Lost in conversation
-
- April
- 9
It seems logical that Donnie Walsh and Isiah Thomas would at least sit down for a preliminary discussion before the Knicks go looking to extend this winning streak tonight at MSG.
We still don’t know for certain a meaningful basketball discussion is taking place at some point in the day, however.
And while it’s unlikely Thomas will stay on as coach, there is a chance he lands a job somewhere in the organization. It comes down to money. Thomas is under contract for three more years and is owed $18 million. Should he want to pursue another job in the league, it makes sense to negotiate a buyout. Ultimately, the Knicks would probably save $2 or $3 million.
So maybe he’s in line to become a special consultant or scout.
In the mean time, is anybody ready to give Thomas credit for picking up Wilson Chandler in the draft? Or perhaps you’re too busy wondering how this guy spent most of the season watching from the bench.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 11:12 am by Mike Dougherty.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Hopefully Walsh lets Isiah be responsible for the draft. He’s drafted more good players in his 7 years in management (4 with Knicks and 3(?) with Toronto) than Walsh did in his 24 total years with Indiana.
Speaking of which, how can you recommend that New York magazine article when it doesn’t even discuss the two enormous mitigating factors for Isiah: the far, far, far worse mess he inherited and his strong (if not outstanding) draft performances?
Marc R,
You sound like an Isiah fan.
Chandler would have ridden the pine for most coaches. JVG and Riley were notorious for that. He probably would not have played at all this season for those two. The one thing that Isiah CAN do is find talent. That is why I think that he should be kept in that capacity as head of scouting or something. There are some talented players in Europe these days and the NYK need to take advantage of that. Iaish can help there.
Mike
You have some reasonable bloggers. And your proposition that Thomas may stay on in some capacity where his talents can be maximized and faults minimized is a theory I’ve considered. Also if you think of how Isiah was forced to the bench after the Larry Brown firing, and was forced to retain some of Brown’s assistance, coupled with his strict compliance with Dolan’s media policy and loyalty to his employer, I think there is a basis to speculate that Thomas will remain in some capacity.
As I’ve said on other blogs, my theory of Isiah’s demise this year is the behind the 8 ball and choke theory. this year was his 4th at the helm of the organization, his team showed promise last year, and were arguable a few injuries short of making the post season, the pressure on Thomas’s moral character crossed with any assessment of him as a Executive or coach, and it was a win or go home year for the organization. What did Thomas do? He choked when behind the 8 ball. Thomas as GM acquired talent he misguidely believed would boost the teams chances of making the playoffs in order to secure his reigns on the organization. He over hedged his bets with all the MLE signings and trades that created redundancy in several position- SF, PF, post player- too name but a few. The redundancy, bad chemistry of meshing new acquisitions, and lastly the awoling of the team after teh MEbury episode spelled his demise.
But again the bloggers here are correct to point out that the Knicks are a much younger and talented organization now than they were prior to Thomas’s arrival. Yet b/c of where the Knicks picked in the draft, the players they’ve acquired are often players with upside yet with obvious holes in their game and only Chandler appears to be making the case for himself as a legit two way player.
What are you’re thoughts Mike and Knackers?