New York Knicks: The most heartbreaking moments in recent memory

As we move on to a hopefully bright New Year, let’s look back at the heartbreaking moments of the New York Knicks over the last few years.

Nobody knows heartache like New York Knicks fans. We have had it bad, and worst of all, New Yawkas are some of the most well-informed fans.  As a result, our beloved Knick franchise’s mistakes hurt even more.  Today, let’s embrace our masochistic fan hood and review some of our biggest mistakes in recent times…

1. Three words: Dennis. Smith. Junior.

Dennis Smith Jr. finally dropped his first career triple-double with the Mavericks recently, and passing on this freakish, Westbrooky talent in the 2017 NBA Draft is a wound that will be salted for many years to come.

Let me stop you there. Although Frank Ntilikina has flashed some elite upside, the bottom line is that building a team is almost as much about the players as it is about where guys are on the development timeline. No one thought Porzingis would be so ahead of schedule, and if Ntilikina can’t do the impossible, we are looking at a painful miss.

2. A Late 2015 Win Streak

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After one of the most brutal seasons, the New York Knicks closed out 2015 in one of the strangest ways: winning.  Yes, the Knicks actually started winning and actually emerged the victors in three of the final six games of the season … a mistake that the Knicks shouldn’t forget soon. Although the season led to a Porzingis draft selection, by lowering their lottery odds at the tail end of the season, the Knicks essentially lost out on an even greater gift than the Unicorn … Karl Anthony Towns.  What a shame.

3. Missing on Jae Crowder in the Tyson Chandler Deal

One of Phil Jackson’s first moves as GM was to ship out Tyson Chandler, a guy who had proven to have a ton left in the tank. But putting that loss aside, one of the hardest pills to swallow is that Jax passed on Jae Crowder as a “throw in” for that deal.  Crowder ended up in Boston and went on to become one of the most talented wing defenders in the league. Well played? Not so much.

Next: Kyle O'Quinn on the trade block?

Nothing hurts more than being a Knick fan, but with the New Year here, hopefully, this is the beginning of a new winning tradition in New York!