1950-51 NEW YORK KNICKS
OFF SEASON
I was rewarded after the season with a four year contract extension. More wholesale changes in the league as six teams (Anderson, Sheboygan, Waterloo, Chicago, Denver, and St. Louis) all fold, dropping the league from 17 teams to 11. In addition, Tri-Cities moved to Milwaukee and changed their name to the Hawks. This years dispersal draft should have a lot of talent, but we probably won’t get any of them. Syracuse took PF Carl Braun from Denver with the first pick. Mikan went 2nd to Indy. We took PF Harry Boykoff from Anderson. He almost averaged a double double last year as a rookie. Fun fact about Boykoff, he was so proficient at blocking shots that the goaltending rule was introduced because of him.
In the rookie draft, we pick 11th (last) in both rounds. It is a weak draft that is extremely top heavy, so I don’t expect to get anyone who will contribute. I took C Bob Levoy in the first round, and PF Norm Mager in the second. A not-so-fun fact about Mager, he was part of the CCNY point shaving scandal, and was kicked out of and banned from the NBA for life.
It’s no secret what my strategy is this free agency period; sign Fulks at all costs. In addition, I’d like to sign another SF for depth, but it will probably have to be at the league minimum after signing Fulks. Luckily, he signed with us pretty quickly, a six-year deal that wasn’t even a max contract. It was then I noticed that 4 time all star Max Zaslofsky didn’t have any offers, even though he was only asking the league minimum. I don’t understand why, but I happily signed him to a 1 year minimum deal. The big free agency news was C Clarence Hermsen signing with Boston (from Baltimore) and SF Ed Sadowski signing with Rochester (from Washington). The teams that finished with the 2nd and 3rd best records last year both got significantly better.