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Basketball Fan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2004
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 Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 8:07 am Post subject: Don Nelson says suggestion to trade Patrick Ewing for Shaq cost him Knicks job |
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https://nba.nbcsports.com/2019/06/26/don-nelson-says-suggestion-to-trade-patrick-ewing-for-shaq-cost-him-knicks-job/
| Quote: | Don Nelson says suggestion to trade Patrick Ewing for Shaq cost him Knicks job
Don Nelson’s tenure as the Knicks’ coach was short. It lasted nine months. He took over for Pat Riley at the end of the 1994-95 season, coached the team to a 34-25 record, and was given the boot mid-season for Jeff Van Gundy.
Why? Nelson says it’s because he told owner James Dolan and the rest of management to trade Knicks’ icon Patrick Ewing for Shaquille O’Neal.
Nelson, now living happily in Hawaii, was on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” this week and talked about what went down.
Gumbel: “Did you really suggest trading Patrick Ewing?”
Nelson: “Yes. It cost me my job … I said, ‘You need to trade Patrick Ewing. And you need to trade him right away. There’s a guy by the name of Shaquille O’Neal that’s available, would love to come to New York. And we can jump in there and beat the Lakers out and get this guy. And we should do it.” And of course it got back to Ewing, and I was done. I was toast (laughing).”
Gumbel: “Why’d you wanna trade him?”
Nelson: “I didn’t think he had very much left in the tank. And he was one-dimensional. He was, you know, he was interested in rebounds and points. And that was it. And I thought that we could do better.”
Gumbel: “What’d Dolan think when you said that?”
Nelson: “He listened. But I got fired about a month later. So somebody didn’t like it.”
By the 1995-96 season, Ewing was 33 years old but averaged 22.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, and while his efficiency was starting to slip he was still an All-Star with a PER of 20.1. He would play five more seasons in New York and helped the Knicks reach the 1999 NBA Finals.
Shaq, however, was a 23-year-old dominant force just coming into his prime. In the summer of 1996 he left Orlando and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, where he and Kobe Bryant would eventually go on to rack up three rings together.
What would have happened if Nelson got his way? That’s for the writers of fan fiction, but it would have been a very different NBA. And Nelson would have stuck around in New York longer than nine months.
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numero-ocho
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Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 18222
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:17 am Post subject: |
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Thank god this didn't happen. In the end, I think it worked out for the best for all concerned. Even if Ewing didn't win a ring he's a legend in NYC sports. It's kind of ironic he ended his career with the Orlando Magic.
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"Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant |
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Bol
Star Player
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 4045
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| Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Shaq as a rookie was already better than Ewing. I can't believe Orlando would've made that trade although they were pretty stupid in playing hardball on contract negotiations with Shaq. Should've given him half the damn franchise. |
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activeverb
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Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Posts: 37470
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| Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Don Nelson says suggestion to trade Patrick Ewing for Shaq cost him Knicks job |
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| Basketball Fan wrote: | https://nba.nbcsports.com/2019/06/26/don-nelson-says-suggestion-to-trade-patrick-ewing-for-shaq-cost-him-knicks-job/
| Quote: | Don Nelson says suggestion to trade Patrick Ewing for Shaq cost him Knicks job
Don Nelson’s tenure as the Knicks’ coach was short. It lasted nine months. He took over for Pat Riley at the end of the 1994-95 season, coached the team to a 34-25 record, and was given the boot mid-season for Jeff Van Gundy.
Why? Nelson says it’s because he told owner James Dolan and the rest of management to trade Knicks’ icon Patrick Ewing for Shaquille O’Neal.
Nelson, now living happily in Hawaii, was on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” this week and talked about what went down.
Gumbel: “Did you really suggest trading Patrick Ewing?”
Nelson: “Yes. It cost me my job … I said, ‘You need to trade Patrick Ewing. And you need to trade him right away. There’s a guy by the name of Shaquille O’Neal that’s available, would love to come to New York. And we can jump in there and beat the Lakers out and get this guy. And we should do it.” And of course it got back to Ewing, and I was done. I was toast (laughing).”
Gumbel: “Why’d you wanna trade him?”
Nelson: “I didn’t think he had very much left in the tank. And he was one-dimensional. He was, you know, he was interested in rebounds and points. And that was it. And I thought that we could do better.”
Gumbel: “What’d Dolan think when you said that?”
Nelson: “He listened. But I got fired about a month later. So somebody didn’t like it.”
By the 1995-96 season, Ewing was 33 years old but averaged 22.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, and while his efficiency was starting to slip he was still an All-Star with a PER of 20.1. He would play five more seasons in New York and helped the Knicks reach the 1999 NBA Finals.
Shaq, however, was a 23-year-old dominant force just coming into his prime. In the summer of 1996 he left Orlando and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, where he and Kobe Bryant would eventually go on to rack up three rings together.
What would have happened if Nelson got his way? That’s for the writers of fan fiction, but it would have been a very different NBA. And Nelson would have stuck around in New York longer than nine months.
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This has been known for a long time. But Nelson had a lot of problems in NY. Players didn't like his up tembo scheme and they openly cheered when he was fired.
It's funny Nelson calls Ewing a one-dimensional player, since I always considered Nelson a one-dimensional coach. He liked gimmicks and fast-paced offense, but ignored defense. His last two teams both won rings a few years after he left. |
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