The Knicks Acquired an NBA Prospect With a Famous Surname
New York received Patrick Ewing Jr. from Houston on August 29, 2008, in exchange for the rights to French center Frédéric Weis. Ewing Jr., whose father was the Knicks' Hall of Fame center, had been drafted earlier that summer and passed through Houston in a separate trade. New York had retained Weis's rights since taking him in the first round in 1999, but he had never signed an NBA contract. This deal swapped two very different prospects whose financial and roster situations were far removed from their original draft-night expectations.
Ewing Jr. Played in the Knicks Preseason but Never the Regular Season
Ewing Jr. took part in New York's 2008 preseason competition and attracted interest as a developmental forward. The Knicks nevertheless waived him before the regular season. His name and connection to Madison Square Garden were not a substitute for an NBA roster role, and his subsequent NBA appearances came with the New Orleans Hornets in 2011. An official Hornets announcement recounts the Knicks preseason and subsequent waiver. The Knicks therefore received no regular-season games, points or rebounds from the player acquired in this particular transaction.
Weis Remained an International Rights Holder's Asset
Weis had been the nineteenth overall selection in the 1999 NBA draft and continued his career overseas rather than joining the Knicks. Houston obtained his rights in 2008, but he never played an NBA game for the Rockets either. The rights might theoretically have been exchanged again, although no incoming Rockets rotation player is established by this deal alone. Weis's European basketball accomplishments should not be attributed to Houston's NBA record. This was an asset exchange with little realized basketball output for either franchise, not a route to a new starting center.
The Former Knicks-Favored Grade Was Built on Potential, Not Games
The inherited verdict awarded New York an A despite the absence of regular-season appearances by Ewing Jr. and almost no direct evidence of value returned through the exchange. Houston did not receive NBA production from Weis, either. Ewing Jr. and Weis had distinct reasons to be considered developmental or international assets, but the historical scoring of a trade should start with what the acquiring teams actually received. New York's preseason tryout and Houston's unexercised draft rights leave neither side with a persuasive sporting advantage. Modest equal grades avoid overstating an unusual transaction.
Final Verdict
Even Trade. Houston receives D+ for holding Frédéric Weis's draft rights without an NBA appearance, and New York also receives D+ because Patrick Ewing Jr. was waived before the Knicks regular season. His eventual Hornets games in 2011 are not New York production. Neither return supports the previously recorded Knicks A assessment.