UltimateKnicks.com

Id have to say the 2002-03 Opening night roster was 1 of the worst NBA teams ever assembled.Filled with 8th in the rotation players with no chance of getting better. The team had no upside whatsoever. This was the year when I watched the fewest amount of NBA games. I can stomach bad but when your bad with not 1 young watchable player your team simply becomes well unwatchable.Wasnt this the team the tried to sell us on if we only had 2 stars these role players would look good.Any challengers to this putrid roster

49 Shandon Anderson F 6-6 210 Dec. 31,1973 Georgia '96 5
51 Michael Doleac C 6-11 262 Jun. 15, 1977 Utah '98 4
4 Howard Eisley G 6-2 180 Dec. 4, 1972 Boston College '94 7
32 Othella Harrington F 6-9 235 Jan. 31, 1974 Georgetown '96 5
20 Allan Houston G 6-6 200 Apr. 20, 1971 Tennessee '93 8
44 Travis Knight C 7-0 235 Sep. 13, 1974 Connecticut '96 5
41 Mark Pope F 6-10 235 Sep. 11, 1972 Kentucky '96 4
40 Kurt Thomas F/C 6-9 235 Oct. 4, 1972 Texas Christian '95 6
21 Charlie Ward G 6-2 185 Oct. 12, 1970 Florida State '94 7
35 Clarence Weatherspoon F 6-7 270 Sep. 8, 1970 Southern Mississippi '92 9
30 Frank Williams G 6-3 212 Feb. 25, 1980 Illinois '03
8 Latrell Sprewell

Mcydess was hurt

I think we have winner. Doleac did become useful for about a half season whe Marbury arrived working the pick and pop.

I tried to go back pre-Ewing, but then we had BK, so even going pre-BK, the worst I could come up with was:
1981-82
Name PPG
Michael Ray Richardson 17.9
Maurice Lucas 15.8
Bill Cartwright 14.4
Sly Williams 13.9
Campy Russell 13.9
Paul Westphal 11.7
Randy Smith 10.0
Mike Newlin 9.3
Marvin Webster 6.2
Toby Knight 5.5
Reggie Carter 4.0
Alex Bradley 3.5
Hollis Copeland 2.1
Larry Demic 1.9
DeWayne Scales 1.0

I suppose if I went back to when the ball had laces during the canvas shoe era I could find something that would be worse but highly irrelevant.

I would have to agree, your roster really sux. The only issue I have with your roster is my incurable Spree man love.

The added depression of this exercise was seeing that we actually got rid of Shandone Randerson at one point and then got him back again for a game or two.

That team sucked and was way over paid.....they still played hard though.....can't believe Scott layden hasn't gotten more flame for his job here. He might have been mentally retarded

I just wanna say bill carthwright was a 20pt scorer during his knick time. At least the team had that. Michal ray was a coke head head but....again at least they had that, lol

Alan Houston was a 20pt scorer too. But in the particular year I cited, Cartwright scored all of 14 pts while starting in his 3rd year in the league.

Scott Layden turned a perienal playoff contender to that in 2 years. If someone told me Scott Layden was hired by the NBA to destroy the Knicks I would of believed them.How many undersized Power Forwards do U need.I think this team had the highest payroll in the NBA it was like 90 million dollars. To be fair Mcydess was on this team but got hurt
The reason why im posting this is if anyone wants to complain about some of the Knicks move just remember this team.

That team busted its ars and I believe they overachieved to 37 wins. The only Isiah team that competed with that was the one next year after he traded for Marbury and before he traded Van Horn for Tiny Tim. Most of D'Antonis teams didn't top that year either, until we got Stoudemire.

Please don't feed us with nonsense because we have had 23 win seasons 3 times after that year, I believe.

Not saying that was a good year, for the record. We've had many worse rosters though.

Jmpasq wrote:Id have to say the 2002-03 Opening night roster was 1 of the worst NBA teams ever assembled.Filled with 8th in the rotation players with no chance of getting better. The team had no upside whatsoever. This was the year when I watched the fewest amount of NBA games. I can stomach bad but when your bad with not 1 young watchable player your team simply becomes well unwatchable.Wasnt this the team the tried to sell us on if we only had 2 stars these role players would look good.Any challengers to this putrid roster
49 Shandon Anderson F 6-6 210 Dec. 31,1973 Georgia '96 5
51 Michael Doleac C 6-11 262 Jun. 15, 1977 Utah '98 4
4 Howard Eisley G 6-2 180 Dec. 4, 1972 Boston College '94 7
32 Othella Harrington F 6-9 235 Jan. 31, 1974 Georgetown '96 5
20 Allan Houston G 6-6 200 Apr. 20, 1971 Tennessee '93 8
44 Travis Knight C 7-0 235 Sep. 13, 1974 Connecticut '96 5
41 Mark Pope F 6-10 235 Sep. 11, 1972 Kentucky '96 4
40 Kurt Thomas F/C 6-9 235 Oct. 4, 1972 Texas Christian '95 6
21 Charlie Ward G 6-2 185 Oct. 12, 1970 Florida State '94 7
35 Clarence Weatherspoon F 6-7 270 Sep. 8, 1970 Southern Mississippi '92 9
30 Frank Williams G 6-3 212 Feb. 25, 1980 Illinois '03
8 Latrell Sprewell
Mcydess was hurt

I enjoyed watching that starting 5 :

Ward
Houston
Sprewell
Thomas
Doleac

If McDyess weren't hurt, Thomas would have played center.

Not to defend Layden, but if you look at the roster he had to dismantle and perhaps understand the team at that moment in time then you might determine the era was similar to the two years MDA and Donnie were here and yielded very poor results.

The team went all in with Dice and it blew up in our face. What we have come to learn is Dolan is very involved with rosters as his input has been very notable over the years. Look at the Ewing's exit and the problem his contract became and the way it was handled. Poorly.

A newbie GM like Layden had no juice to act without Dolan's input.

Fans should bone up on the era to better understand. A few weeks ago a UK poster blamed Weis on Layden.

Knicks first year without Ewing they won 47 games. Camby plays 63 games. Pete Mikeal and Lavar are our draft picks.
http://www.basketballreference.com/teams...

The next is when Van Gundy gets religion and Smartly bolts. Team wins 30 and Camby plays 29 games. Draft not even worth metioning.
http://www.basketballreference.com/teams...

2002 gives us 37 wins. Its a disaster and team has no "Stars". 37 wins not bad if you consider the shit storm that was to come. Chaney did a good job with a limited team. This is the year we get Dice and it hits hard. I blame King Starphuch Dolan. See any draft picks? Nope. Nene was traded. THree years with not contributing picks on the roster. In my mind a neophyte like Layden does not make the Dice trade himself.
http://www.basketballreference.com/teams...

2003 after half the season approaches the proof of rebuilding exibits as the Garden starts booing and Dolan panics. Layden is fired mid season. Who fires their GM mid season? KNicks. Starphuch GM Isiah is bought in and the place is excited. Isiah drunk on the love fires Chaney and mishandled the hiring of Fratello and instead panics and hires Lenny. A nice safe pick but the sign of things to come.

Layden was fired within two weeks Marbury was traded for. It was said Layden had that deal on his desk. It was obvious that Dolan wanted Isiah to not just make that deal, but sell it and make it work.

It was a disaster.

The knicks were in a holding pattern and it was noted at the time that we were waiting for expirings to expire and the team was not going to make a panic move. The Garden was impatient and it was a dead era. This was the time to tank and go all in to a rebuild.

That don't happen at MSG does it? We go starphuch with Isiah and Marbury and most fans ate that crap up.

We have to lay blame so I put it on Dolan who over saw Checketts removal as his way of installing his influence on the team. Grunfeld made some nice deals on paper but Camby was weak and did not work in NY. Maybe Grunfeld wanted ewing gone sooner but Ewing who had worked to keep his space by removing Nellie a few years before was great at keeping the KNicks hostage and Dolan had to have the starpower marquee player.
Layden had a mess to clean up and Im just not sure at that time and place what else could have been done. The Eisley/Anderson deals were bad but the team had little options at that time. Dolan's influence remains thru the Isiah years and the Melo deal we all know has his mark all over it. At least we got a player in his prime regardless of the cost.

Dolan needed his star and Amnesty got him lucky with adding Tyson.

WOrst roster?

Pick and choose the worst record and you'll find there were 12 seasons in knick history that did not win 30 games. The 02-03 season we only won 30 games. It was a bad year but made worse by the "Panic" that ensued.

http://www.basketballreference.com/teams...

Worst had to be 1984....

http://www.basketballreference.com/teams...

At first I thought this said Worst Knick Poster

Bonn1997 wrote:At first I thought this said Worst Knick Poster

Centerpiece: Keith Still Born

jrodmc wrote:
Bonn1997 wrote:At first I thought this said Worst Knick Poster

LOL. That's really bad!

jrodmc wrote:
Bonn1997 wrote:At first I thought this said Worst Knick Poster

Ugh to those names crossed out...