Walt and family....

....as Halloween characters

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It's halloween time....

My family....

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My New Neighbor

I was walking down the street this past Sunday, observing that my fairly new white shoes were scuffed. I was looking at how deep the scuff marks were. Incidentally, I was on my way food shopping and was walking with my food cart. I was just a few blocks from home when I felt a presence standing next me. It felt too small to be a tree but too large to be an ordinary person. I stopped walking and looked to my left. I was staring right into someone’s chest. Now, I’m approximately 6’feet tall, so for this person to be a least a foot taller and much wider than me says something. As my eyes made my way up his body to his face I stopped cold. I looked at his face and realized who it was … Shaq!

That’s right Shaquille O’Neal, who joined the Celtics this season, was standing on the street corner, literally a foot away. There was no crowd, just me, Shaq and a guy moving boxes out of a nice SUV. I didn’t really know what to say, so, I just stared at him. I was a bit star struck. It was a little uncomfortable, but I’m sure something Shaq is used to people staring at him. He looked down at me and I looked up at him. There was a very long pause. Shaq then commanded me, “Don’t tell anyone where I live or I’ll kill you.” He pointed his long finger at me. Shaq then gave that goofy Shaq smile. I then explained to Shaq that I was Knicks fan who would be rooting for Celtics this year. I inquired if he the Celtics would beat the Lakers, as I was not a fan of the Lakers. Shaq assured me that the Celtics would win, “Oh yeah, you can bet on it” he stated flatly.

I then stood there while Shaq joked with the guy who was moving stuff into his place from the SUV. I didn’t know what to say so I just stared. There really was not much else to say. As I started to walk away I quickly grabbed my phone and snapped a few pictures (see above).

I wish there was more to the story, like Shaq and I played one-on-one a la the Dave Chappelle Prince Story. Or, Shaq invited me in for a beer and I hung with Garnett, Rondo, Allen, and Pierce. Or, Shaq inquired what type of defense I think the Celtics should use against the Heat. But, that was it. Just a Shaq sighting and a few quick words. I called a few friends to relay the story and continued on with my day.

The Hobo Con Queso Friends Series 2.1: WCF and MMG, the meeting

From left to right:  MMG, Melissa (?), Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and soon-to-be-named "Sparkles" in a classic "before-and-after" picture

The following is a brief history of how I met MMG, who is, in name at least, a co-author of this blog.

My family moved to Teaneck in the spring of 1985 from the neighboring Borough of Ridgefield Park.  I was therefore a new student more than halfway through the year of 3rd grade.  Another student, Jesse, also was new to school around the same time.  So naturally, Jesse and I became friendly.  But, I was soon to encounter what my 3rd grade mind perceived as the upper brass of the grade.

This strapping young boy who had a certain je ne sais quoi used to pal around with another boy named Andy B, who was a big academic competitor at that age for me, and sort of a friendly rivalry developed between us.  One day I was out in the hallway for some reason, and Andy B came by with this other kid.  Andy B said, "Walt, this is Matt.  Matt, this is Walt."

I looked at Matt who was glaring at me with contempt in his eyes.

He curtly said, "Why are you wearing a sweatshirt with shorts?"

I looked down at my clothes.  Indeed, I was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt.  "Why, should I not be wearing that?"

"Well, it's just a bit uneven."


With that, Matt turned on his heel and walked away with Andy B.  My father had often donned the sweatshirt / shorts combination for cool fall or spring weather, which I still endorse to this day - your legs are cold, but it doesn't matter if your torso is warm - so it's a versatile look.  I didn't think anything was wrong with it.


However, shortly thereafter, Matt and I started to develop a friendly rivalry as well.  Matt lived a couple of blocks away from the elementary school and we would hang out at his house.  Many ups and downs were to come...


______________________


To be followed by 2.2:  WCF and MMG, the Wonder Years

The Hobo Con Queso Friends Series 1.1: WCF and Daffy, The High School Years

From left to right:

Random Girl, Random Girl, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Daffy.

A few years and a few pounds ago (for both of us).

The following is Part I in a series of the history of my (WCF) friendships.  A while ago I wrote about needing ideas for things to write about, and doing a brief history of my friendships seemed to be a topic that interested a few of our many readers.

First, I will feature a three-part series about my relationship with Daffy, otherwise known as Glaffney, Traffney, etc...  Today's issue is Chapter 1:  The High School Years.

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The High School Years:

It was the fall of 1993.  I was a junior at Teaneck High School.  I was in Spanish II with a relatively young teacher, Ms. Torres.  She had little control of the behavior of some of the clowns in her class.

Among these clowns was a tall, skinny guy who sat in the back of the room.  Every day, he would wait until Ms. Torres started her class and then demonstratively fold his Bergen Record to the crossword section.  He would also crack up the kid who sat next to him by doing things like quietly, in his now-famous deep voice, say things like "1...2....red...penis...Q..." as the teacher would ask us to count, in unison, "Uno... dos... tres..."

As a restless teenager looking for any distraction in class, this guy intrigued me.  Despite never having done crosswords before, I started to bring in my crossword puzzle from the Bergen Record and do them each day as well.  One day, I sat near him in class and started to ask him things like, "Hey, what did you get for 38 across?"  We quickly became friendly.  He told me his name was Matt.

We started chatting and we found out that we both liked to play pick-up basketball.  I said, "Well, at the Jewish Center in Teaneck, there's a pick-up game of basketball that I plan in on most Tuesdays.  A bunch of guys come down and play.  Do you want to come with me?"  He did, and I brought him down to the gym.  In his first game, he made about 8 three-pointers.  We bonded right away.

Shortly thereafter, Matt informed me that his parents were going to Baltimore to see the new Camden  Yards stadium and were staying over.  His parents had permitted him to bring a friend.  Would I like to join him?  Yes, of course I would.  I went with Matt and his parents to Baltimore.  Being a girl-crazy teenager, I remember one incident from this trip more than any other - we went to the jacuzzi that the hotel had, and there were a couple of girls roughly our age in the pool.   We were too insecure to go talk to them - because what else would we do?

Anyway, we started hanging out often.  At lunchtime we would go to my house, as it was only a block and a half from the school, and shooting baskets.  Matt was on the bowling team, and I would go to some of his games.  We cruised around town together.  Joeislav, co-author of the blog, had been friends with Matt when they were younger, and the three of us soon started to pal around together often.   Matt started to meet my brother, Beer-on-the-Girl, and my other friends, and became one of the group.

Daffy enters my bedroom, one month before graduating THS.

The only wrinkle on our friendship in high school came during our senior year.  We each had a cheap car that we tooled around town in.  My car was in the shop and Daffy offered me a ride to my job at a dry cleaners on Cedar Lane, which Google Maps told me was 0.9 miles and a 16 minute walk.  Not too daunting, except that for some inexplicable reason I loved to wear these penny loafers with no socks my senior year, and 0.9 miles each way was a long walk in those swishy shoes.

I met Daffy in our designated place near the school, at which point I could tell there was a problem.  Daffy said, "Umm... my sister is getting a ride with us, and some of her friends wanted a ride as well."  I looked to see a couple of freshman girls approaching the car.  "No problem, I'll crowd in with them.  We'll be there in 5 minutes.  We can pack in for 5 minutes."  "Umm... well, I don't want them to be uncomfortable," came the response.  Incredulous, I proceeded to exit the car and walk to work.

We didn't talk for several days.  Daffy apologized to me, and we moved on with our friendship.  Being two 17-year-old boys, I understood the things guys each other in the name of chasing girls down.  We got over this issue and moved on.

As high school came to a close, Daffy and I remained extremely tight.  We were two underachievers, and as our senior year (and senioritis) came to a close, we spent more and more time together.  Daffy would sometimes cut whatever class he was supposed to be in to come to my gym class and play Ultimate Frisbee, as my gym teacher was his bowling coach.  Throwing Frisbees, it turns out, was one of his numerous, random talents that would impress me over the years.

The summer after we met, I invited Matt to join my family in Cape Cod to our annual week vacation in North Truro, Mass.  Daffy accepted and we enjoyed a week of teenage fun there as well.  Matt was amazing at doing things like skipping rocks on the ocean, building campfires, etc...  Matt quickly became friendly with my father and stepmother, and this Cape Cod tradition would continue for many summers to come.  Additionally, a positive relationship continued to be built between Daffy and my family.

As high school came to a close, we realized that we were both attending local colleges in the fall and planned on being around often in the summer following high school, and the years to come.  We would be thus be able to continue to play basketball at the park, go to local diners and fast food joints, chase girls, and just generally goof around together even after high school.

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To be continued in 1.2:  Chapter 2, The Late 90s: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Sports Are Great! But…

I have a few complaints about sports.

First, sports have become too overanalyzed. I remember growing up that there was a bunch of pre-post game coverage of the big games, like the Superbowl, NBA Championship or World Series. But now, there is pre and post coverage of every meaningless game of every sport. There a fucking million analysts with little to no insight. We need to stop supporting the mindless drivel of excessive sports coverage (Jim Rome)!

By biggest pet peeve is meaningless statistics. There are two types of meaningless stats that bother me. The first pointless statistic is the ones that point out the obvious. For example, you will hear an announcer say “The Giants are 5-0 when Eli Manning throws for 400 yards and the Giants have at least 5 sacks.” Really? No shit? You mean to tell me that when you move the ball up the field well and stop the other team you tend to win? Wow, what a revelation! The other type of statistic is the arbitrary one. Occasionally in some pre-game shit you’ll hear something like “When Kevin Garnett scores with 8 minutes and 5 seconds in the first quarter the Celtics are 9-4.” Great! So how the fuck does this provide an insight or strategy?

Another thing that bothers me is the weekly countdown to game time. I don’t need to hear more about the above useless statistics or watch some fucker in Indianapolis grilling hotdogs and cooking ribs before the game.

The post game analysis has gone to far as well. Sportswriters and broadcasters are always trying to make sense of the game. One team just scored more than the other, usually because they accomplished their objective in the game, and the other team did not. One team shot better, or got more stops, that’s it! We don’t need to hear more analysis, especially, in sports like golf. You either hit the ball in the hole or you didn’t. No need for analysis. Often, after a game some broadcaster will come over to Phil Mickelson or whoever and say “So, tell us about the shot.” He made a put! What more is there to know?! Phil or whoever will respond with some generic, “Well I know I have strong competition on my heels so I tried to focus and sink the put in order to stay ahead.” Really?! You mean you weren’t trying to miss? Great insight (fart noise).

Yet another thing that bothers me is the maximization of TV time. The NBA is the worst in this regard but other sports due this as well. We don’t need a week off between games so we can have coverage of games outside of our conference. The NBA wonders why the rating are down, it’s because they’ve watered down the product.

And speaking of watering down the product, the changes in sports regarding decreasing contact and increasing scoring suck! In the NBA you can’t take charge anymore. Also, in the NBA, if you foul someone above breathing on them it’s a technical foul. And on that topic, this roughing the QB and punter in football sucks as well. A guy is in midair, jumping at the QB attempting to sack him and the QB decides to release it. The defenders really don’t know what to do and often, tries to avoid contact. What is the defender supposed to do; change direction in midair a la the Matrix?

The complaining to the officials and excessive celebrations are too much! In the NBA players whine for 10 minutes (Rasheed Wallace) after ever call. It slows down the game and nobody cares. In football, a guy will make a tackle on a running back that ran the ball for 5 yards. Often, the guy who made the tackle jumps up and down, does something strange like pretend to churn butter, and runs down the field like he won the superbowl. Calm down! It’s the 1st play of the 1st quarter and you didn’t do anything that great.

I love sports! But this shit has gone too far. I know this post makes me sound like part grandpa Walter part Annie Wilkes, but I needed to get this off my chest.

New Jersey Dissected

Typical things said by New Jerseyans:

In South Jersey: "Where did you go to college?"
Me: "Rutgers - New Brunswick."
Them: "Oh, wow, all the way up in North Jersey, huh?"

In North Jersey: "I want to go to go to Six Flags, but it's all the way in South Jersey."

etc...

I am now 34 years old. I lived in North Jersey for the first 18 years of my life, in Central Jersey for the next 10 or 11, and South Jersey for the last 5 or so. People who have not lived in different parts of our great state, specifically in North and South Jersey, could generally use some clarification about the different regions of the state. So, I attempt to do so here. My ideas are open to suggestions and modifications.

I have divided the state into three regions which I will define: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. Then, I have further subdivided each region into 3 sections, for a total of 9 sections of New Jersey. Each has characteristics which I will attempt to describe as I define each region below.


North Jersey

Region 1: Northeast New Jersey

Includes:  Bergen County, most of Passaic County through Paterson and Paterson's western suburbs.

Characteristics:  Closely identifies with New York City and being New York suburbs. Most of area upper-middle class. Most ghetto area is Paterson but that isn't as bad as other ghetto areas of New Jersey. People tend to be suburban dwellers, liberal, and while being somewhat multi-cultural, most of the people with money are white.  People are fairly ambitious and having your kids get into a good college is a necessity.


Region 2: Northwest New Jersey

Includes:  certain portions of Western and Northern Passaic counties, Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties. Certain portions of Northern Hunterdon County.

Characteristics: Area still pretty rural. Some suburban sprawl has sprouted up in various regions along Route 80 as people who work in New York City want more for their money, but still primarily small townie. Mainly working class, white, and more conservative than Region 1. De facto capital of Region 2: Morristown.  Politically more conservative than Region 1.


Region 3: Urban Northeast New Jersey

Includes: Primarily Hudson, Union, and Essex Counties: cities like Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City, and working class towns like West New York, Garfield, and Belleville.

Characteristics: Generally ranges from ghetto to working class. Area somewhat urban and faux urban like all the towns along Bergenline Avenue. Racially very mixed.  Politically - liberal.



Central Jersey

Region 4: The Hub of New Jersey

Includes:  Most of Middlesex County and Somerset County, small parts of Northern Mercer County. New Brunswick, and large suburban towns like Edison, Piscataway, North / South / East Brunswick are all included.

Characteristics:  Large suburban towns (Edison is much larger than any town in Bergen County, for example). The Rutgers Campus New Brunswick is almost like the hub of New Jersey, geographically. People here lean more towards New York City over Philadelphia in terms of sports teams.  People also ambitious and into getting into good colleges, etc..., but not as "Type-A" as Bergen County.  A bit more of a mix of liberal and conservative people than Region #1.  A surprising amount of local industry in the Somerset County area creates a middle-class environment.


Region 5: Trenton Area

Includes: Princeton, Trenton, most of Mercer and most of Hunterdon Counties.

Characteristics:  Ranges from nice, less developed areas in Hunterdon County (surprisingly expensive to live there), to the historic area of Princeton, and the developed area of Trenton.  People here don't identify with North Jersey or South Jersey - in that regard, this is truly Central New Jersey.  Mixed between conservative and liberal people.  Surprisingly a large amount of local industry, like Region 4.


Region 6: The Jersey Shore, North

Includes:  Northern Jersey towns near shore like Sayreville, Marlboro, Freehold, shore towns like Asbury Park, Long Branch, etc... down to LBI. Toms River area. Primarily Monmouth and Ocean Counties.  Six Flags (Jackson) also included here.  Belmar, Sleazeside... you get the idea.

Characteristics:  More blue collar than region 4.  Many people are working class and don't go to college. While some towns are not on the shore per se, people identify with the shore area, bars that Bruce Springsteen sings about, etc...


South Jersey

Region 7: Philly Suburbs

Includes: Burlington and Camden Counties, Northern Gloucester County.

Characteristics: Your typical South Jersey people. Loyal, salt-of-the-earth people, mostly working class with some rich exceptions. Love their Philly teams ferociously.  Some newer suburban areas, some old towns near Philadelphia.  Not as type-A as Region 1, despite its proximity to a big city.


Region 8: Rural South Jersey

Includes: Southern Gloucester County, Salem, Cumberland, and Western Atlantic County, small parts of Cape May county.

Characteristics:  One of the poorer regions of the state.  Biggest towns are Hammonton and Vineland.  Lots of working farms, lots of small towns that look like they are in Deliverance.


Region 9: The Jersey Shore, South

Includes: Southern Ocean County, Eastern Atlantic County, most of Cape May County.

Characteristics:  Includes Ocean City, Atlantic City, and Wildwood.  Had to be separated from Region 6 as the shore cultures are distinctive.  Ocean City boardwalk has exclusively Philadelphia gear, for example.  Also included here are shore towns like Hamilton Township, Egg Harbor, etc... Casinos a source of income, but most people are working class and small-townie.

Teaneck Quote Game Part II

1. Give me three examples!
2. Get off my shoes, bitch!
3. What are they doing here?
4. I have no clue.
5. Them seagulls are dirty animals; all they do is sit and shit.
6. Come on Mohammed!
7. Brian?!!
8. Joey did it!
9. Max Steel get out.
10.Yeah, and one who is 5’10 and diesel.

The Worst Knicks Moves of the 2000s

Beer-on-the-Girl sent me a random article he found about the Top Ten worst moves the Knicks made in the 2000s, and while this is one random gie's opinion on the internet, nevertheless it's interesting to take this nightmarish walk down Memory Lane.

Recall that the Knicks were still good in 1999. In a strike-shortened season, the Knicks crept into the playoffs with the 8 seed, upset the Miami Heat on Allan Houston's bounce-of-the-rim-and-in running shot with the buzzer going off, and making it to the Finals with the Spurs and a young Tim Duncan trouncing them. Then, the 2000s started.

(By the way, for two gies (myself and BotG) that supposedly left the Knicks in our emotional rearview mirrors, we do spend a lot of time pontificating about them.)

Without further ado, the text from the article is below. I'm not sure I agree with the order, but nevertheless... by the way, in reference to #3, I love the joke that Isiah and co. drafted Balkman because they thought they were drafting Rolando Blackman.


10. Trading Trevor Ariza for Steve Francis

It's unfair to lay all the blame on Thomas on this one because it was Larry Brown who really pushed hard for this trade. New York had hoped that Francis was still one of the elite players in the NBA but when he came over to the Knicks, he was a shell of his former self. Francis averaged 11.3 points in his first full season with the team and was just another bad player with a bad contract on an awful Knicks team.

If that was not bad enough, Trevor Ariza has turned himself into a very good player. It did not work out in Orlando for Ariza but his career would finally get the jolt it needed when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Ariza's 2008-09 season, he played and started in a career high of 80 games and started in 20 post season games. He would be a huge reason why the Lakers would go on to win the championship last year as Ariza averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the playoffs.

Ariza is now with Houston rockets while Francis is no longer in the league.

9. Drafting Jordan Hill

Hill only lasted half of his rookie season with the Knicks. He would then be dealt to the Houston Rockets as part of the Tracy McGrady deal. It was quite possibly one of the worst drat picks ever and it had nothing to do with Thomas and Layden.

With the huge need of a point guard, New York elected to draft Hill over Brandon Jennings. While Hill was keeping the bench warm, Jennings had himself a fine rookie season as he led the Bucks to a playoff berth and became the youngest player to ever score 55 points, collecting the second-highest total for a player under 21.

8. Trading Nene Hilario, Marcus Camby, and Mark Jackson to the Denver Nuggets for Antonio McDyess, Frank Williams, and Maciej Lampe

An arguement can be made that this one of the worst deals in NBA history but that might be too much. Camby and Nene made up a great frontcourt for the Nuggets that made them from a joke to contenders every year in the West.

McDyess would not play one game the following mseason as he fractured his kneecap during an exhibition game and would instantly turn this deal into a dud.

7. Trading Channing Frye and Steve Francis for Zach Randolph

It's not what they gave up but it's about what they got. Randolph is incredibly talented and a dominant scorer and rebounder, but his off-the-court issues and personality kept him from reaching superstardom with the Knicks.

The only positive in acquiring Randolph was that the Knicks were able to get rid of Steve Francis in that trade. Although it was also the deal that sent Channing Frye to Portland.

Randolph just never mixed well in New York and would only be around for a year and a month. When I come to think of it, Randolph doesn't mix well anywhere.

6. Acquiring Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley

Scott Layden grew up thinking Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley were, like, heroes. Maybe they were, once. They played for his dad in Utah and helped the Jazz to go to two straight NBA finals. But that was when they had the Hall of Fame duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone.

Layden would trade Glen Rice and get these two in the deal. It looked as if Layden was trying to build a team with those two but all they did was take up salary cap space. They got paid a combined 11 million per season and would get their contract extended to five year contracts?!?

When you mention these two names, Knicks fan just cringe because they really represent how awful the roster was during that time.

5. Drafting Michael Sweetney

Another bust of a first round pick for Knickerbockers. He was never in shape to play and never lived up to his lottery pick status. Did I mention that he was just plain horrible and taken ahead of David West and Josh Howard.

This makes the Knicks look particularly bad right here and it just gets worse.

4. Trading for Stephon Marbury

Marbury was Isiah Thomas’s first major acquisition as team president. Bringing the Coney Island product home had earned him instant credibility with Knicks fans, and Thomas stuck with Marbury over the ensuing years of disappointment. His courthouse performance and deteriorating play were only part of the problem.

Marbury constantly feuded with anyone that was in charge of the team. During the 2005-06 season Marbury feuded with head coach Larry Brown. Towards the end of that season, the Knicks' poor performance combined with Marbury's public spats with his coach led to a severe downfall in Marbury's popularity.

There was a big incident that involved Marbury and Isiah Thomas. Marbury would suddenly leave the team after learning that Thomas planned to remove him from the starting lineup. There were reports that Marbury and Thomas actually came to blows on the team plane, and that Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for taking him out of the starting lineup. Following the incident and Marbury's return to the team in after the one missed game, Knick fans consistently chanted "fire Isiah" at home games and constantly booed virtually all of the Knicks, especially Marbury.

Marbury may end being one of the most disliked and hated athletes in New York sports history. It was a great move when they got him but not too shocking that it turned out the way it did.

3. Drafting Ronaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins in the 2006 draft

You knew Renaldo Balkman was in trouble when he was booed the second David Stern announced his name. The move is still being booed.

Balkman was taken one spot ahead of Rajon Rondo, who would have been a great upgrade at point guard over Marbury.

Mardy Collins also wasn't very good, and he was taken 13 spots over Daniel Gibson. To think the Knicks could have had a nice young duo with Gibson and Rondo makes Knicks fans even more upset. Rondo has become one of the best all around point guards in the game and Gibson continues to hit big three pointers for the Cavs.

2. Trading lottery picks for Eddy Curry

It's debatable but this move can be looked at as the one that has ruined the Knicks franchise.

If you try to convince any Knicks fan Eddy Curry was good because in 2006-07 he averaged 19.5 ppg i, they'll say that it not enough. Also, when you're 6'11'' at center, you should be able to average more than 6 rebounds a game.

Forget the fact that he was unproductive and frequently had weight problems.

To get him, the Knicks gave up Tim Thomas and two first-round picks in 2006 and 2007. Two first round picks??????

The picks became the second-and ninth-overall picks, respectively.

Basically, the Knicks could have had the duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah, rather than Renaldo Balkman and Wilson Chandler.

To top it all off, the Knicks have paid him 35 million dollars and are still paying him to be injured. Mike D'Antoni can't wait until the day this guy is off the team. He has no heart or desire to become a force in this league and the fans will be delighted when he is finally gone. A buy out of his contract should not be far behind.

1. Knicks trade Patrick Ewing to Seattle

The trade made the Knicks an NBA powerhouse to the laughing stock of the league.Patrick Ewing had one year left on his contract and the feeling was that the team would try one more run at the title with him and then let his contract come off the books. Instead, the team was scared that Ewing would become very unhappy star in his final year and didn't want to deal with all that drama.

So instead of gutting it out for one more year, the team panicked and made the move that is still hurting the team to this day. The trade was the Knicks sent Ewing to Seattle and Chris Dudley to Phoenix, and received Glen Rice, Luc Longley, Travis Knight, Vladimir Stepania, Lazaro Borrell, Vernon Maxwell, two first-round draft picks (from the Los Angeles Lakers and Seattle) and two second-round draft picks from Seattle.

In their first season without Ewing, New York was very competitive as they compiled a record of 48-34 and were the number 4 seed for the playoffs. But their trip to the playoffs was short lived as they were eliminated by Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors in five games.

New York would never finish above .500 since that season and made things worse when they traded Glen Rice after one season for Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley. So it turns out that New York traded their Hall of Fame center for two backups. Not a shock to anyone, the deal did not work out and the team has been trying to fix that mistake ever since. Instead of waiting out contracts to run out, the team just kept adding more salary and never gave themselves a chance to improve themselves.

I don't believe there has never been a deal that sunk a franchise so low for so long but that is exactly what happened. If you go on the street and ask 100 Knicks fans what they think was the downfall of the team, I promise you that 90-95 percent would point to this one move.