I will say though that while Chris Mills and Dudley sound pretty terrible, our team was stacked during that year and heading towards long playoff runs. We were two deep at every position except small forward and center, and Dudley and Mills represented quality depth. It was Childs/Ward, Houston/Starks, LJ/Mills, Oakley/Buck Williams, Ewing/Dudley. We were going for it all, so getting two decent veterans was a good fit and really not a terrible outcome.

Check it out here!

Brian Cronin: Good question, Z, I probably should have tempered that point, as it was more a matter being discussed in the newspapers at the time as being “from sources” (as obviously the Knicks are not going to say “we are trying to trade up!”). I was willing to go with it because, well, it just plain ol’ made sense, ya know? But I’ll throw in a qualifier there! Thanks for the pick-up.  

Good stuff, Brian. Definitely an instrumental (largely missed) moment for the Knicks recent history).

Total speculation, but if the Knicks offer #18 and 19 to move up, say, 1-3 spots, I would think they could have. But, not knowing what’s going to become of these guys why on earth would you be so anxious to move up a couple spots to make 1 risky mid-1st pick rather than hedge your bets with 2 or 3? Maybe the Knicks really saw JO or Nash or Peja as a can’t miss prospect and just couldn’t get up there because others also were salivating about Peja, Nash, Delk, and JO so wouldn’t trade down… but I have to assume the Knicks were more trying to get up to at least the 13 spot or maybe higher and just didn’t want to give away their picks to more up a couple of spots. That makes a lot of sense. In 20-20 hindsight, of course, they should have given all 3 even to move up one spot and take JO. (At the time I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded up and still took a “proven” college guy like Wallace, McCarty, Delk, etc… missing on the higher upside risks who panned out really well…)

Z: But the point was: the 1990s Knicks were not looking to draft high schoolers or Europeans.

I agree. However, it’s not 100% true. Dontae’ Jones was a JC guy with only 1 NCAA season and serious attitude concerns… a risky pick. So, with 3 choices in 4 picks the Knicks did take one risk… Say the Blazers take the Jones risk (in a prelude to their Qyntel Woods choice years later) and the Cavs still pick Z… maybe the Knicks do take the JO risk with their 3rd pick… Maybe the Cavs take JO and the Knicks Z… they did trade for Turkcan and take Weis a few drafts later. They were largely conservative, but not entirely.

Nick C.: JVG wa sloath to play rookies and I think Wallace got the plays no D rap

He never did anything in the NBA, though, so I don’t know how you can blame not playing as a rookie… JO, for example, barely played for several years and still managed somehow.

latke: John Wallace did not have a terrible career.

Wasn’t a particularly good one, either…

Nick C.: Z-oh wow I never looked at it that way, I thought they picked guys who were great or at least good in the Final Four.I never looked at it like they were too lazy or couldn’t be bothered to do much more than watch the tournament.  

I wasn’t being fully serious, of course. But the point was: the 1990s Knicks were not looking to draft high schoolers or Europeans. They didn’t want projects. They wanted people who could come in and fill a niche (the reason they traded most of their picks away during the decade). The few picks they made in the decade were all seniors from elite programs: Greg Anthony, Hubert Davis, Monty Williams, Charlie Ward, Wallace, McCarty, etc…. Wallace and McCarty were seniors from the two top college teams in the country and had just played against each other to great exposure in the NCAA finals (just across the Holland Tunnel, feeding the “too lazy” theory! :)

It’s really not a wonder that they went with those guys (and Jones too, who’d also pumped up his stock with SWMS’s run to the final four). With all the great players in the draft, though, I really do wonder what the Knicks’ draft board looked like that day. Maybe Grunfeld targeted John Wallace and knew he didn’t need to trade up to get him. (Or maybe he thought he could combine Wallace and McCarty into one complete player. That guy would have been great!).

(ps– McCarty is now an assistant coach with the Pacers. And Monty Williams is head coach of the Hornets. So the Knicks brass was clearly looking for high IQ, high character players in these drafts. So maybe Steve Nash would have been snatched up if he’d been available? Just thinking out loud…)

Thanks Brian. Entertaining as always. Just wondering, though, if there is any public documentation verifying that Grunfeld was trying to trade up, and if so, who of that crop was he targeting?

Good question, Z, I probably should have tempered that point, as it was more a matter being discussed in the newspapers at the time as being “from sources” (as obviously the Knicks are not going to say “we are trying to trade up!”). I was willing to go with it because, well, it just plain ol’ made sense, ya know? But I’ll throw in a qualifier there! Thanks for the pick-up.