
4. The Ewing Rebuild I (Bomb Squad)
Orchestrator:
- GM Al Bianchi
Highlights:
- The night Dave DeBusschere won the lottery and the right to pick Patrick Ewing, it looked like the Knicks were destined to win 5 championships.
- Knicks put up two horrible 20+ win seasons in Ewing’s first two years. There was talk of making Ewing a power forward or even trading Ewing and keeping Cartwright.
- Out went DeBusschere and coach Hubie Brown and in came Al Bianchi as GM, who hired college wiz kid coach Rick Pitino.
- Got Charles Oakley & 1st-round pick (ended up being Rod Strickland) in trade for Bill Cartwright
- Drafted Mark Jackson.
- Drafted Gerald Wilkins in 2nd round.
- Picked up Johnny Newman off waivers from Cleveland.
- Pitino stressed full-court, pressure defense and shooting 3’s.
- The Knicks had the bomb squad of Trent Tucker, Mark Jackson, Gerald Wilkins, Johnny Newman and Rod Strickland — youth, athleticism, 3-point shooting, defense, and Ewing (and Oakley).
Results:
- Pitino’s 1988-89 club won 52 games, famously swept the 76’ers in the first round, with Charles Barkley crying on the floor and the Knicks young players literally taking out brooms.
- Knicks lost to Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 2nd round, 4-2.
The End:
- Live by the 3, die by the 3. The 3-pt offense was deemed a gimmick — you couldn’t win in the NBA that way. Ahead of his time. Pitino quit to accept a job back in the college ranks with Kentucky.
- Stu Jackson replaced Pitino and the Knicks went into purgatory (45 wins).
- John MacLeod replaced Stu Jackson and the Knicks plummeted more (39 wins), and it was on to Rebuild #5…
Your Thoughts?
Your thoughts on any of the above? Additional comments? Please feel free to provide your feedback below.
![]() |
![]() |
Loving these rebuild posts. When can we expect to see the next one?