Ernie Grunfeld, who pretty much ran the New York Knicks for much of the 1990s, apparently learned from his predecessors. He decided change was needed within the New York Knicks. The Knicks were getting old. John Starks seemed to have lost a step, and Charles Oakley, while still being effective as a rebounder, was becoming a dinosaur. So Ernie decided to lay it all on the line when he sent Oakley packing, along with Sean Marks and cash to the Toronto Raptors for up-and-coming power forward Marcus Camby. Camby, the 2nd pick of the 1996 draft, was a hi-flyer who thrived on his own athleticism, and it seemed players like this would be the new wave of the New York Knicks. To complete the youth movement and to cement his legacy as a great evaluator of basketball talent, Grunfeld made the boldest move of his career. The public backlash was harsh because Grunfeld did the unthinkable; he traded fan favorite John Starks to the Golden State Warriors, along with Chris Mills and Terry Cummings for Latrell Sprewell.

Latrell Sprewell? The coach choker? The lunatic who choked his own coach after some insults were yelled his way at a practice? Had Grunfeld lost his mind? Many thought so, as most screamed for Grunfeld to be removed from the front office. Some cried their eyes out. Oakley and Starks had personified the New York Knicks of the 1990s. Though they weren’t the most talented of NBA players, they played with heart. Oakley and Starks also played with an aggressiveness many fans had never seen before. If an opponent drove baseline against the New York Knicks in the early 1990s, he would always brace himself for the collision with Oakley; or if an opponent checked Starks on the perimeter, he was always counting his blessings that Starks didn’t embarrass him with a slam dunk over his outstretched arms (see: Michael Jordan).

What Grunfeld had done was surround Patrick Ewing, the franchise centerpiece, with great players for the first time in his career. Sprewell was an excellent slasher, Allan Houston (who was signed in 1996) would provide the outside shooting touch, and Marcus Camby would provide the weak-side defense, as well as picking up many rebounds. It would be a new-look Knicks. However, in 1999, when the New York Knicks were competing in the playoffs, Ewing went down with an injured wrist. And thus, the New York Knicks, and Knicks fans around the world, were left with something still around today. The infamous “Big Three.”

Now, most of the readers will think back and remember the first time the phrase “Big Three” was used. It was revolutionary, and it is the single most important element in the decline of the New York Knicks. Who coined the phrase? I have no idea, but whoever did deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Scott Layden and James Dolan for being a reason to the downfall of a once great franchise. Evidently, the Knicks became obsessed with this theory of having three border-line franchise players, instead of stopping and building around one player, just like they did in 1985 with Patrick Ewing.

So there they were, three players who would personify the Knicks for the beginning of the next century. Ewing was at the end of the road, and everybody except Patrick knew it (apparently, Patrick still doesn’t know his career is at the end of the road, as he still insists on looking for work in the NBA, even though no team seems to want him). Knicks fans were excited again. The Knicks played a fast-paced, fast break offense. Camby playing above the rim, taking rebounds that hung in the sky; Spree breaking guys down off the dribble, streaking down the court with his corn rows flying behind him; Houston getting the open shot on a kick out and draining it.

Then the Knicks toppled the Indiana Pacers and made it into the NBA Finals. “No Patrick, no problem,” was what many fans though. The Knicks had the “Big Three,” now. Unfortunately, the Knicks ran into the Twin Towers (the Tim Duncan/David Robinson combo) of the San Antonio Spurs, and had no way of stopping it. The Knicks went down in 5, but it was still groundbreaking for the Knicks. This was the way it was going to be. Who needed Patrick Ewing? He wasn’t even in the new “Big Three.” The Knicks felt that, even though height was their biggest need, if they got a superstar, all their problems would be solved, so they traded the Big Fella to the Seattle Supersonics for sharp-shooting Glen Rice and Travis Knight.

Many were perplexed. The new “Big Three” was formed, this time containing Sprewell, Houston, and Rice. But what did this really accomplish? The Knicks had a small forward in Sprewell, and they had a shooter in Allan Houston. Why bring a small forward whose trade is shooting? Well, because of the “Big Three”, of course. Glen Rice was a better player then Marcus Camby, so adding him to the “Big Three” seemed to make the Knicks better, even though now players would be forced to play out of position or have to come off the bench for the first time in their careers.

The Glen Rice experiment never did work out. At times, Sprewell had to play out of position at point guard, which didn’t help Sprewell since he always had a scorer’s mentality. Most times Rice would have to come off the bench, which didn’t help his rhythm as a shooter. The Knicks had little presence down low (Larry Johnson did the best he could, but with his bad back it wasn’t enough), so the shooters had to create for themselves, something they weren’t good at. The Knicks went to the first round of the playoffs, were eliminated, and then traded Rice for Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson.

And then everyone was left with the notorious Knicks squad of 2001-2002. Undersized, aging, and grossly overpaid. The Knicks were over the salary cap by more then $40 million, but this could have all been avoided. Say what you want about David Falk orchestrating the Patrick Ewing/Glen Rice deal, but if the famed “Big Three” hadn’t struck in 1999, the Knicks would’ve never wanted Glen Rice. They would’ve waited out Ewing’s contract, let it expire, let him retire a Knick, and then have all that money off the cap. Instead, they were left with the original “Big Three” of Sprewell, Houston, and Camby, and hoping to have the same success of their ’99 Finals run.

Tomorrow, the next addition of this three part series will come out, focusing on where the Knicks went after their dismal 30-52 season, if it was a good or a bad move, and whether the new “Big Three” will be big enough to take this team to the playoffs.

Timothy Kelly is a staff writer for NYKBasketball.com.