New York Knicks: 10-plus years in free-fall with no signs of slowing

Confusing, hopeful and disappointing continued

Disappointing
On December 19, 2009, another fan-favorite would begin the process of leaving the New York Knicks. Nate Robinson‘s agent, Aaron Goodwin requested that the Knicks trade Robinson after the two-time dunk champion spent his 8th straight game as a $2 million bench warmer. Mike D’Antoni insisted that his decision to bench Robinson was not personal but Robinson’s agent believed otherwise.

It’s not hard to understand why Goodwin may have had that impression considering how upset D’Antoni was after Robinson sunk a 3-point shot in the wrong basket in a game against the equally terrible Nets. The shot wouldn’t have counted as it was after the shot clock had run out, but still, it was a pretty boneheaded move on Robinson’s part.

Confusing, hopeful and disappointing
On December 13, 2009, the Knicks signed small forward Jonathan Bender after he had spent three seasons away from the NBA with knee injuries. This seemed like another mind-boggling decision on the part of the Knicks’ front office.

Surprisingly though, things started out pretty well. Bender scored 20 points in the first two games of his comeback and would score 16 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 11, 2010. There was hope for this move by Donnie Walsh after all.

The disappointment came when Bender injured his finger on March 19, 2010, ending his season and ultimately his NBA career.

Disappointing
The Knicks would be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season in a loss to the Toronto Raptors on April 4, 2009.

Disappointing
On April 12, 2009, Dwyane Wade would add his very own 55-point game to the list of stars who would score 50-plus points against the Knicks in the 2008- 09 season. Oh, and also, that game was the Knicks’ 50th loss of the season. They would finish with a record of 32 and 50.