However, taking Balkman over Rondo was a huge miss, especially from a former great PG like Isiah. Where was that eye for talent then? Moreover, I remember really wanting Granger instead of Frye in that 2005 draft, especially since back then our best SF was Tim Thomas. But of course, Isiah drafted by need instead of BPA, since we had zero frontcourt players after the KT/Nate trade. He also passed on Bynum who would've filled our need at the 5 much better than Charming Frye ever would have.

Stephon Marbury was coveted and welcomed with open arms by fans, but did not work out for the same reasons Ron Artest would not work in New York, nice try.

Matt Barnes, who no one heard of was signed as free agent by Thomas before he became fashionable

Ime Udoka, who? He plays for he Spurs, right?

Trevor Ariza, quality selection

Nate Robinson, too much energy packed into a tiny body

Channing Frye, three point specialist with new contract

Wilson Chandler, poised to take the next step in his career, 6'8 240 is not that easy to be graceful

David Lee, our Herschel Walker, thank you for the memories but I'm looking ahead to training camp

TMS wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:I am not sure why people are debating Isiah's accomplishments during his time in NY. Isiah was not good at his job even if he didn't have all of the other issues that came along with him. The last two years of sucking @ss are because of Isiah. Not having a first round pick this year was because of Isiah. Isiah chased talent regardless of contract, character, the current roster needs, team chemistry, or the impact on the team down the road. He was a disaster without ever discussing all of the controversy that surrounded him while in NY. To excuse all of his failures because he picked Lee, Nate, Chandler and Ariza during his five year tenure is ridiculous.

we're not debating his accomplishments, we're debating his ability to spot young talent... his disastrous trades, off the court indiscretions & horrible FA signings are not up for debate... no one has excused his failures because he picked Lee, Nate, Chandler & Ariza.

misterearl wrote:NYT

No Need for Panic, Knicks Fans

By HOWARD BECK

Isiah Thomas is back, and it is hard to imagine a four-word statement that would inspire so much dread among Knicks fans — unless the words “Isiah Thomas” were substituted with “Stephon Marbury,” “Jerome James” or “Larry Brown.”

When the Knicks announced Friday that Thomas was returning as a consultant, it sparked a predictable torrent of outrage and derision. To commentators, the hiring was comical. To Knicks fans, tragic. It is not entirely clear, however, just how much panic is warranted.

Thomas’s new job is ambiguous and limited. According to the team’s statement, he will assist in scouting prospects and recruiting free agents. He will rank, at best, seventh in the basketball operations hierarchy, behind Donnie Walsh (the team president), Glen Grunwald (senior vice president), Misho Ostarcevic (director of player personnel), John Gabriel (director of pro scouting and free agency), Jamie Mathews (vice president) and Coach Mike D’Antoni.

In effect, Thomas is merely resuming the role he had from April 2008 through April 2009, when Walsh — after replacing Thomas — made him an informal adviser. In that year, Thomas did some scouting and provided sporadic feedback to Walsh.

Although he was removed as the president and coach, Thomas was never fired as an employee. He left the Knicks after accepting the coaching job at Florida International University in April 2009. Had he not taken that job, Thomas might have remained with the Knicks indefinitely —placing him in exactly the same position he is in now, as a part-time adviser with no authority.

crzymdups wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:The Jordan Hill trade with the flip of the pick and no protection does sound like IT.

if not for that trade we wouldn't have been able to A) sign Amare or B) trade DLee for the GSW package. you get to pick ONE of the above not both if we don't make that jordan hill trade. we wouldn't have had the cap room to do both without that trade. not to mention it allowed us to add Felton.

knicks fans who still complain about that trade...

we gave up way too much. giving up Hill and two possible lottery picks just to get rid of Jefferies?

and you are wrong about the cap space--in fact no even close

Just to show you--AFTER we signed Amare and did the S+T--we signed Felton 8mm Mosgov 3.2mm Mason JR and we still have 1.2mm in cap--we had almost 14mm in cap space AFTER the Randolph Lee and Amare deals.

so if Felton Mosgov and Mason Jr is > then Hill and two number 1 picks????? not to mention all of them were signed as stop gaps.

BRIGGS wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:The Jordan Hill trade with the flip of the pick and no protection does sound like IT.

if not for that trade we wouldn't have been able to A) sign Amare or B) trade DLee for the GSW package. you get to pick ONE of the above not both if we don't make that jordan hill trade. we wouldn't have had the cap room to do both without that trade. not to mention it allowed us to add Felton.

knicks fans who still complain about that trade...

we gave up way too much. giving up Hill and two possible lottery picks just to get rid of Jefferies?

and you are wrong about the cap space--in fact no even close

Just to show you--AFTER we signed Amare and did the S+T--we signed Felton 8mm Mosgov 3.2mm Mason JR and we still have 1.2mm in cap--we had almost 14mm in cap space AFTER the Randolph Lee and Amare deals.

so if Felton Mosgov and Mason Jr is > then Hill and two number 1 picks????? not to mention all of them were signed as stop gaps.

"NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2010 - Isiah Thomas has officially been re-hired and named a consultant to the New York Knicks, it was announced today…"

The above sentence reads like the lead-in to the punch line in to one of David Letterman's jokes during his monologue… Or the start to some fictitious column penned by Bill "Sports Guy" Simmons meant solely to poke fun at the fragile psyche of beleaguered Knick fans… Or a nightmare from which any New York basketball fan worth his salt would wake up from sweating and scared out of his mind, until he realized he had only been dreaming and could nod off back to sleep knowing it was only imagined delirium … Or maybe the first line in an article in "The Onion."

Only problem is, the Knicks really are re-hiring Isiah Thomas. It is a sad, depressing reality that Knicks fans are somehow, someway going to have to wrap their heads around.

In other breaking news, FEMA has re-hired Michael Brown and BP has re-hired CEO Tony Hayward. And the Atlanta Falcons are checking into Bobby Petrino's availability, and the Detroit Lions have asked Matt Millen if he is interested in taking another shot at running the team as a GM.

All kidding aside, yesterday's announcement that Knicks owner James Dolan is welcoming Isiah Thomas back into the fold is beyond rational comprehension. It is a slap in the face to all of the organization's loyal fans, especially those that have supported the Knicks through the debacle that has been the last decade.

I suppose it is debatable whether or not Isiah Thomas is in fact the worst executive in the history of all of professional sports, but he is certainly in the conversation. By any standard method of measurement, Isiah's four-plus years in New York were a complete and unmitigated disaster. The overall record, 133-231, including a 53-101 mark as head coach, is horrendous. (You could also tack on one more defeat if you count the loss Isiah and MSG suffered in the infamous sexual harassment lawsuit.) The trades were been dreadful. The free-agent signings were laughable. There is no need to get into specifics at this point, we are all well aware of the irreparable damage that was done.

As an aside, I always find it humorous when some try to defend Isiah and claim he is an incomparably skilled evaluator of talent. Yes, he had some very good picks (David Lee and Trevor Ariza, whom he would later trade for Steve Francis!), but let's not forget Isiah also drafted Renaldo Balkman one spot ahead of Rajon Rondo, when the Knicks desperately needed a point guard. In addition, he took Channing Frye ahead of Andrew Bynum and Danny Granger.

However, getting involved in a debate regarding Isiah's overall performance is a waste of time because no sane, sensible human being could ever believe Thomas is in any way qualified to be involved in the front office of any organization - be it a local McDonalds franchise, let alone a multi-million dollar sports team. Well, no person other than James Dolan, that is. And since Dolan is the owner of the New York Knicks, and apparently has some morbid fascination with the train wreck that is Isiah Thomas, New Yorkers are despondently shaking their heads in disbelief this morning.

Now, some might argue that, on the surface, the announcement that Isiah Thomas has been hired as a "consultant" doesn't seem as if it should set off the alarm bells it has in NYC. However, there are some very disturbing causes for concern.

First, there was absolutely no reason for the Knicks to make this public. Sports franchises, as many other high-profile, multi-tiered organizations frequently add periphery employees, such as consultants or advisors. This is common practice. The vast majority of the time no public pronouncements are made. It is alarming that Dolan choose to made an grand proclamation and issue a statement that read" "Isiah Thomas brings unique experience as a Hall of Fame player, coach, executive and owner, and we believe having him as part of our organization will be extremely beneficial to the team's success." It appears Dolan is doing his best to try and assist Thomas' attempts to re-ingratiate himself within NBA circles, and eventually angle for another GM job.

The other distressing factor is Donnie Walsh's advanced age and deteriorating health. When Walsh was hired as team president, all parties understood that this wouldn't be a 20-year marriage due to the fact that Walsh is nearing the end of his career as a basketball executive. Although Donnie hasn't tabbed a general manager to take over when he retires, it was assumed former Knick Allan Houston was being groomed for a significant role within the organization. Moreover, there are number of qualified GM's out of work and on the open market. Kevin Pritchard, Mark Warkentien, and Rod Thorn, just to name a few. All three of these individuals would represent significant additions to the Knicks front office. But are we to read between the lines of Dolan's latest bonehead decision and wonder if he views Isiah as Walsh's ultimate successor? Furthermore, if you were Thorn or Pritchard and had to choose your future place of employment, would you feel comfortable working alongside Isiah, knowing he was likely gunning for you job behind the scenes? (Check out Isiah's comment ESPN yesterday: "I've always said that if there's a GM position that should ever open that I would be interested in going back to the NBA as a GM for the right spot and the right opportunity.")

Or, as a potential GM candidate, would you feel confident working for an employer that doesn't have the common sense to realize that Thomas is a plague that should be avoided at all costs. Failing to properly review his resume and hiring him the first time was bad enough; but allowing yourself to be sucked back into that vortex… c'mon.

Fool me once, shame on you. Destroy my franchise and turn my team into a league-wide laughingstock and I still hire Isiah back again, shame on me…

The worst part about this recent news was that it finally appeared the Knicks were begging to turn the corner. Despite missing out on the LeBron Lottery, Donnie and the Knicks had a very successful offseason, with Amar'e Stoudemire being the first big piece to the puzzle. (And please don't even intimate that Isiah was responsible for recruiting Amar'e to NYC. Amar'e himself has said that he would have stayed in Phoenix had the Suns has offered him the same contract. The Knicks gave Stoudemire $100 bucks, that's why he chose the Knicks, not because of Isiah's charming smile or quick wit.)

Then Walsh made the terrific trade with Golden State, parlaying David Lee (who had one foot out the door was leaving anyway) into a future star in the extremely exciting Anthony Randolph, and two solid role players in Azubuike and Turiaf. Raymond Felton the key ingredient added, supplying Mike D'Antoni with the solid starting point guard he has ached for since leaving the Valley of the Sun.

This is a young team, with enticing upside and the potential for great growth. In addition, the organization had a clear leader and sound decision-maker in Donnie Walsh, who the unquestioned director, responsible for calling the shots.

For the first time in (seemingly) forever, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and future looked relatively promising.

Now, that bright future seems as if it could be in jeopardy...

The ominous dark cloud of Isiah Thomas' specter is hovering hauntingly close to Madison Square Garden. History tells us that dark, dreary days lay ahead if Thomas is able to snake his way back in Dolan's good graces to the point where he is put in charge of this franchise once more.

It took Donnie Walsh and company over two years to clean out the foul stench that had permeated every crevice of MSG. Virulent, vituperative weeds had overrun the Garden, which was teeming with dreariness and depression.

Two years of Walsh's arduous and excruciating efforts will all be for naught if he is replaced by Isiah Thomas.

Yes, it's a sad day for Knicks fans everywhere. The only question is whether or not worse ones will follow…

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17029#ixzz0vzzi8U6Z