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Nellie's response when I pointed out to him that the Knicks have a head coaching vacancy and asked if he has any interest in returning to Madison Square Garden: "Well, I'll tell you what, I enjoyed New York more than people think. I mean, I just loved it there when I was there, but I wasn't there very long. I got sideways with [Patrick] Ewing because there was a time when Shaquille [O'Neal] was being talked about to wind up with the Lakers. I had coached Shaq on the USA team [at the 1994 World Championships] and I found out that he might also come to New York — those were the two areas he was looking at. If the L.A. thing didn't work out, he liked the idea of being in New York — in the big city. I mentioned that in a private meeting with the owner and with the GM. And it wasn't long before it got back to Ewing. It pretty much ended our relationship when he found out about it."
In an interview with former NBA player Jim Jackson, Charles Oakley was asked what it would take to get him to make peace with ownership and return to the Garden. Oakley largely blamed Patrick Ewing for him not being welcomed back.
“Even though all them guys [are] going back, I really can’t blame all them guys, because I didn’t really play with all of them,” Oakley said. “The ones I played with who got some power, I thought would be Patrick, but he didn’t step up. So I hold him more responsible than anybody else, because he’s supposed to be our franchise players. I played with him for 10 years...He haven’t spoke up yet, so I’m gonna let it just play out.”
Charles Oakley: “I would love to be there. I know the fans would love me to be there. I love the fans. They gave me a lot of cheer over the years, but it all started from the Commission[er Adam Silver], the owner and all other owners in the NBA, because he making it bad for all the teams in the league for something like this to be going on for eight years.”
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Ben Golliver: Mavericks CEO Rick Welts from draft lottery: "I'm the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won. I've been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally."
StatMuse: Jalen Brunson has more 30-point playoff games than Clyde Drexler Patrick Ewing Julius Erving Moses Malone DeMar DeRozan Paul Pierce Jaylen Brown Magic Johnson Chauncey Billups Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Ray Allen Vince Carter Tracy McGrady Dominique Wilkins Klay Thompson pic.x.com/1o7kWPrjku
Jorge Sierra: DeMar DeRozan passed Patrick Ewing in scoring last night. He's No. 27 all-time now. Also: Damian Lillard moved ahead of Baron Davis for No. 41 in assists.
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Jorge Sierra: Last night in all-time rankings LeBron James passed Patrick Ewing in rebounds for No. 25 all-time. Stephen Curry moved ahead of Patrick Ewing in scoring for No. 26 in NBA history. Kyrie Irving tied with Rick Barry in scoring at No. 76.
Scottie Pippen: Who impressed me the most? I was very impressed with Karl Malone, especially in the weight room. He is a beast because of how much he pushed himself. I mean, he stays in the gym for four hours and works until he can’t even pick up a cup of coffee. That’s just who he is—relentless. When it comes to discipline with sleep and diet, though, I wouldn’t say Charles Barkley was the most focused in that regard. Barkley was more into hanging out and enjoying himself. But someone like Chris Mullin stood out—he was incredibly disciplined. Him and Patrick Ewing were all about conditioning, day in and day out. As for who talked the most, outside of Michael—who was nonstop—it was definitely Charles Barkley. He was always poking and talking smack. Of course, people would throw it back at him, saying, ‘Well, you don’t have a championship.’ That’s when he’d have to tuck his tail between his legs."
Brian Mahoney: Jalen Brunson has tied Carmelo Anthony for third in Knicks history with 17 40-point games. Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing (30) and Bernard King (23) top the list.
Marc J. Spears: Knicks say Karl-Anthony Towns registered 31 points and 21 rebounds tonight against Utah. He is now the first Knicks player since Patrick Ewing (1989-90) to record multiple 30+ point, 20+ rebound games in the same season.
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