The Knicks remain without a backup center. Plus, Ray Marcano kicks off our annual Summer Friday series with a look at where OG Anunoby's tip ranks in NBA and NYC sports history.
On to a topic I’ve been working thinking about non-stop, how about the Knicks trade Deuce and a second round pick for Kel'el Ware? This past season, Ware in 22 minutes a game, averaged 11 points, 7 rebounds, and a shade over 1 block per game. And, he shot just a shade under 40% from three on an average of 3 three-point shots per game.
I've seen this suggested in a few places, and I guess I'd be shocked if the Bucks dealt away the prize from the Giannis trade (and also, my guess is War wouldn't be thrilled about playing 15-20 minutes a game)
He was only playing 20 minutes in Miami and is behind Myles Turner. Though it would be a surprise if Turner was not traded. He would be a nice fit on the Nets or Utah.
Add a first and we have a shot. Them sharks smell blood in the water. Mr Macri was subtle in telling you that Messi may not be as vital to the Pelicans as they claim, but what else do you expect. I trust our front office will not panic. It’s us Knick Nuts who are ready to trade all our assets for Messi or Diabate.😱
Correct. Never shop hungry. But you do need to shop. The Messi thing was really funny. Yeah, the world champions are “feverishly” trying to acquire Yves Messi. The Knicks have until October to find a backup center or two so I’m not concerned.
I want Ware also. He would make me very, very happy. I like him considerably more than Missi. But I think you have to be talking about the one number one we have to trade and even possibly a pick swap. An expiring Deuce and even a truckload of number twos is unlikely to move the needle.
We keep hearing just trust Leon, but losing 3 centers in a week with no backup in sight is disconcerting. Drafting Ugonna Onyenso & immediately selling his rights to the Pistons was short sighted. Thinking they could shortchange Hukporti financially & still keep him was also short sighted. Seems Missi was their backup plan if Mitch left and that seems to have backfired. I'm all for allowing Leon & Company some time to correct this, but the options seem very limited right now.
I still have animosity for how LBJ strung along the Knicks before "The Decision", but if they could bring him on a vet minimum, go for it! I don't know if he'd want to come here to be reminded he didn't have the balls to come here & try to be the Knicks savior, when Jalen Brunson did! Guess we'll see!
As someone who spent more than half their life teaching U.S. History & things like Separation of Powers, Checks & Balances, An apolitical Supreme Court, The Bill of Rights & all branches of government putting the people first, personally it's hard for me to celebrate our 250th Birthday as all these things do not exist in 2026. All the things the Founding Fathers put in the Declaration of Independence & later The Constitution have been stripped away by this President, Congress & Supreme Court. The Rule of Law is constantly ignored. I remember our 200th Birthday & it was a huge celebration. Political affiliations were put aside, we were all Americans (only one other time can I remember We the People coming together as one and that was after 9/11). Everyone was simply proud to be an American! There's a large amount of Americans that are ambivalent to this celebration because it is no longer an US celebration but a ME celebration. Now, many of you will still enjoy the day- family, the barbeques, the swimming pools, the fireworks & you certainly should. But, if you want to see all the things I mentioned above, practiced again, November can be our celebration day. We need a balance in government, as when one party controls everything, We the People get nothing! Sorry for getting on my soapbox, but as tomorrow approaches, what should have been and what is are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I truly want to see the ideals of our Founding Fathers be part of our country once again!
P.S. I was at the Chambliss walk off home run (before it was call a walk off). Couldn't drive out of the Bronx until around 5:00 A.M. as all the streets were blocked with Yankee fans celebrating the first World Series since 1964.
P.P.S. I think a little more attention should have been given to the Tyree Helmet Catch & the Giants win in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots entered the game 18-0 & no one (except Giants fans) gave the Giants a chance. Patriots were favored by 12 to go 19-0, but they finished 18-1!
Thank you for the memories. Luckily Ray and I know men like us of a certain age, I was at three of the events and nothing compared to the OG shot. I was a Yankee fan but was at the Buckner game and I must admit that's right up there; the Boone shot, I was in seats up so high at Yankee Stadium that you could touch the façade four rows from the top. My view was a line drive . The OG shot, not even close. All the wonderful sports moments including the seventh game in person of the Stanley Cup this was by far the most iconic moment I ever remembered being at that matter ever remember. Have to say the 55 points by Michael Jordan in person was pretty astonishing but again nothing like the OG shot when I believe the collective 17,000- 18,000 fans made the shot.
I was just to the left of the foul pole field level..great moment!
My favorite hockey player.. the legendary Mike Bossy had two such moments in the Islanders sweep of the Canucks for their 3rd Cup in 1982. He scored an OT goal with 2 seconds left to cap off a hat trick in Game 1 and then an iconic goal in Game 3 when he was in midair.. amazing!
As Katsumoto said at the end of The Last Samurai, “ they are all, all perfect “. I would hate to rank them, because each one’s memory made me smile ( except Petit’s shot; I was only 7 ). The Mays catch and throw was before that, but I’ve seen the film a thousand times and both photos hung in my office for years. The helmet catch, as well as Eli’s throw hung in my home. However if I had to choose one it is the Buckner miscue because of the circumstances.I attended game six of the series with my wife, my accountant’s wife and her 7 year old son. In the top of the 10th when Henderson hit the go ahead home run, the 7 year old burst into tears and pronounced, “ it was a cheap home run. It should only count as a double “. Seeing that emotion flip to pure elation ( thanks Bill Buckner ) has stayed with me forever.
I’ve been thinking about this for 3 weeks now, knowing exactly what I know now, specifically the fact that the Knicks won the game, how would I prefer to play out at the end of game 4 - the sequence goes exactly the way it went, or an alternate reality where Jalen makes the long jumper over Wemby?
If all else was equal, I think I would prefer Jalen to have another insane moment, perhaps his most insane. It would further build on his finals mvp legacy. But all things are not equal! If Jalen’s shot goes in, there’s probably just over 2 seconds left in the game, and the Spurs are down 2. Do they go for the win? Do they run the same play they did and go for the tie? Does Mike Brown still have two bigs on the floor with an actual incentive for the spurs to win the game with a 3? Does an inbound pass still get tipped? What percentage chance do we still win the game?
I think I’m letting things ride the way they played out, and the OG moment was truly insane. Part of me always wants that extra Brunson moment, though.
A few moments/performances that could be in consideration for the list, which was really good. I recently had an argument with someone about the Mays catch that actually said it was overrated, which is completely insane.
Richter stopping Bure’s penalty shot in Game 4 of the 94 SCF.
Messier natural hat trick of the 1994 ECF Game 6 that forced the Game 7.
Everyone should prepare themselves for the Knicks to sign Looney and address this in season. 1$ mpg of regular season backup center minutes will not be the deciding factor of next season.
As to the shot: it's first followed by the helmet catch followed by Buckner. Ruth's called shot may be first but it's too long ago now.
I would also add Trent Tucker's game winning 3 pt. shot against the Chicago Bulls on January 15, 1990 with 0.1 second left on the clock resulting in the Knick winning 109 - 106. That shot resulted in the Trent Tucker rule requiring at least 0.3 seconds on the clock for a last moment shot to count.
My thought is that we have to fill 3 roster spots with 3 vet minimums. We probably told Looney, Drummond and Richards that the first one to say yes to the minimum gets it + we are holding a spot for LeBron and a spot for Clarkson.
In terms of Missi, I think the Pelicans must be getting annoyed that the Celtics fans keep trying to propose trades for him for 1 FRP when Mikal went for 5 and Bane went for 3. Wonder if we see the Celtics trade PG to the Warriors for Butler and a FRP as part of the Warriors plan to get LeBron. The C's would then have enough ammo to go get Murphy. After that happens, they may be willing to listen to us on Missi.
I was in the stands for Boone and OG Game 4. Because OG’s tip happened after the comeback, it outranks everything else on the list for me. The perfect end to the perfect game.
Great article and discussion, Ray. I do have to correct one thing, and it’s the reason I’ve always felt the Buckner error was a bit ‘overrated’ in significance - the Mets had already tied the game when he made the error. Watching that game in the moment as a Yankees fan, I never thought the Mets were losing once they tied it up.
To me, the OG tip in is tops. The fact that I was lucky enough to be in the building doesn’t hurt. I’ll never forget that experience.
You beat me to it! This is an oft-misunderstood sequence of events in which credit and blame is misplaced.
The Mets were one out away from losing the World Series with no one on base, down two runs.
They mounted a last gasp effort with three straight singles against Calvin Schiraldi, the 3rd of which, Knight’s, scored a run.
The Red Sox brought in Bob Stanley to face Mookie Wilson. The tying run was on third, and the winning run on first. The Red Sox were still one out away from winning the world series.
Bob Stanley threw a pitch to Mookie Wilson that was WAY inside. This is the miraculous play.
Home runs are great. But Mookie Wilson’s body contortion to get out of the path of that ball was one of the greatest athletic feats I have ever seen. If it hits him, the bases are loaded and the Red Sox get another chance to get an out and win a championship.
Bob Stanley’s errant pitch and Rich Gedman’s failure to block that pitch are the co-choke that blew it for them and Mookie’s avoidance is, to me, the greatest sports moment I ever saw. OG’s tip in was a similar, opportunistic, incredibly athletic play. Mookie’s is greater though, because they were on the brink of losing the whole god damned thing.
The next play, in which Knight scored (from second btw :) was a coda more than the main event. And Buckner sadly took way too much blame for all of this.
Similarly although OG deserves his flowers, Brunson’s heady shot leaving time for a rebound, and Kat’s heroic tip of the inbounds, must also be remembered.
I am wondering if Leon knew that Mitch and Huk would both be leaving, would he at least tried to retain Huk with a qualifying offer? Did Boston and Philly conspire to poach the two Knicks centers at the same time--just after the midnight opening of the NBA free agency --leaving no opportunity for Leon to act. If so, Leon must remember this perfidy and attain payback when the opportunity arises.
On to a topic I’ve been working thinking about non-stop, how about the Knicks trade Deuce and a second round pick for Kel'el Ware? This past season, Ware in 22 minutes a game, averaged 11 points, 7 rebounds, and a shade over 1 block per game. And, he shot just a shade under 40% from three on an average of 3 three-point shots per game.
Ware is also 7ft tall.
I've seen this suggested in a few places, and I guess I'd be shocked if the Bucks dealt away the prize from the Giannis trade (and also, my guess is War wouldn't be thrilled about playing 15-20 minutes a game)
What if the Knicks included a first for Ware? Jonathan, who do you think they will acquire?
He was only playing 20 minutes in Miami and is behind Myles Turner. Though it would be a surprise if Turner was not traded. He would be a nice fit on the Nets or Utah.
Don’t see Miami jumping on that but we do have 223 days until the NBA.
We may regret letting Taris Reed fall to the Spurs with the 25th pick. He was a beast in the NCAA tourney.
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a47947dd2508191884be609fc52d14f
And thanks Ray for sharing those great moments in sports history.
Add a first and we have a shot. Them sharks smell blood in the water. Mr Macri was subtle in telling you that Messi may not be as vital to the Pelicans as they claim, but what else do you expect. I trust our front office will not panic. It’s us Knick Nuts who are ready to trade all our assets for Messi or Diabate.😱
I told you I won't trade Brunson for him
Even if they throw in two twos which Brock will turn into three ones, a two, and a pastrami sandwich from Barney Greengrass
lol!
Make the trade!
I'll take anything
As I said yesterday, desperate is not a good look.
Correct. Never shop hungry. But you do need to shop. The Messi thing was really funny. Yeah, the world champions are “feverishly” trying to acquire Yves Messi. The Knicks have until October to find a backup center or two so I’m not concerned.
I want Ware also. He would make me very, very happy. I like him considerably more than Missi. But I think you have to be talking about the one number one we have to trade and even possibly a pick swap. An expiring Deuce and even a truckload of number twos is unlikely to move the needle.
We keep hearing just trust Leon, but losing 3 centers in a week with no backup in sight is disconcerting. Drafting Ugonna Onyenso & immediately selling his rights to the Pistons was short sighted. Thinking they could shortchange Hukporti financially & still keep him was also short sighted. Seems Missi was their backup plan if Mitch left and that seems to have backfired. I'm all for allowing Leon & Company some time to correct this, but the options seem very limited right now.
I still have animosity for how LBJ strung along the Knicks before "The Decision", but if they could bring him on a vet minimum, go for it! I don't know if he'd want to come here to be reminded he didn't have the balls to come here & try to be the Knicks savior, when Jalen Brunson did! Guess we'll see!
As someone who spent more than half their life teaching U.S. History & things like Separation of Powers, Checks & Balances, An apolitical Supreme Court, The Bill of Rights & all branches of government putting the people first, personally it's hard for me to celebrate our 250th Birthday as all these things do not exist in 2026. All the things the Founding Fathers put in the Declaration of Independence & later The Constitution have been stripped away by this President, Congress & Supreme Court. The Rule of Law is constantly ignored. I remember our 200th Birthday & it was a huge celebration. Political affiliations were put aside, we were all Americans (only one other time can I remember We the People coming together as one and that was after 9/11). Everyone was simply proud to be an American! There's a large amount of Americans that are ambivalent to this celebration because it is no longer an US celebration but a ME celebration. Now, many of you will still enjoy the day- family, the barbeques, the swimming pools, the fireworks & you certainly should. But, if you want to see all the things I mentioned above, practiced again, November can be our celebration day. We need a balance in government, as when one party controls everything, We the People get nothing! Sorry for getting on my soapbox, but as tomorrow approaches, what should have been and what is are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I truly want to see the ideals of our Founding Fathers be part of our country once again!
P.S. I was at the Chambliss walk off home run (before it was call a walk off). Couldn't drive out of the Bronx until around 5:00 A.M. as all the streets were blocked with Yankee fans celebrating the first World Series since 1964.
P.P.S. I think a little more attention should have been given to the Tyree Helmet Catch & the Giants win in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots entered the game 18-0 & no one (except Giants fans) gave the Giants a chance. Patriots were favored by 12 to go 19-0, but they finished 18-1!
#2026NBAChampionNewYorkKnicks
I remember the madness on the field more than I remember the chambliss HR. Bedlam
Thank you for the memories. Luckily Ray and I know men like us of a certain age, I was at three of the events and nothing compared to the OG shot. I was a Yankee fan but was at the Buckner game and I must admit that's right up there; the Boone shot, I was in seats up so high at Yankee Stadium that you could touch the façade four rows from the top. My view was a line drive . The OG shot, not even close. All the wonderful sports moments including the seventh game in person of the Stanley Cup this was by far the most iconic moment I ever remembered being at that matter ever remember. Have to say the 55 points by Michael Jordan in person was pretty astonishing but again nothing like the OG shot when I believe the collective 17,000- 18,000 fans made the shot.
I was just to the left of the foul pole field level..great moment!
My favorite hockey player.. the legendary Mike Bossy had two such moments in the Islanders sweep of the Canucks for their 3rd Cup in 1982. He scored an OT goal with 2 seconds left to cap off a hat trick in Game 1 and then an iconic goal in Game 3 when he was in midair.. amazing!
How about the Bobby Nystrom Stanley Cup winning goal on
May 24, 1980? against the Philadelphia Flyers?
Mike bossy doesn’t get enough love. Dude was amazing
As Katsumoto said at the end of The Last Samurai, “ they are all, all perfect “. I would hate to rank them, because each one’s memory made me smile ( except Petit’s shot; I was only 7 ). The Mays catch and throw was before that, but I’ve seen the film a thousand times and both photos hung in my office for years. The helmet catch, as well as Eli’s throw hung in my home. However if I had to choose one it is the Buckner miscue because of the circumstances.I attended game six of the series with my wife, my accountant’s wife and her 7 year old son. In the top of the 10th when Henderson hit the go ahead home run, the 7 year old burst into tears and pronounced, “ it was a cheap home run. It should only count as a double “. Seeing that emotion flip to pure elation ( thanks Bill Buckner ) has stayed with me forever.
As to the Knicks plays, Katsumoto was right.
Very hard to pick best since they’re all classic
I’ve been thinking about this for 3 weeks now, knowing exactly what I know now, specifically the fact that the Knicks won the game, how would I prefer to play out at the end of game 4 - the sequence goes exactly the way it went, or an alternate reality where Jalen makes the long jumper over Wemby?
If all else was equal, I think I would prefer Jalen to have another insane moment, perhaps his most insane. It would further build on his finals mvp legacy. But all things are not equal! If Jalen’s shot goes in, there’s probably just over 2 seconds left in the game, and the Spurs are down 2. Do they go for the win? Do they run the same play they did and go for the tie? Does Mike Brown still have two bigs on the floor with an actual incentive for the spurs to win the game with a 3? Does an inbound pass still get tipped? What percentage chance do we still win the game?
I think I’m letting things ride the way they played out, and the OG moment was truly insane. Part of me always wants that extra Brunson moment, though.
Because it was part of the greatest comeback in nba playoffs/finals history, it’s #1.
A few moments/performances that could be in consideration for the list, which was really good. I recently had an argument with someone about the Mays catch that actually said it was overrated, which is completely insane.
Richter stopping Bure’s penalty shot in Game 4 of the 94 SCF.
Messier natural hat trick of the 1994 ECF Game 6 that forced the Game 7.
Eli to Manningham in Super Bowl 46
Reggie Jackson 3 homers in Game 6 of the 77 WS
Ron Swaboda’s catch in Game 4 of the 69 WS
I forgot about the Swaboda catch.
Everyone should prepare themselves for the Knicks to sign Looney and address this in season. 1$ mpg of regular season backup center minutes will not be the deciding factor of next season.
As to the shot: it's first followed by the helmet catch followed by Buckner. Ruth's called shot may be first but it's too long ago now.
I would also add Trent Tucker's game winning 3 pt. shot against the Chicago Bulls on January 15, 1990 with 0.1 second left on the clock resulting in the Knick winning 109 - 106. That shot resulted in the Trent Tucker rule requiring at least 0.3 seconds on the clock for a last moment shot to count.
Very true Ray! And yes.. Nystrom’s goal was epic and my daughter was born 2 years later on that date!
I was at their 4th Cup clinching game in 83 when they swept the Oilers!
My thought is that we have to fill 3 roster spots with 3 vet minimums. We probably told Looney, Drummond and Richards that the first one to say yes to the minimum gets it + we are holding a spot for LeBron and a spot for Clarkson.
In terms of Missi, I think the Pelicans must be getting annoyed that the Celtics fans keep trying to propose trades for him for 1 FRP when Mikal went for 5 and Bane went for 3. Wonder if we see the Celtics trade PG to the Warriors for Butler and a FRP as part of the Warriors plan to get LeBron. The C's would then have enough ammo to go get Murphy. After that happens, they may be willing to listen to us on Missi.
I was in the stands for Boone and OG Game 4. Because OG’s tip happened after the comeback, it outranks everything else on the list for me. The perfect end to the perfect game.
Great article and discussion, Ray. I do have to correct one thing, and it’s the reason I’ve always felt the Buckner error was a bit ‘overrated’ in significance - the Mets had already tied the game when he made the error. Watching that game in the moment as a Yankees fan, I never thought the Mets were losing once they tied it up.
To me, the OG tip in is tops. The fact that I was lucky enough to be in the building doesn’t hurt. I’ll never forget that experience.
You beat me to it! This is an oft-misunderstood sequence of events in which credit and blame is misplaced.
The Mets were one out away from losing the World Series with no one on base, down two runs.
They mounted a last gasp effort with three straight singles against Calvin Schiraldi, the 3rd of which, Knight’s, scored a run.
The Red Sox brought in Bob Stanley to face Mookie Wilson. The tying run was on third, and the winning run on first. The Red Sox were still one out away from winning the world series.
Bob Stanley threw a pitch to Mookie Wilson that was WAY inside. This is the miraculous play.
Home runs are great. But Mookie Wilson’s body contortion to get out of the path of that ball was one of the greatest athletic feats I have ever seen. If it hits him, the bases are loaded and the Red Sox get another chance to get an out and win a championship.
Bob Stanley’s errant pitch and Rich Gedman’s failure to block that pitch are the co-choke that blew it for them and Mookie’s avoidance is, to me, the greatest sports moment I ever saw. OG’s tip in was a similar, opportunistic, incredibly athletic play. Mookie’s is greater though, because they were on the brink of losing the whole god damned thing.
The next play, in which Knight scored (from second btw :) was a coda more than the main event. And Buckner sadly took way too much blame for all of this.
Similarly although OG deserves his flowers, Brunson’s heady shot leaving time for a rebound, and Kat’s heroic tip of the inbounds, must also be remembered.
Far better than what I wrote. Thank you
Wouldn’t say that, but thanks! always enjoy your historical journeys!
Thank you.
Yes thank you Ray.
I am wondering if Leon knew that Mitch and Huk would both be leaving, would he at least tried to retain Huk with a qualifying offer? Did Boston and Philly conspire to poach the two Knicks centers at the same time--just after the midnight opening of the NBA free agency --leaving no opportunity for Leon to act. If so, Leon must remember this perfidy and attain payback when the opportunity arises.