Thomas vows to turn Knicks around
Posted: Wednesday January 2, 2008 8:38PM; Updated: Thursday January 3, 2008 1:49AM



NEW YORK (AP) -- Isiah Thomas is still talking about winning championships -- with many of the same players that currently comprise one of the worst teams in the NBA.

And the same coach.

"I know people will laugh even more at me, but I'm hell bent on getting this accomplished and making sure that we get it done," Thomas said Wednesday night the New York Knicks' 107-97 loss to the Sacramento Kings. "And I'm not leaving until we get it done."

The Knicks fell to 8-22, last in the Atlantic Division and ahead of only Miami in the Eastern Conference.

Still, Thomas, also the team president, said he doesn't expect the Knicks to be active before the Feb. 21 trade deadline -- apparently because he doesn't think they need to be.

"I believe in (the team) and I believe that this is also the time that you can make serious mistakes with your roster that could set you back another three, four years," Thomas said. "We have good talent, we have good players, we have young players.

"We have a good nucleus and we just (need) them to play well together. It's not about breaking them up or tearing them down, it's about getting them to play better as a team."

Thomas arrived as team president in December 2003 and is in his second season as Knicks coach. New York has made only one playoff appearance since his arrival, getting swept by New Jersey in 2004, and speculation is rampant that Thomas' job is in jeopardy.

"I believe that one day we will win a championship here," Thomas said. "And I believe a couple of these guys will be a part of that. And I believe I'll be a part of that."

That would be up to Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, who hasn't spoken publicly since giving Thomas a multiyear extension last March. But Thomas isn't talking like a man who thinks he's on the way out.

"This is a dark time for us," he said. "But I know that there's a light at the end of this tunnel and I'm going to keep digging, and I'm going to keep pushing, and I'm not going to quit. I'm going to do it here."

Plenty of New Yorkers would disagree. Fans routinely chant for Thomas to be fired during Knicks games, and last month a group held a giant pink slip during a rally to express those wishes.

But Thomas said he wants to be remembered in New York as he is in Detroit, where he led the Pistons to two NBA championships during a Hall of Fame playing career.

"I don't necessarily just want to win a championship. I want to leave something that's going to stand for a long time. I want to leave a legacy, I want to leave tradition," Thomas said. "I want to leave an imprint, a blueprint in terms of how people play, and how they coach and how they respond when they put on the Knick uniform.

"And I want to leave what I left in Detroit. Every person that walks through that door as a Piston, when they put on that uniform, there's a certain pride that they carry. And I want to put that here and I want to leave that here in New York. I want to leave a championship legacy."


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/01/02/bc.bkn.knicks.thomas.ap/index.html?eref=si_nba

You know whats fun? Try humming Glory Glory Alleluia while reading that

The only thing he is leaving behind...is a steaming pile of horse sh%#!

Posted by VDesai:

I honestly can't stand it anymore. I know people want to see him suffer behind a 15 win team, but we need to purge this stain from our lives already.

I agree. If Dolan doesn't want to fire him right away then do what other franchise do and "hide" him somewhere else in the ORG. Remove him from GM/Coach and reappoint him to "scout" or something until you find a way to part ways.

In the meantime, with the Feb 21 deadline fast approaching, we NEED a new GM in here NOW!

Why? It's evident this needs to be torn down there is no fixing it. Therefore we need to try to liquidate at least ONE OF Curry,Crawford,Zach into 09 expirings THIS deadline.

Why is it so urgent? Right now an 09 expiring isn't all that attractive being 18 months away from expiring. However, come the summer, that 09 expiring is now just 1 year away from expiring and is very attractive to teams wanting to cut costs - and those teams might then be reluctant to trade them!

I've written it before, I know it's a pipedream, but I think it illustrates EXACTLY what this franchise should look to do:

Curry&Crawford for Davis&JWill = instant relief.
Zach for Kwame+Filler = instant relief.

The next thing you know you're buying out all 09s in Marbury and Malik and YOURE IN GREAT SHAPE!

If we don't start right away you can no longer target the summer of 2009 as the year "you START building a new team"........you're now looking at the summer of 2010.


and........GODFORBID.........Isiah tricks Dolan yet again and trades Marbury and Malik for 2011 and 2012 salaries. THEN YOU KNOW WHAT!?

WERE DONE UNTIL THE SUMMER of 2011 or WORSE!


This is why Isiah should NOT be "punished" or "allowed to twist in the wind hoping he resigns" because we're DESTROYING any chance to climb out of this in a timely manner by doing so.



Dolan, get your seven chinned ass up and sign the damn pink slip already.

Isiah finally admits to having a lifetime contract. Well, it's about time.

Let's give Isiah a little room to work with things here. We are definitely the best 8-22 team in the history of the NBA. That means something.

Posted by Solace:

Isiah finally admits to having a lifetime contract. Well, it's about time.

Let's give Isiah a little room to work with things here. We are definitely the best 8-22 team in the history of the NBA. That means something.

Hey, a few loose balls, a few boards, a bounce here or there, a few less boos, a couple of racist hatters locked up, and a couple of refs reprimanded for screwing us... WE're 22-8!

Also, remember, a team loaded with 25 y.o.+ players needs time to get things together. They're just babies scratching the surface of their potential. By the time they're in their 40s they will all be superstars!

*******************************
All we have left is comedy it would seem......there's nothing else.

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Cosmic:

Oh, man...and watching him say that with the look on his face was just disturbing yesterday evening.

"I know people will laugh even more at me..."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Damn right you delusional wind bag.


My god.............

you are a hatter

Seriously, there are mad hatters on this board.

Posted by K22:

Two things:

1) Con artists aren't stupid or delusional. I think this whole speech was more to Little Jimmy than us.
2) This speech does sorta show that he doesn't think highly of the fans. Pretty condescending in a way, no?

Why Isiah should be high on NY fans?
The Garden is packed and people are still following this "team".
Fans surely deserved to be treated like a bunch of idiots.




[Edited by - arkrud on 01-03-2008 09:38 AM]

Posted by nyk4ever:

This really is never going to end. Why would Isiah quit and why would Dolan fire him and have to pay his contract? This seriously will not end until Isiahs contract is up..

If Dolan thinks a new GM can bring in more money, including making up for the cost of Isiah's contract, then he WILL hire a new GM. It's a matter of timing. A new GM is handcuffed now but will still be torn apart by the media if he doesn't make improvements (which he has little ability to make) before the end of the season. I'd keep Isiah for the rest of the season if I were the owner (but wouldn't let him make one move). Then we finish with one of the 3 or 4 worst records in the league. We have a very high draft pick and some expiring contracts. That's when I'd hire a new GM.

I think he's left tradition all right... left it way behind, in the dust.