The Knicks and Nets cut, slashed, saved like Scrooge. Both amassed an alarming array of defeats. But all was done to chase other-worldly free-agent stars.
That was in 2010 when free-agency excitement mesmerized New York. LeBron James, after all, was on the market.
“He dominated the whole thing,” said Donnie Walsh, a Pacers adviser now but the Knicks president who spearheaded the 2010 tactical machinations.
It did not go as hoped.
With the upcoming star-studded class headlined by Kevin Durant (despite his ruptured Achilles), Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving, free-agent fervor again grips New York.