Marcus Camby was the second overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. Then Raptors Executive Vice President Isiah Thomas had become part owner of the team two years earlier.
In 1997, Thomas hired Glen Grunwald as general manager before his departure from the Raptors a year later. Grunwald, the current Knicks general manager, saw it fitting to send Thomas' first round draft pick Camby packing as well. The Raptors received Charles Oakley and the Knicks became the first eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals that same season.
Grunwald managed the Canadian franchise well, he led them to their first appearance into the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and drafted notables Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. In 2004, Grunwald was fired because the Raptors had found a way to tank despite their previous success; some point the finger at player injuries. Grunwald left basketball for two years until he was dragged back into the pit by the New York Knicks. His title was Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations until 2011 when he took over at the general manager position after Donnie Walsh's exit. In the summer of 2012 Grunwald bought Marcus Camby back to the Knicks from Houston.
Ten years after Camby was drafted second overall by the Raptors the team from Toronto had bested themselves and acquired the first pick. Then general manager Bryan Colangelo used the draft pick to choose the first European player to ever be drafted first overall, Andrea Bargnani. That same year Colangelo hired a relatively unknown Nigerian scout by the name of Masai Ujiri as the Raptors Director of Global Scouting. A year later Colangelo won the Executive of the Year award and the Raptors won the Atlantic division with a front court that consisted of Chris Bosh and Bargnani.
Ujiri made his way to an assistant general manager position with the Raptors in 2008. By 2010, Ujiri rekindled an old flame with the Denver Nuggets and was hired as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. One year after he obtained the fancy new title Ujiri stripped the Knicks of Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first round pick, and second round picks in 2012 and 2013. In return the Knicks obtained Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Sheldon Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Carmelo Anthony.
Only a month ago Ujiri returned to Toronto as general manager. His first big move involved the Knicks, Andrea Bargnani, Steve Novak, a 2016 first round draft pick, and Marcus Camby. Glen Grunwald has now traded Camby twice in his career, both times involving the Knicks and the Raptors. This is also the second time Ujiri has acquired a first round pick from the Knicks leaving New York with no first round possibilities until 2017 unless it's obtained the hard way.
Initial reactions to the trade vary widely. For one,Bargnani is considered a flop of a first pick. He has never lived up to the high expectations and has been injury prone. There's also his contract that puts a roughly 22 million dollar stranglehold on the Knicks for the next two seasons. But what exactly did the Knicks give away? Marcus Camby is turning 40 this year, Steve Novak has a knack for disappearing during the playoffs, and our 2014 first round pick is probably going to be in the mid 20's range. This deal makes sense for the Raptors in that it rids them of Bargnani's obscene contract and not much else. Camby may very well retire before going back to Toronto, which saves the Raptors even more money, and one never knows what they'll get from a player drafted late in the first round. Bargnani has career averages of 15 points per game with close to five rebounds per game, but he's played 66 games over the last two seasons due to injuries.
The bottom line is that no one is sure of the bottom line. The damn trade may not even be a sure thing do to salary rules and such. But one thing is for sure, the Knicks rarely do what you expect them to.
-Alex Moran
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