Chris Broussard of the New York Times chronicles the decline of the Knicks, starting in the summer of 2000 when they traded Patrick Ewing.

The Knicks were afraid Ewing would be disruptive if brought back for one more season, so they accepted a package of aging, injured, ill-fitting players with long-term contracts.  In all, the Knicks have taken on $137.4 million in contracts for players they acquired through the Ewing trade. They could have kept Ewing around and chopped his $16 million off their payroll after the 2000-1 season.

Broussard says the Knicks are now the worst positioned team in the league, both financially and in terms of getting better.

Now they are eyeing the lottery.  In the related piece, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News says that Knicks GM Scott Layden is on his way to China to scout Yao Ming.  Ming used to be reported at 7'5", but is now showing up as 7'6".