, second-worst in the NBA, and one of the worst seasons in team history.

The Knicks do have some very good history. A couple of NBA titles. (Although those are a distant memory.) And a run of 14 consecutive playoff appearances from 1987-88 to 2000-01. Although the Knicks were never quite able to get over the hump during that stretch, stymied either by Michael Jordan's Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoffs or the Rockets and Spurs in the NBA Finals, it was a heck of a (mostly) fun ride.

So why are the Knicks the worst franchise in sports?

Because there is so little reason for hope. The Knicks can't just break the roster down and rebuild. There's no way they'll ever get under the salary cap and be able to sign a big-time free agent independently -- they're locked into several ridiculously expensive, untradeable contracts over the next few years. Their big-time coach thinks the team has quit on him. And he'll probably quit on them pretty soon, too.

And what makes it even worse for Knicks fans is that this team plays in New York City. In the World's Most Famous Arena. The spotlight always will shine on them -- for better, or worse. And the fact that they have the highest payroll in the NBA -- by more than $25 million -- and have the second-worst record in the league is an absolute embarrassment.

The biggest insult of all? The Knicks -- the franchise that was once reborn by having Patrick Ewing placed in their laps in the first NBA draft lottery -- would have had a ton of ping-pong balls in this year's lottery. They would have had a pretty good chance at snagging the No. 1 pick again.

But instead, they traded that pick -- to the Chicago Bulls, ironically -- for an overrated center with a heart condition who's currently spending most of his time on the pine.

I think it's about time I took "Go New York, Go New York, Go" off my iPod.

JVG was on the same page as Bip and saw the writing on the wall. He saw that the players were in control and not him and he knew it was a matter of time before he was scapegoated and fired. Very similar to LB's situation. It's scary that our organization continues to do the same things over and over again.

Well hopefully we can fire the coach and then recycle this roster into career losers who's contracts extend until 2015. I mean if we are going to be this bad let's at least be the worst at being the worst. Let's break all kinds of records.

It still amazes me how many fans think by firing one guy or trading one player it's going to turn it all around. Its' so sad.

Posted by fishmike:

The only difference between Isiah and Layden are their styles of mismanagement. They are both equally effective however.

to be fair, Isiah's a much better judge of young talent than Layden was... Mike Sweetney, Maciej Lampe & Milos Vujanic... nuff said... Isiah got more mileage by signing guys out of the CBA on 10 day contracts... his draft choices of Frye, Nate & Lee all look to be developing into quality NBA talent, & Jackie Butler was another good signing... that separates him from Layden in my view, though the rest of his roster moves have left much to be desired, i'll give you that.

yeah, it's weird how this talent hasn't been able to gel at all... maybe if we unloaded some of the spoiled, overpaid veterans on this team who are more concerned about their minutes & #'s than on getting W's, that would change things? only 1 way to find out.