New York Knicks: How the hole grew deeper through the Isiah Thomas era

Another draft day disappointment for Knicks’ fans

When draft day 2002 rolled around, the Knicks had the 7th pick.

I know, it’s almost shocking. Not only did New York actually still have a first-round pick, but it was a top ten pick. Finally, the Knicks would be able to get some young talent to boost their roster.

With names such as Nenê, Amar’e Stoudemire and Caron Butler available to draft, this would finally be the change of direction that New York Knicks fans had been waiting for.

Oh, my bad. That’s not what happened at all. Instead, General Manager, Scott Layden traded that pick (Nenê) along with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Antonio McDyess, the 25th pick in that draft and a second-round pick in the 2003 draft.

Sigh

We’ve all seen one of those movie moments where some person is running toward the scary sound or deciding to investigate the dark, foreboding room in the creepy house… alone. And all you can think is, “This will not end well”. Yeah, I imagine watching the 2002 draft must have felt a bit like that if you were a Knicks’ fan.

Not gonna lie, reading the New York Times article about the trade was low-key heartbreaking. It’s just so… hopeful… upbeat… gushing even. Even though Knicks’ fans were demonstratively unhappy during the draft, Chris Broussard characterized this trade as the saving grace of the New York Knicks writing:

"The charge was to create hope, to maximize a seventh pick in a draft high on hype but low on proven commodities and give Knicks fans a reason to expect more than another lottery pick next year. That was the demand on Scott Layden, the Knicks’ president and general manager, in last night’s N.B.A. draft. In one fell swoop, Layden was supposed to return a small, aging team to playoff contention. He did just that."

Oh, Chris Broussard, you couldn’t have known what was coming.