Ranking the Top 10 Most Underrated NY Knicks Players of the Past Decade

The past 10 years have been challenging for New York Knicks fans. 

With a few winning seasons peppered in between many disappointing ones, NY's roster has had an incredible turnover rate. The Isiah Thomas era doomed the franchise with terrible contracts, which led to Donnie Walsh's reign as general manager being centered around creating cap space for the 2010 free-agency class. 

Between the roster being gutted to make a splash in 2010 and the Carmelo Anthony trade, NY has seen a ton of players come and go, making it difficult for chemistry to develop. However, over this past decade, there are 10 athletes who have unexpectedly impacted the franchise positively. 

Let's take a look at NY's most underrated players:

Malik Rose was a good role player for the Knicks. 

Statistically speaking, he didn't do too much, but his impact went beyond box scores. Rose played on those dreadful Knicks teams from 2005-09. 

He always hustled and had no problem doing the dirty work. He bruised on the block, he dove after loose balls and he rebounded and defended well. He may have been a little overpaid, but he was the kind of role player winning organizations loved. 

Rose never demanded the ball, nor complained when things didn't go his way. He simply put his head down and played as hard as he could every time he stepped onto the court. 

A perennial backup point guard, Chris Duhon excelled throughout 2008-09 for then head coach Mike D'Antoni, averaging careers highs of 11.1 PPG and 7.2 APG. 

The numbers were inflated due to the system, but Duhon still provided NY with consistency at the 1 after the franchise parted ways with Stephon Marbury. 

Despite his poor jumper and occasional turnover problems, Duhon was the quintessential stopgap for Donnie Walsh at the time. With NY rebuilding and in need of a distributor, Duhon came aboard for a two-year deal and did a solid job when considering his limitations. 

"My name's Al Harrington, and I get buckets," - Gus Johnson.

During that morbid period when Walsh was in the middle of retooling the Knicks, Harrington came aboard and filled a major need as a go-to scorer. 

In 2008-09, in the 68 games he played for NY, Harrington put up 20.7 PPG and 6.3 RPG. Although the franchise won a measly 32 games that season, the year would've gone far worse had he not been present. 

Harrington only spent two years with the Knicks, but he averaged 19.2 PPG over that span and only started in 66 of the 140 games he played. When offense was needed, Harrington often got buckets, exciting a fanbase that had nothing to look forward to at the time. 

Jared Jeffries had two stints with the organization.

The first time around, he was one of the terrible contracts given out by Isiah Thomas. The second time, he excelled as a defender and role player, providing reliable defense, rebounding and effort. 

Jeffries was miserable offensively, but his hustle and talent as a defender made him a pivotal contributor for NY between 2010-12. As long as the ball wasn't in his hands, Jeffries often left a positive impact when on the court. 

His contribution helped remedy some of the depth and defensive problems that came with the Carmelo Anthony trade. 

Although Rasheed Wallace's stint with the Knicks was very brief, he excelled in his role.

Sheed knocked down open shots, and he played excellent defense, despite his age.

He still had a couple of flare ups with referees, but none to the degree of earlier in his career, and for the most part, he was a great addition to NY's locker room. Part of the reason for NY's success in 2012-13 was the team's chemistry, and Sheed played a huge part in cultivating a positive veteran presence. 

Wallace provided NY with toughness, range and experience, and had he been able to stay healthy, perhaps the Knicks would've had an answer for Roy Hibbert in the playoffs. 

Steve Novak played a big role in NY's success from 2011-2013.

Although limited by his lack of athleticism, Novak found a way to impact the team positively on a game-to-game basis.

His ability to spread the floor and knock down open three-pointers made NY one of the more dangerous offenses in the league. 

Novak couldn't do much in terms of creating his own shot, or even curling off of screens, but when he was spotted up and had a clean look, it was a guaranteed three points. In his two seasons with the Knicks, Novak averaged 7.7 PPG, doing most of his damage from behind the arc. 

Wilson Chandler did everything asked of him while he was with the Knicks.

Under D'Antoni, Chandler guarded four positions and more often than not, excelled. In three-and-a-half seasons with NY, he averaged just over 15 points and just under six rebounds. 

Chandler's versatility made him the perfect fit for D'Antoni's offense. He had a smooth stroke in NY, knocking down corner threes with consistency, and when it came time to putting the ball on the floor, Chandler did his job and got to the basket.

Because of his inability to take over games, coupled with his lack of star power and grandeur, Chandler was packaged for Carmelo Anthony. Had he been able to stay put in NY, his depth and versatility would've benefited the franchise immensely.

Jamal Crawford may have been with the Knicks during the hopeless era, but he was one of the few players that consistently gave it his all throughout that stretch.

Crawford averaged around 17.5 PPG from 2004-08, and he wasn't afraid to take and make big shots toward the end of games.

He was a little isolation happy, but the franchise for those four years was clueless and lost, both on and off the court, so it didn't matter too much. 

The Knicks may have overpaid for Crawford's services—he was a volume scorer—but he did a decent job creating for his teammates at times. He averaged just under 4.5 assists while in NY, and he tried to be a playmaker although that wasn't a part of who he was. 

Although Jason Kidd only played one season with the Knicks, he's as high as he is on this list because of the drastic difference in NY's offense from the 2012-13 to 2013-14 seasons. 

With Kidd on the roster, the Knicks played composed and the ball movement was exceptional. Without him, the offense reached levels of stagnancy that made Knicks fans irate and disgusted. 

Kidd's wherewithal in the locker room and on the court has been missed since his departure. He knew how to control the tempo, and he made the right passes that exploited poor defensive rotations. 

Kurt Thomas is the epitome of hustle, loyalty and respect. 

The veteran's return to NY left an impact that hasn't been matched since his retirement. He was a tremendous fixture in the locker room, and his no-nonsense attitude helped keep guys like J.R. Smith in check. 

In the final game of his career, against the Utah Jazz (March 18, 2013), he gutted out a tremendous performance down the stretch, playing great defense and knocking down shots, despite being afflicted with a broken foot. 

Thomas was a breed of basketball player that no longer exists. His toughness, heart and unselfishness has been missed since his departure.