Ranking the 6 Worst Knicks starters of the Carmelo Anthony era
Andrea Bargnani, New York Knicks. (Photo by Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports)
3. Andrea Bargnani
In 2013, the Knicks sent Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, a 2016 first-round pick, a 2014 second-round pick, and a 2017 second-round pick to acquire the former number one draft pick from the Toronto Raptors. Andrea Bargnani didn’t play horribly for the Knicks.
He averaged double digits in both seasons (13.3 points in 2013-14 and 14.8 points in 2014-15) but missed too much time due to injuries and didn’t do what he was supposed to, which led to much discontent among fans.
The Knicks got Bargnani because he seemed to be a good fit next to Carmelo Anthony as a floor stretcher. However, as soon as he got to New York, he struggled to shoot from behind the arc. In the 2013-14 season, Bargnani only shot 27.8% from three on a much lower volume than what he showed in Toronto.
There was also a memorable instance in a December game against the Milwaukee Bucks, in which the Knicks were leading by two points with only twenty seconds left on the clock in overtime. Bargnani got an offensive rebound, and instead of running out the clock, he took a three and missed, which led to the Bucks sending the game into double-overtime. The Knicks still won, but this game is still a sore spot with many Knicks fans regarding the Bargnani trade.
Bargnani generally did not do enough to justify all the assets it cost to get him, and was also a part of the Knicks’ worst season during the Carmelo Anthony era. The Knicks obviously had many other problems during their 2014-15 season, where they posted a 17-65 record, but Bargnani only played 29 games, contributing to the general disappointment. By 2016, Bargnani was out of the NBA and playing in Spain.
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with the Knicks in 2012</a>. His place on this list was not as much earned by his own doing as by the Knicks’ coaching and managing of his game.</p>
<p>After a long and successful career, Kidd would have been perfect as a mentor and backup point guard. Instead, he started 48 games and averaged 26.9 minutes per game in his first and last season in New York, including a one-month stretch in December when he had to play almost 33 minutes per game.</p>
<p>His scoring, efficiency, and assists had been going down for a couple of seasons already but sank to 6.0 points on 37.2% shooting from the field and 35.1% shooting from three with 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. These stats are not necessarily bad — for any regular role player they would be solid — but it is a big step down from what Kidd produced when he was still in his prime.</p>
<p>Obviously, it is not fair to expect a 39-year-old player to still be at his best, but if Kidd hadn’t been so overtaxed in the regular season, his numbers might have been better, and he probably would not have flamed out in the playoffs.</p>
<p>It seems he was not supposed to be a starter anymore, which is no critique of Kidd. Not all players even play as long as he did, and after 19 seasons, it was not fair to expect Kidd to carry such a heavy load for the team.</p>
<p>Feeling the heavy minutes, Kidd retired in June 2013 after just one season of his three-year deal with the Knicks.</p>
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one of the worst signings in franchise history</a>. Noah only played one season with Anthony and played only 53 games over two seasons with the Knicks. He missed a lot of time partly because of injuries and was suspended for 20 games in March 2017 for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.</p>
<p>A total of 46 of his 53 games in a Knicks uniform came in Anthony’s final season in New York. Noah started all of those games, averaging 22.1 minutes, 5.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. These are not terrible stats, but it was quite a disappointment for a player who was signed in a win-now move to help the Knicks end their three-year playoff drought.</p>
<p>Just three seasons before Noah signed with the Knicks, he had averaged a double-double with the Bulls for the second consecutive season, putting up 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Hopes were that he would be healthy and find his way back into his previous All-Star shape, but that never happened.</p>
<p>The following season, when Anthony had already been traded to the Thunder, Noah only played seven games and barely produced before he was released via a stretch-provision waiver. So, not only was Noah severely overpaid, but he was also not very good as a starter outside of his rebounding and did not help the Knicks get back on track in any way.</p>
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