I remember the siging of Marvin Webster and promise of his talent would have along side McAdoo and Spencer Heywood.

Earl Monroe was still on the team.

Clyde was traded for Jim Cleamons.

Debussure and Bradley had retired.

Direct comparisons? Not really, but on paper a ton of talent that never came together.

Marvin Webster kind of reminds me of Chandler. Marvin had bad knee problems but was seen as a defensive stopper/shot blocker to help out Haywood/McAdoo.

Did the great Red Holzman forget how to coach or was it the chemistry of the team?

Time will tell, but this is what I fear. Big build up and a big thud.

http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=NYK&lg=N&yr=1978

Click on column header to sort

Name G Min Pts PPG FGM FGA FGP FTM FTA FTP 3PM 3PA 3PP REB RPG AST APG STL BLK TO
Bob McAdoo 40 1594 1076 26.9 429 793 .541 218 335 .651 0 0 .000 379 9.5 128 3.2 62 47 153
Spencer Haywood 34 1023 605 17.8 249 509 .489 107 146 .733 0 0 .000 206 6.1 56 1.6 10 29 87
Ray Williams 81 2370 1401 17.3 575 1257 .457 251 313 .802 0 0 .000 291 3.6 504 6.2 128 19 285
Toby Knight 82 2667 1363 16.6 609 1174 .519 145 206 .704 0 0 .000 548 6.7 124 1.5 61 60 163
Earl Monroe 64 1393 787 12.3 329 699 .471 129 154 .838 0 0 .000 74 1.2 189 3.0 48 6 98
Marvin Webster 60 2027 678 11.3 264 558 .473 150 262 .573 0 0 .000 655 10.9 172 2.9 24 112 170
Joe Meriweather 41 1053 391 9.5 158 313 .505 75 109 .688 0 0 .000 225 5.5 48 1.2 23 53 85
Jim Cleamons 79 2390 752 9.5 311 657 .473 130 171 .760 0 0 .000 225 2.8 376 4.8 73 11 142
Mike Glenn 75 1171 583 7.8 263 486 .541 57 63 .905 0 0 .000 82 1.1 136 1.8 37 6 64
Micheal Ray Richardson 72 1218 469 6.5 200 483 .414 69 128 .539 0 0 .000 233 3.2 213 3.0 100 18 141
Glen Gondrezick 75 1602 377 5.0 161 326 .494 55 97 .567 0 0 .000 424 5.7 106 1.4 98 18 95
Tom Barker 22 329 102 4.6 44 102 .431 14 20 .700 0 0 .000 83 3.8 9 0.4 6 7 20
John Rudd 58 723 184 3.2 59 133 .444 66 93 .710 0 0 .000 167 2.9 35 0.6 17 8 59
Butch Beard 7 85 22 3.1 11 26 .423 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 10 1.4 19 2.7 7 0 10
Ron Behagen 5 38 12 2.4 5 12 .417 2 2 1.000 0 0 .000 11 2.2 2 0.4 2 0 4
Greg Bunch 12 97 28 2.3 9 26 .346 10

Nalod - your perspective is invaluable.

The comparison between McAdoo/Spencer Haywood and Anthony/Stoudemire is spooky.

"Meet Bob McAdoo. The Buffalo Braves center-forward averaged 28.2 points over 334 games and wasn't even two months past his 25th birthday when he joined the Knicks to great fanfare in December 1976. Taking advantage of an ownership change and an impending franchise move, McAdoo cost the Knicks little more than cash—a far cry from the haul New York is reportedly sending to Anthony's former team, the Denver Nuggets.

McAdoo - a season removed from being named the NBA MVP - joined a Knicks team that was 11-13 under future Hall of Fame coach Red Holtzman. Legendary guards Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe were in their early 30s. Yet post-trade, the Knicks barely improved—finishing 40-42 and failing to qualify for the playoffs.

The reasons why McAdoo's tenure with the Knicks proved so disappointing provide little comfort to Knicks fans hopeful that a trade for Anthony will help them reach their long-sought goal.

While McAdoo remained a prodigious scorer (over 26 ppg), his inattentive defense drew the wrath of the Garden faithful. New York allowed a league-worst average of 114 points to opponents in McAdoo's one full Knicks season. He also had difficulty meshing with another high-scoring All-Star forward—Spencer Haywood.

Fast forward to today, where Anthony's great knock is his defense and fans wonder if one ball would be enough for him and Amar'e Stoudemire."

- Wall Street Journal