5 biggest free-agent mistakes in New York Knicks history
By Lior Lampert
4. Jerome James
A 7-foot, 300-pound center, Jerome James fit the bill of his “Big JJ” nickname. One thing that was not fitting for James, was the contract he received to join the Knicks. The Knicks gave James $30 million over five years.
It was a questionable signing almost instantly given the fact that he was paid like a starting-caliber NBA player and had never averaged more than 16.6 minutes per game in a season. In his days as a member of the SuperSonics and Kings, he never averaged more than 5.4 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game to go with inefficient shooting splits.
Upon joining the Knicks, James’ fitness and conditioning became an issue. In his first two seasons with the team, he appeared in just 86 of 164 possible games, starting only 20 of those games. Just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse for how this signing played out, James went on to appear in a measly four games combined the following two seasons.
In ways, it feels as though a case can be made to have this contract be higher on our list. Jerome James was about as big of a free-agent bust as you could have. Although, the expectations (as well as the contracts) for the players listed before him were much higher.