6. Patrick Ewing (Seattle SuperSonics)
Patrick Ewing didn’t look dazzling in an Orlando Magic jersey either, but his one-year stint with the Seattle SuperSonics initiated the end of a beloved era in Knicks’ history and the pending endpoint to a Hall of Fame career.
The former Hoya arrived in Seattle after making his case as the greatest Knick of all-time. There was no championship, but there were two Finals runs, 11 All-Star appearances and an era of New York basketball that will live on forever.
By the summer of 2000, the relationship between player and team had soured. The Knicks wanted to go younger with Marcus Camby in the middle. Ewing was upset at the two-year extension he sought that never came.
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Rather than mend the fences to ensure the Knicks legend wouldn’t play anywhere else, New York sent him to the SuperSonics in a massive four-team deal.
At 38 years of age, Ewing held up pretty well during his lone season in Seattle, appearing in 79 games while averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.7 minutes a night.
He had played 15 seasons in the Big Apple. One would think Ewing would actively avoid a change of scenery to keep than run going until the end.
Alas, Ewing felt disrespected by the franchise he’d given everything to since being drafted No. 1 overall in 1984. You understand the respect he felt he’d earned, but that doesn’t make his appearance elsewhere any easier to adjust to.