OT: Isiah Thomas meddling
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-thomasknicks022011
Like all Wojnarowski pieces, the article sensationalizes and is anonymously-sourced, but a lot of others have said the same thing. I'll always be a huge fan of what Thomas meant to the Pistons organization and Detroit, but if this is true he has to be the biggest asshole in sports and Dolan an even worse owner than William Clay Ford.
Hey Zeke - COLLEGE KIDS SIGNED UP TO HAVE YOU COACH THEM! Not stand around while you shit on them and pretend you still have your old job. What a dick.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:56 AM ^
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:55 AM ^
how much influence Isiah has had in the 'Melo talks, but Woj seems to think it was an unfair deal, thus using that opinion to reinforce his position that Isiah was front and center in the deal. I think the deal is ok for the Knicks this season, and will pay its dividends in the following seasons once the Chauncey contract is off the books next year and Chris Paul makes his expected jump to NYC.
Melo was going to NYC no matter what happened, and that's what drove the deal, not Isiah. Totally agreed though that Dolan should not be the owner of the Knicks and Isiah shouldn't even be allowed to fly into JFK let alone step foot in MSG.
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:19 AM ^
Seriously have my doubts on this one. The Northeast media has been blasting away at Zeke for 20 years. He is an easy target. Not that he didn't deserve criticism. But this seems far fetched.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:05 AM ^
Isiah Thomas covertly offering advice and guidance to an owner who gave him an extension for ruining the franchise is a far-fetched idea to you.
However, in the comment you made before this, the theory that an SEC team receiving sanctions would result in a secession of the SEC from the NCAA, forming an "unregulated football super alliance" seems plausible to you?
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-alabama-and-barry-sanders-jr-more#commen…
Care to explain your logic?
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^
That is a relief as he is usually diddling.
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:56 AM ^
http://www.comcast.net/articles/sports-nba/20110220/Nuggets-Anthony.Trade.Talks/
Looks like Isiah got his way, if this article is true. Still think the Nets deal was much better for the Nuggets but in the end Anthony had to sign an extension to make it happen.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
Which is exactly why the trade was such a bad deal. Carmello wasn't going to sign with the Nets, and everyone knew it. The Knicks didn't have to raise their bid to top the Nets, all they had to do was wait out the Nuggets, and on deadline day, when the Nuggets realized they were going to not get anything back in return, they would have made the much more reasonable deal with the Knicks.
Now the knicks are right back in the pickle they had worked so hard to get out of. All their money will be wrapped up in two players, one of whom has bad knees, and will lack the flexibility to get over the hump and challenge the elite in the playoffs.
February 22nd, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^
I don't get what is wrong with what supposedly happened. I guess I don't follow.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:03 AM ^
I think it has less to do with an illegal/legal activities as much as it shows how poorly managed and controlled the NY Knicks are and how anemic (and to an extent hypocritical) the NBA can be when it tries to clean up particular franchises.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^
Yea I honestly couldn't really follow the story.
So basically Dolan was forced to fire Thomas and then hired Walsh, but he still consults Thomas and then tells Walsh to execute what Thomas says to do?
That seems fine to me.
The NBA is a joke. Has been for a number of years. I don't even watch the product anymore. Ever since star manufacturing took precedent over the quality of the play itself then I knew it was all over for the NBA. I appreciate that the Spurs are still successful without manufacturing superstars, but most teams are simply iso-get our guy to the All-Star Game franchises seemingly built to sell shoes, soft drinks, etc. It's pretty poor.
Some noteable horrible playoff series that in no way should have been legal.
LA- Sacremento series 2002
Heat - Pistons series 2006
Heat - Dallas series 2006
Pistons - Cavs series 2007 Rasheed Wallace had this to say afterward
"I still don't think they (Cavaliers) beat us, we beat ourselves," Wallace said. "And I think we also fell victim to that personal NBA thing where they are trying to make it a world game and get (television) ratings. They wanted to put their darling in there (the NBA Finals) and they did, and look what ended up happening.
"This game ain't basketball anymore, it's entertainment," Wallace said. "It's starting to get like the WWF. There ain't no real wrestling anymore either. It's all fake."
I for one, believe him. Haven't watched much since.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:02 AM ^
Rasheed Wallace, voice of reason or petulant child after he loses? Man, tough call.
February 22nd, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^
Wallace's antics were immature, but those words were true. Since MJ the NBA has been a joke, in terms of catering to superstars. I have become a casual fan because of it.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:10 AM ^
Were maybe the most "rigged" event in modern sports history. The League (read: Stern) had decided they were sick of team oriented teams like the Spurs, Pistons (and Mavs, really) dominating the League. The problem? They didn't really have a superstar who was ripe yet. So they had Wade, who had done nothing to earn it, suddenly getting Jordan like calls (who had his ass kissed by officials more than anyone else...but at least has that best player of all time thing to earn it). As bad as watching Wade go to the line constantly against the Pistons, it was far worse vs. the Mavs. That was just a disgrace.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^
As bad as that was for me as a Pistons fan since I was very young. The Sacramento - LA series was the worst I have ever seen in any sport, ever. It was theft.
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
I agree - I remember turning off Game 6 midway through the 4th quarter because I knew the Lakers would win based on the disparity of foul calls alone. Just a horrible stretch for the NBA.
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:31 PM ^
you don't watch the NBA anymore belies your ability to credibly critique it. Your argument that "most teams are simply iso-get our guy to the All-Star Game franchises" is like saying that most NCAA football teams pay their players and routinely violate the rules, aka a gross overstatement.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
And your opinion is more worthy than mine because you think so?
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:00 AM ^
I'm not sure about the extent of Thomas' puppeteering of the Melo trade, but I do think that Dolan has always liked Thomas far more than the average fan/coach/player/owner, and for whatever reason he remains enamored with a guy who "looks" like he should be a good coach/GM but clearly is not. I will always enjoy the memories Isaiah made while in Detroit, but he seems like a scumbag who will hurt anyone (from women to college kids to fans) so that he can have his way. I never cared for the Knicks, but I am going to take particular joy in seeing them stumble the next couple of years with two big talents and nobody else.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:11 AM ^
Isiah Thomas can definitely be an asshole, and I'm guessing Wojinowski is someone he has pissed off somewhere down the line. Really, though, anyone who is successfully and legally circumventing David Stern is OK in my book.
Stern is by far the most arrogant and autocratic of all sports commissioners. He seems to think that rules are "for the little people." His decisions are at best capricious and at worst criminal. Stern is what happens when a yenta gets money and power.
Dolan and Thomas can discuss business all they want as long as Isiah isn't getting paid. I'm not saying in the least that I agree with them, but Dolan and Thomas probably feel that Stern's treatment of Thomas was "unfair" and that Stern overstepped his bounds in telling Dolan how to run his franchise.
So, while I see Isiah as an incompetent exec, I have no problem with him being a major PITA to David Stern. Because, ultimately, Thomas and Stern deserve each other. Neither is trustworthy, both are petty and vindictive, and both allow their egos to make their business decisions.
The one thing I can take from the entire "aughts" is that they were proof that Bill Davidson definitely picked the right "Bad Boy" to promote to the front office. Imagine what it would be like in Detroit with Isiah running the Pistons. I don't know about anyone else here, but I'm glad to see Isiah meddle in the Knicks' organizational matters if it means he stays away from Detroit.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:23 AM ^
If Walsh is still with the Knicks next year, then probably Thomas' role in it is being blown out of proportion. If it's true that Dolan forced Walsh to do this, then it's hard to imagine Walsh staying.
Although, that said, Walsh likes a challenge, and rebuilding the Knicks after this trade is definitely going to be a challenge!
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^
I can't believe I keep rooting for this team, with its fat moron owner and the constant specter of that scumbag Isiah hanging over it. We gave up at least 2 more players than Donnie was willing to and I have no doubt the deal would have happened either way.
Dolan is a guy you wouldn't hire to run Dairy Queen on his best day, and he meddles with the guy who finally dragged us out of salary cap hell. Of course he did. This trade might work out, maybe we get Deron Williams in a year and a half, maybe we're good enough now to give the Heat/Bulls/Celtics a run (and we certainly weren't before). But the fact that this team can't escape Isiah, who humiliated the team on and off the court, is truly sickening.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:15 AM ^
I knew there was a reason I liked your posts.
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:38 PM ^
I can't believe this is the same guy who had that angelic smile all the time and told kids in the Detroit Edison ads to "Look up." It's like that was another lifetime ago. (That was also around the time when Dennis Rodman was a normal human being.)
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:15 PM ^
Zeke was also known as the Smiling Assassin.
I missed the killer instinct of the Bad Boys during the Chauncey era. So many times the Pistons would win a game, only to take the next one off. I wonder if they might have won another championship if they had really put the hammer down and eliminated teams as early as possible, rather than playing extra games.
February 22nd, 2011 at 3:55 PM ^
but why do so many people on here dislike or hate Isaiah? Personally I see him as a guy with gigantic balls as a player and a good basketball coach. He should never be able to pull the trigger on another trade or draft pick, but stick to just coaching.
I would describe him as a coach with a CEO mentality. A lot of CEOs are not the nicest people on the block, and some are pretty scummy. Maybe that's what he is. I'm still just surprised at him being considered the biggest asshole out there to non-Knicks fans.
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
The sexual harassment lawsuit and the controversy around his drug overdose were pretty entertaining. Didn't he blame the overdose on his teenage daughter or say she was the one in the hospital or something like that?