Also, they make me want to beat the ever living crap out of most of them. As if that would help. But it would make me feel better.

The only clear win trade they’ve made in the last 20 years was Oakley for Camby.

Before that it was Cartwright for Oakley.

The track record is horrible.

(But I’m still down with rolling the dice on Jimmy Butler, historical precedent and all…)

If I recall correctly, they had a deal all set with Turiaf and a second rounder with Washington to clear Turiaf’s cap space to fit Chandler under the cap and Dallas ultimately agreed to do a sign and trade where they would get a trade exception out of the deal, at least (and Rautins). In other words, the Turiaf and the second rounder were already gone and the Knicks were set to sign Chandler and then the Mavericks got involved, so I don’t really count that as a trade.

If they had negotiated it as a sign and trade from the beginning, that’s a whole other thing.

Bringing Chandler was also technically a winning trade, as it ended up being a sign and trade that sent a 2nd rounder, Turiaf and Rautins away.

But yeah, I guess that’s all, I can’t remember anything else. I guess I would count turning THJ into a first rounder a winning trade too, if we hadn’t given up on the dude we picked in like 2 years and then re-signed Hardaway, and maybe the trade that brought Willy if we hadn’t given up on him too for no reason, so there’s not a lot to go with.

Wait, I take it back. There were a few unabashedly good trades during the Dolan years:

1. Layden traded Sprewell for Keith Van Horn.
2. Isiah traded Van Horn for Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammed
3. Isiah then flipped Mohammed for Malik Rose and two first round picks, one of which became the illustrious Mardy Collins, but the other one became David Lee
4. Huh, do you count Tyson Chandler as a trade? I say no, but technically it was done as a sign and trade.
5. Phil traded two second round picks for Willy.
6. Phil got two second round picks for Prigs.
7. Perry and Mills did well in the Melo trade to OKC

I think you’d have to go all the way to before the days of Dolan, to the brilliant Camby for Oakley trade. But don’t worry, as soon as Dolan was in charge, his GM traded Camby and the #9 pick for an injured Antonio McDyess.

And of course, it never happens because there’s always another team who offers more than our garbage.

I’m trying really hard to think of a single clear Knicks trade win.