10 NBA Players NY Knicks Fans Wish Were Never Associated with the Team

As a New York Knicks fan, I can safely say that most of the last decade has been a dark period for the franchise.  This era was dominated by bad front office decisions, in-house drama and some players who were just plain bad.  The sad part is that said players could be named as the primary reason the team underachieved for so long and is only just getting back into prominence.

One name that sticks out to me among the players that fans would rather forget ever played in New York is that of point guard Stephon Marbury, who was a total head case that only cared about himself and not the good of the team.  In fact, the years that Marbury was a Knick were the darkest of the days.

That being said, let's have our own little therapy session and discuss 10 players that we Knicks fans wish were never associated with the team.

No. 10: Luc Longley

Though most NBA fans may remember him as the center for three Chicago Bulls championship teams, Knicks fans best remember Luc Longley as an Australian center who got dumped on the team following the four-team trade that sent fan favorite Patrick Ewing to the Seattle SuperSonics.  Already on the decline, Longley did not turn many heads in New York.

In his lone season with the Knicks, Longley averaged just two points and 2.6 rebounds per game.  Knee and ankle injuries limited him to 25 games and 12 minutes per contest.  Sure enough, his ailing ankle forced him to retire after just one year with the team.  The hole at center that season reminded fans just how much they missed Ewing.

No. 9: Shandon Anderson

The acquisition of Shandon Anderson is what I believe to be the beginning of the undoing of the Knicks.  The Houston Rockets sent him to New York in exchange for electrifying three-point shooter Glen Rice, who had been solid off the bench in one season for the team.  I'm guessing that then-GM Scott Layden thought that the younger Anderson could easily replace Rice.

Rather, Anderson was the opposite.  His shooting was inconsistent at best and he averaged just 7.1 points per game in three seasons with the Knicks.  Looking at his stat sheet, one can only ask, "Why?"

No. 8: Clarence Weatherspoon

The New York Knicks pursued Clarence Weatherspoon in the 2001 offseason due to a need for tough defense.  Sure enough, the 6'7" and 265-pound forward agreed to a deal worth $27 million over five years.  The previous season, he had averaged 11.3 points and 9.7 rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Yet, Weatherspoon was not in top shape at any point of his two-plus years with the Knicks.  He averaged 8.8 points and 8.2 boards his first season in New York, but quickly regressed the next year, and in the third year of his deal, his talents had reached such a low that team management traded him to the Houston Rockets.

He may not have been the worst player to ever be part of the team, but he was certainly not the image of toughness fans and team management hoped he would bring to New York.

No. 7: Steve Francis

Here we have a deal that was one of many horrible ones made by former Knicks GM Isiah Thomas.  Looking to give some extra juice to the lineup, Thomas traded guard Penny Hardaway and popular second-year forward Trevor Ariza to the Orlando Magic for volatile guard Steve Francis.

Sure enough, Francis was just the way he was on his previous teams: moody and underachieving.  In a season-and-a-half, he was nowhere near the electrifying guard he was out of college and just looked lackadaisical on the court.  To add insult to injury, he also struggled with his conditioning.

No matter how you look at it, having Francis and Stephon Marbury on the same team together was just a bad idea.

No. 6: Renaldo Balkman

New York Knicks fans hated Renaldo Balkman from the moment Isiah Thomas drafted him with the 20th pick in the 2006 draft.  Why did he get such treatment?  Well, allow me to list some of the players that were drafted behind him: Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry and Paul Millsap.

Sure enough, Balkman didn't pan out as Thomas hoped he would.  He struggled just to get minutes and was traded to the Denver Nuggets barely two years into his career before being sent back to New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade last season.  This time, however, team management did not make the mistake of actually giving him playing time.

No. 5: Micheal Ray Richardson

Many of you have probably never heard of Micheal Ray Richardson.  He was a talented guard who spent the first four years of his career with the Knicks.  In that time, he averaged 14 points, seven assists and an astounding 2.5 steals per game.

Yet, Richardson suffered from a horrific cocaine addiction that ultimately led to him being banned from the NBA for life.  Instead of taking the rap for it, he accused the NBA of racism on the argument that Chris Mullin had not been disciplined for his alcoholism.

He was not the worst player on the Knicks by any means, but his attitude makes some wish he had never crossed through the doors of MSG.

No. 4: Malik Rose

When the Knicks traded an effective center in Nazr Mohammed to acquire an overpaid bench player in Malik Rose, I was livid. 

Here was a guy in the middle of a seven-year deal worth $42 million, and he was only getting that much money because of his supposed defensive toughness.

Um...OK. I understand that players with that skill are valuable on any team, but are they really deserving of $6 million a year? 

Keep in mind, it was contracts like these that led to the current NBA lockout.

In fact, I'll let you be the judge. Take a look at Rose's career stats and try to find just what he did that was deserving of a contract that caused tons of salary cap woes for the Knicks.

No. 3: Stephon Marbury

Stephon Marbury is, quite possibly, the most frustrating player to ever be part of the Knicks. 

On paper, his stats may seem impressive—yet this man was the picture definition of clubhouse cancer during his time with the team.

Here is a man who drove one Hall of Famer in Lenny Wilkens out of town, then proceeded to do it again the following year when he clashed with Larry Brown. 

Ready for the crazy part? 

Marbury resented Brown's requests to improve his defense and pass the ball so much that he actually requested a move to shooting guard.

Things fared no better once Isiah Thomas took over the reins, as Marbury's selfishness reached new heights. In 2008, he got into a heated exchange with Thomas upon being removed from the starting lineup, then left the team. Later that year, he had season-ending surgery on his injured ankle—an operation deemed unnecessary by the team.

Marbury went from All-Star guard to All-Star benchwarmer once Mike D'Antoni came to town, and after he refused minutes offered to him when the team was shorthanded, Marbury was banned from all contact with the Knicks and subsequently bought out before signing with the Celtics. 

Most recently, he was playing in China.

No. 2: Eddy Curry

When the Knicks traded for Eddy Curry in 2005, fans had mixed feelings. 

Curry had great size at 7'0" and a listed weight of 285 pounds, but his athleticism had always been an issue.

To make matters worse, Isiah Thomas signed Curry to a $60 million extension after the trade.

Sure enough, while he showed flashes of top production, Curry was largely an underachiever in New York. He never made much of an effort on the defensive side of the court, and reported to training camp overweight and out of shape on more than one occasion. 

Throw in some chronic knee injuries, and this deal was definitely a mistake.

Still not convinced? 

Well, look at it this way: Over the past four seasons, Curry has played in just 69 games.

His contract prevented the front office from making any moves, and his play was uninspiring, so fans definitely breathed a collective sigh of relief when Curry was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Carmelo Anthony trade last season.

No. 1: Jerome James

At the top spot on our list, we have a contract that never should have happened—period. 

Isiah Thomas fell in love with Jerome James after the 7'1" center averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 11 postseason games for the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2004-2005 playoffs.

Now, I'll say this: Those numbers are decent, but they're nowhere near what someone James' size should be averaging.

Still, Thomas gave James a five-year contract worth $30 million and, needless to say, this was a horrible investment. James only lasted four seasons in New York before being traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2009. Over that stretch, he appeared in just 91 games and never averaged more than nine minutes per contest.

If we were looking for a contract that was the primary reason for all the Knicks' salary cap problems in the 2000s, this one might be the winner.