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NBA FAN EDITORIAL May 20, 2002
Scott Layden 101 - How to Create a Mess



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Have you ever had that feeling of impending doom? Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. For example, if you were a New York Knicks fan like me during the early 90s, you remember that feeling during the NBA playoffs when the Knicks were squaring off against the Chicago Bulls? If not, let me remind you. The Knicks might have been up by ten with five minutes remaining in the game and you badly wanted to exhale. The problem was, you knew Michael Jordan was somehow going pull off another miracle and send you away crying, looking forward to another long off-season. I'm pretty sure that fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trailblazers know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the same feeling that we all had while watching the Spurs carry a large lead into the fourth quarter against the Lakers numerous times, only to watch Kobe plunge numerous daggers into our collective hearts.

Unfortunately, this is the same feeling I as a devoted Knick fan feel approaching the NBA Draft. We are on the eve of the draft lottery, and something tells me that Scott Layden is itching to royally screw this up. Layden is about as inept at being a general manager as Oprah Winfrey and Luther Vandross are at losing weight and keeping it off. The Knick organization as a whole has made more horrible draft choices over the years than almost anyone. Yes, that includes the Clippers. Donald Sterling's problem is retaining players, not drafting them. Sterling and GM Elgin Baylor have brought quite a bit of talent to what is the equivalent of the Lakers jayvee squad. Sterling just won't pay them so they skip town.

Let's look at some of the magnificent draft choices that the Knicks have made in the past few years (Layden and pre-Layden):

1. Michael Wright

2. Eric Chenowith

3. Fredric Weis

4. John Thomas

5. J.R. Koch

6. John Wallace

7. Dontae Jones

Please don't make me continue because I might just hang myself from the halogen floor lamp sitting beside me. When you combine the bad drafts with the appalling acquisitions and free agent signings (Allan Houston, Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Mark Jackson) it's no wonder why the Knicks are a lottery team in salary cap hell. Layden is responsible for adding the highest paid third string point guard in NBA history (Eisley), another undersized power forward (Clarence Weatherspoon), and a slasher with a broke "j" (Anderson). When it comes to personnel management, Layden has shot more blanks than Bob Dole and Rafael Palmeiro combined.

The Knicks don't have to end up as perennial lottery participants like the Vancouver Grizzlies and Golden St. Warriors. They have some solid players, but they badly need to address the point guard and center spots. They may have a wealth of point guards, but none of them are any good. You know things have gotten bad when you begin to reminisce about the "good old days" when Greg Anthony was at the helm. The center spot is an even greater debacle. If I ever hear another person saying, "You know, if Marcus Camby can stay healthy this year...," I'm going to morph into "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, grab their head and proceed to deliver a "Stunner." Marcus Camby CAN'T stay healthy. It's impossible, so let's stop talking about it. Hopefully, we can ship him out as part of a package, maybe as part of a deal for an upstanding citizen like Shawn Kemp. The fact that Layden reportedly feels that Yao Ming is the answer to all of his problems scares me more than Michael Jackson being my full-time babysitter. Yao is at least a few years away from being a productive NBA center. Most other general managers described him as "another Rik Smits." Oh, that's comforting. It took Rik Smits years to become a decent NBA center. Smits also played his college ball in the States at Marist. He had at least played against some NBA-type competition. Yao has never seen competition like this. He's a jump-shooting, finesse center that the Knicks don't need. Something tells me that Layden is so deficient that he'd pick Yao even if he was described as the next Carl Herrera. My advice to Scott Layden: get a finished product. Guys like Jay Williams, Drew Gooden, or Mike Dunleavy will be able to contribute immediately, unlike Yao or Maryland's Chris Wilcox. I'm about as comfortable with Yao being the Knicks center as I am with house-sitting for Damon Stoudamire.

Layden is the main problem with the Knicks right now. He is a tinkerer, with a lack of vision. Men like Red Auerbach and Jerry West have vision. Layden just likes to tinker with teams, adding a few pieces here and there, hoping to get over the hump. If Layden is the man charting the plane to the Promised Land, we all better be prepared for a few layovers.

If you'd like to comment, feel free to send all responses to cdwoods@insidehoops.net

 

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