New York Knicks: Al Harrington Remembered

Al Harrington, the former 25th overall pick in 1998, officially retired from basketball last Wednesday, Mar. 18, after 16 seasons with seven different organizations. The twilight of his career saw his role diminishing, playing in only 34 games at 15 minutes per game for the Washington Wizards.

Harrington most recently played for the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association before leaving leaving the team in November 2014 in pursuit of a failed NBA comeback.

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The “official retirement” of Al Harrington is more of a formality then a shock to anyone. “I’m officially retired,” Harrington said to the Denver Post. “I don’t know if there’s paperwork that I gotta fill out or anything. But my career is over.”

At least Harrington played last season, unlike Richard “Rip” Hamilton who only confirmed his retirement last month despite sitting out all of last season.

The best years of Al Harrington’s career came following his trade to the New York Knicks at the beginning of the 2008-09 season in exchange for Jamal Crawford. With Zach Randolph traded that same day, the Knicks were prepping for 2010 free agency by shedding cap space and tanking for the next two seasons.

Harrington was able to flourish in Mike D’Antoni‘s offense, averaging a career high 20.7 points per game alongside 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 three pointers. Harrington followed his breakout season by averaging 17.7 points per game in 2009-10 before being allowed to walk as the team jumped into free agency and signed Amar’e Stoudemire.

The breakout stats of Harrington’s brief New York tenure might be a little hollow considering the Knicks finished 32-50 and 29-53 during his two seasons there. But Harrington also was a very large part of the Knicks offense during that time, averaging 16.8 and 14.3 field goals attempted per game. He was an exciting and entertaining player to watch on a New York Knicks team that had little else to offer given their tanking aspirations.

A 21-year-old Wilson Chandler was in his second season in 2008-09 and first as a full-time starter, breaking out in the process by averaging 14.4 points per game. Danilo Gallinari was a rookie who barely played and did not break out until the following season. Nate Robinson had a career year in 2008 largely due to having the same high usage rate as Harrington.

The following season began Robinson’s fall from grace with Knicks management. Unsuprisingly, Eddy Curry played a combined 10 games during Harrington’s Knicks tenure. Chris Duhon was the team’s starting point during this time and would be joined by rookie Toney Douglas in 2009-10. Neither option was very impressive.

The roster also saw uninspring players like Jared Jeffries, Tim Thomas, and Quentin Richardson and aging veterans like Eddie House, Darko Millic, and Tracy McGrady grace the team’s locker room during this two-year period. The only player with meaningful contributions was David Lee who had officially burst onto the scene as the double-double machine and field goal percentage king that most remember.

It’s easy to see that Harrington had little to work with but heck, the 2015 Knicks would kill to have someone of Harrington’s 2008-2010 caliber. Thanks Al for your services and enjoy the greener pastures.

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