Zeke's always been a sneak
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
There's no doubt that Isiah Thomas was a truly elite player. Just look at his bona fides: A 12-time All-Star in his 13-year career. Named to the All-NBA Team in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Led the Pistons to a pair of NBA championships (1989, 1990). In 1996, was officially named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. And in 2000, Thomas entered the Hall of Fame.
Too bad he was, and still is, such a jerk.
Despite his incredible skills, Thomas was universally despised by opposing players. The cheap-shot antics of Bill Laimbeer garnered the headlines, but Thomas was the baddest of the Bad Boys. The little man was forever buzzing around the big men's knees, making contact after a whistle had sounded, and blindsiding opponents.
But Thomas' favorite, and most despicable, nasty trick came into play when he found himself playing defense in the paint. As an opposing guard planted a foot and began to rise toward the basket, Thomas would stretch a hand to the ball to distract the referees —then he'd simply step on the guard's floor-bound foot. Just for a moment. Just to disrupt the opponent's balance and rhythm. The guard would appear to stumble and, more often than not, the resulting shot would go astray.
A clever, fool-proof maneuver that also endangered the careers of numerous opponents.
It was stunts like this that moved Michael Jordan to issue an ultimatum as the make-up of the 1992 Dream Team was being discussed. MJ would stay home if Thomas was invited to participate.
Don't look for Lenny Wilkens and Isiah Thomas to be sitting together at next year's Summer Pro League in Long Beach. (Noah Graham / GettyImages)
With his angelic smile and soft-spoken testimonies whenever he's approached by the media, Thomas has cultivated an all-around-nice-guy persona. In truth, however, he's always been involved in shady enterprises. MJ's gambling addiction was always well-publicized — so much so that Thomas' close associations with notorious gamblers got lost in the bright lights that were focused on Jordan.
From 1994-1997, Thomas was vice-president and part-owner of the expansionist Toronto Raptors. Because Thomas is a control-freak, he constantly insists on being the center of attention — so he frequently undermined the authority of Toronto's coach-of-the-moment by donning a sweat suit and assuming a supervisory role during practice sessions. (During their initial three seasons, the Raptors went through a like number of coaches — Brendan Malone, Darrell Walker, and Butch Carter.)
In 1999, Thomas raised an estimated $9 million to become the majority owner of the Continental Basketball Association. Visiting every extant franchise, Thomas swore that the league's new ownership would augment everybody's operating expenses, and that he'd personally make unlimited appearances in each city to further promote the league. The CBA's owners, fans, and players greeted him as a savior.
During my own nine-year tenure as both an assistant and a head coach in the CBA, it was axiomatic that a sure-fire way to wind up with a small fortune was to start out with a large fortune, and then buy a CBA franchise. So why would Thomas do something as foolish as buying the whole league?
Simply because the NBA was poised to initiate its own minor league — which turned out to be the National Basketball Development League. Thomas figured that because the CBA already had arena leases and front office personnel in place, he could induce the NBA to buy him out for a huge profit. When the NBA only offered him an estimated $10 million for the whole kit-and-caboodle, Thomas lost all interest in the CBA — reneging on both his promotional and financial promises.
The resulting lawsuits and counter-suits will keep attorneys from Rockford to Yakima busy for decades.
From 2000-2003, Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers. The team's record improved from year to year (from 41 wins to 42 to 48), but never got past the first round of the playoffs. NBA insiders felt that Thomas failed to provide effective leadership and, consequently, the Pacers were classic underachievers. And through it all, Thomas acted as though he was always the Pacers' star attraction while the players were merely overpaid hirelings.
Then, just about a year ago, the Knicks hired Thomas to run the show in New York. Thomas started off with a pair of turnovers — totally mishandling the firing of Don Chaney, and replacing him with Lenny Wilkens, who is hopelessly out of touch with today's hip-hop hoopsters. Now that Wilkens has confirmed his malfeasance, Thomas can't fire him without admitting that hiring him was a mistake to begin with. In lieu of installing another new coach, Thomas isolated Willkens by canning his main man and long-time assistant, Dick Helms — replacing him with one of his own henchmen from the Pistons' glory days, the infamously Machiavellian Brendan Suhr.
Already the New York media is rife with rumors concerning Wilkens' replacement. Suhr? Assistant coach Mark Aguirre (one of Thomas' childhood buddies, as well as an ex-teammate? Or Thomas himself?
Meanwhile, Thomas has made wholesale changes in the Knicks' roster with the aim of making the team more athletic: Bringing Stephon Marbury back home (in exchange for some future draft picks and a benchful of warm bodies) was a good idea — although Marbury is a scoring guard in a point guard's body and can't handle the reins of a legitimate championship contender. Nazr Mohammed is an adequate back-up center who's frequently overmatched as a starter. Tim Thomas is a career underachiever and whiner. Even in his prime, Vin Baker was selfish and defenseless. Jamal Crawford is talented, but erratic and undisciplined.
"I like reclamation projects," says Thomas.
Too bad he's running a professional basketball team and not the Father Flanagan Home for Wayward Boys.
The cynical New York media is just beginning to discover that Thomas's feet are really water soluble. But he seems totally immune to criticism. That's because ex-players and coaches who knew him well swear that Thomas only cares about media attention and money. As long as he commands the spotlight, and continues to cash fat salary checks every two weeks, Thomas couldn't care less about what's left of his reputation.
The biggest picture is that Isiah Thomas is a phony, and under his guidance the Knicks are destined to be only good enough to break the hearts of their devoted fans.
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3162384
-------------
-Bball
[edit=68=1100844381]Posted some things outside of the actual story by mistake[/edit]
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
There's no doubt that Isiah Thomas was a truly elite player. Just look at his bona fides: A 12-time All-Star in his 13-year career. Named to the All-NBA Team in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Led the Pistons to a pair of NBA championships (1989, 1990). In 1996, was officially named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. And in 2000, Thomas entered the Hall of Fame.
Too bad he was, and still is, such a jerk.
Despite his incredible skills, Thomas was universally despised by opposing players. The cheap-shot antics of Bill Laimbeer garnered the headlines, but Thomas was the baddest of the Bad Boys. The little man was forever buzzing around the big men's knees, making contact after a whistle had sounded, and blindsiding opponents.
But Thomas' favorite, and most despicable, nasty trick came into play when he found himself playing defense in the paint. As an opposing guard planted a foot and began to rise toward the basket, Thomas would stretch a hand to the ball to distract the referees —then he'd simply step on the guard's floor-bound foot. Just for a moment. Just to disrupt the opponent's balance and rhythm. The guard would appear to stumble and, more often than not, the resulting shot would go astray.
A clever, fool-proof maneuver that also endangered the careers of numerous opponents.
It was stunts like this that moved Michael Jordan to issue an ultimatum as the make-up of the 1992 Dream Team was being discussed. MJ would stay home if Thomas was invited to participate.
Don't look for Lenny Wilkens and Isiah Thomas to be sitting together at next year's Summer Pro League in Long Beach. (Noah Graham / GettyImages)
With his angelic smile and soft-spoken testimonies whenever he's approached by the media, Thomas has cultivated an all-around-nice-guy persona. In truth, however, he's always been involved in shady enterprises. MJ's gambling addiction was always well-publicized — so much so that Thomas' close associations with notorious gamblers got lost in the bright lights that were focused on Jordan.
From 1994-1997, Thomas was vice-president and part-owner of the expansionist Toronto Raptors. Because Thomas is a control-freak, he constantly insists on being the center of attention — so he frequently undermined the authority of Toronto's coach-of-the-moment by donning a sweat suit and assuming a supervisory role during practice sessions. (During their initial three seasons, the Raptors went through a like number of coaches — Brendan Malone, Darrell Walker, and Butch Carter.)
In 1999, Thomas raised an estimated $9 million to become the majority owner of the Continental Basketball Association. Visiting every extant franchise, Thomas swore that the league's new ownership would augment everybody's operating expenses, and that he'd personally make unlimited appearances in each city to further promote the league. The CBA's owners, fans, and players greeted him as a savior.
During my own nine-year tenure as both an assistant and a head coach in the CBA, it was axiomatic that a sure-fire way to wind up with a small fortune was to start out with a large fortune, and then buy a CBA franchise. So why would Thomas do something as foolish as buying the whole league?
Simply because the NBA was poised to initiate its own minor league — which turned out to be the National Basketball Development League. Thomas figured that because the CBA already had arena leases and front office personnel in place, he could induce the NBA to buy him out for a huge profit. When the NBA only offered him an estimated $10 million for the whole kit-and-caboodle, Thomas lost all interest in the CBA — reneging on both his promotional and financial promises.
The resulting lawsuits and counter-suits will keep attorneys from Rockford to Yakima busy for decades.
From 2000-2003, Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers. The team's record improved from year to year (from 41 wins to 42 to 48), but never got past the first round of the playoffs. NBA insiders felt that Thomas failed to provide effective leadership and, consequently, the Pacers were classic underachievers. And through it all, Thomas acted as though he was always the Pacers' star attraction while the players were merely overpaid hirelings.
Then, just about a year ago, the Knicks hired Thomas to run the show in New York. Thomas started off with a pair of turnovers — totally mishandling the firing of Don Chaney, and replacing him with Lenny Wilkens, who is hopelessly out of touch with today's hip-hop hoopsters. Now that Wilkens has confirmed his malfeasance, Thomas can't fire him without admitting that hiring him was a mistake to begin with. In lieu of installing another new coach, Thomas isolated Willkens by canning his main man and long-time assistant, Dick Helms — replacing him with one of his own henchmen from the Pistons' glory days, the infamously Machiavellian Brendan Suhr.
Already the New York media is rife with rumors concerning Wilkens' replacement. Suhr? Assistant coach Mark Aguirre (one of Thomas' childhood buddies, as well as an ex-teammate? Or Thomas himself?
Meanwhile, Thomas has made wholesale changes in the Knicks' roster with the aim of making the team more athletic: Bringing Stephon Marbury back home (in exchange for some future draft picks and a benchful of warm bodies) was a good idea — although Marbury is a scoring guard in a point guard's body and can't handle the reins of a legitimate championship contender. Nazr Mohammed is an adequate back-up center who's frequently overmatched as a starter. Tim Thomas is a career underachiever and whiner. Even in his prime, Vin Baker was selfish and defenseless. Jamal Crawford is talented, but erratic and undisciplined.
"I like reclamation projects," says Thomas.
Too bad he's running a professional basketball team and not the Father Flanagan Home for Wayward Boys.
The cynical New York media is just beginning to discover that Thomas's feet are really water soluble. But he seems totally immune to criticism. That's because ex-players and coaches who knew him well swear that Thomas only cares about media attention and money. As long as he commands the spotlight, and continues to cash fat salary checks every two weeks, Thomas couldn't care less about what's left of his reputation.
The biggest picture is that Isiah Thomas is a phony, and under his guidance the Knicks are destined to be only good enough to break the hearts of their devoted fans.
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3162384
-------------
-Bball
[edit=68=1100844381]Posted some things outside of the actual story by mistake[/edit]
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