Patrick Ewing was part of a New York Knicks squad that could keep up with Michael Jordan, as was displayed in Episode 6 of the documentary series “The Last Dance.” Imagine having Ewing as a member of the Warriors during a very special time.
It could have happened.
According to the New York Daily News, Golden State had plotted to snatch the future Hall of Famer in 1992, which could have him part of the historical Run TMC group that became the league’s highest-scoring squad of the 1990-91 season.
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Dave Checketts became the president of the New York Knicks in 1991, and for four seasons in the job, the team made the playoffs -- even making it to the NBA Finals in 1994. Ewing was part of the successful squad, but the Warriors almost got him by taking advantage of the opt-out clause in his contract.
If five-time All-Star Chris Mullin were to reconstruct his salary so more money was guaranteed on the front-end, that would have pushed Ewing outside of being one of the top highest-paid players in the league during that 1991-92 season. Then, Ewing could have decided to head to Golden State as a free agent.
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“[Bill] Pollak (Mullin’s agent) was basically saying, ‘Look, Mullin is from New York, he doesn’t want to cooperate, he doesn’t want to be the reason Ewing gets to leave New York,” Checketts said in an interview with the Daily News. “But he’s in this tremendous conflict situation. Because if he makes it happen and you have Mullin, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Patrick Ewing on the Warriors -- they’re winning a bunch of titles.”
Checketts, however, was hard-nosed about making sure Mullin’s contract wasn’t altered. It got ugly and the Knicks were even prepared to file tampering charges with the NBA against the Warriors.
The Warriors wouldn’t end up signing off on Mullin’s new contract, and Ewing would stay in New York.
Still, imagine having Mullin, Richmond, Hardaway and Ewing.
Mullin has said before there was a romanticism surrounding the trio because it only lasted two seasons. Richmond was traded to the Kings in November of 1991.
[RELATED: Why Run TMC is one of NBA's biggest 'What ifs']
The name, that played off the popular hip hop group Run DMC, created an “oh what could have been,” fantasy -- much like what could have been if Ewing were to sport the blue and gold.
Run TMC … P?