There’s so much drama happening on Broadway, although that’s routine. After being fired, New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau thanked fans and players in a full-page ad.
While the Knicks are reeling at the moment, a ghost from the past has come back to haunt them. Former NBA player and coach Don Nelson has come forward to discuss a time when he sought to recruit Shaquille O’Neal to join the Knicks and the subsequent dismantling of his relationship with Patrick Ewing, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line on Substack.
According to Nelson, O’Neal, then with the Orlando Magic, was considering the Knicks in the mid-1990s.
He wanted to play in a big city and market if playing for the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t pan out. In the process, Nelson said he met with O’Neal privately, and when word got out to Ewing, that was it.
“I got sideways with [Patrick] Ewing because there was a time when Shaquille [O’Neal] was being talked about to wind up with the Lakers, Nelson said. “I had coached Shaq on the USA team [at the 1994 World Championships] and I found out that he might also come to New York — those were the two areas he was looking at. If the L.A. thing didn’t work out, he liked the idea of being in New York — in the big city. I mentioned that in a private meeting with the owner and with the GM. And it wasn’t long before it got back to Ewing. It pretty much ended our relationship when he found out about it.”
Ultimately, O’Neal joined the Lakers in 1996. The Knicks were a consistent postseason team in the 1990s led by Ewing. They made it to the NBA Finals in 1994, but lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games.
Nelson coached the Knicks from 1995-1996. O’Neal stated that he wanted to be like Ewing when he was a young kid growing up and watching him at Georgetown.
So, in an alternate universe, would Shaq make a difference in the Big Apple?
How would the Knicks have faired with Shaq?
It is hard to fathom a scenario of O’Neal playing for the Knicks. He would have played alongside Ewing, a towering duo unmatched in NBA history.
Furthermore, O’Neal would play with the likes of guards John Starks and Allen Houston, as well as power forward Larry Johnson. There’s no question that combination could have produced a championship-contending team, even in the era of Michael Jordan.
Nevertheless, logistical matters would have made it difficult for the big guy in the big city. The Knicks built the franchise around Ewing, so for O’Neal to take over would have been a challenge.
Additionally, Houston’s lucrative six-year, $100 million contract in 2001 significantly limited the Knicks’ salary cap. Also, even though New York is a big market, the aura of L.A. was better suited for O’Neal’s personality.
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