In a recent chat with Clippers swingman Paul George, 17-year NBA veteran Zach Randolph revealed some details on the end of his time with the Knicks. According to Z-Bo, the team thought they would be able to lure LeBron James in the summer of 2010 and it led them to trade away several core pieces of their team.
“They thought LeBron was coming to New York and LeBron was never coming to New York,” said Randolph on Podcast P. “And they done traded their whole team.”
LeBron had the NBA in a chokehold with “The Decision” 😂@PrizePicks pic.twitter.com/YB9rqWaonN
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) June 4, 2024
The Knicks had a solid roster in the 2007-2008 season that included veterans such as Randolph, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, and Stephon Marbury. But in the following campaign, the Knicks would trade many of their best players to make room for James. Zach was one of them as part of a package that sent him to the Clippers in exchange for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas.
“They got rid of me, they got rid of Jamal, they got rid of everybody,” said Zach. “As we like, damn… we was hooping!”
Randolph, a 2x All-Star, has fond memories of his time with the Knicks, where he averaged 18.0 points per game, but they didn’t find much success while he was on the team. After winning just 23 games in the 2007-08 campaign, the Knicks managed to win just 32 in the next season (2008-2009) — again near the bottom of the standings.
LeBron’s decision wasn’t until a few years later but the Knicks went out of their way to create the space for him and trading Randolph was a part of it. By the time the summer of 2010 rolled around, the Knicks thought they had everything to successfully recruit LeBron but they failed miserably with a wild free agent pitch based on ‘The Sopranos’
James went to the Heat instead that summer where he would go on to win five championships. Had the Knicks realized they never had a chance from the start, they probably would have been better equipped to build around 10x NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony. But I think hanging onto that false hope and trading the farm for a guy who never came, was one of the things that set the Knicks back for so long.
Paul George Says The Formation Of The “Big Three” Made Him Rethink Everything
The Indiana Pacers didn’t have to worry about trying to lure LeBron James, a 5x NBA champion, in 2010, but (like every Eastern Conference team) they did have to worry about battling against his new superteam regularly. At the time of the King’s big move, Paul George was still in the East as a rising star with the Pacers.
As he explained on his podcast, LeBron’s announcement that summer changed everything for him and he didn’t know how to react.
“I’m watching that getting ready to come into the league and so with my rookie year I’m like d*mn. LeBron, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade,” said George. “And I’m in the East? I gotta deal with this? That was a big decision for me!”
As a superstar and multiple-time MVP in his prime, teams were lining up with fringe hopes of assigning LeBron James that year. In reality, only two teams relay had a chance to sign the 6’9″ swingman and he had already made up his mind to side with the Heat weeks before free agency.
Looking back, it’s hard to say that LeBron would have any regrets over how it’s played out but the same cannot be said for the Knicks. As good as things are now, I think it’s safe to say they made a serious mistake with how they operated leading up to LeBron’s free agency.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
