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djsunyc
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Tim Thomas enjoys fun in the sun
Former Bull claims he isn't bitter, but you can't tell from what he says
Sam Smith
March 9, 2006
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns, cruising along with the NBA's fourth-best record, were in trouble Thursday night.
Star point guard Steve Nash was out, and his primary backup, Leandro Barbosa, left for the hospital with a groin injury before the game against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Kurt Thomas remained out with a stress fracture and, of course, Amare Stoudemire has yet to return from preseason knee surgery.
So the Suns turned to Tim Thomas.
"He's the biggest guy on our team," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's our center. He's a guy, 6 feet 10 inches and 250 pounds, who can spread the floor. With the way we play, we can get a mismatch every time. He's a good offensive player. He can hit threes. We're a team that needs what he gives us."
Yes, that Tim Thomas.
"I'm just happy about the way things turned out. It panned out the best for me," said Thomas, whom the Bulls dismissed for the season in November after playing just three games. "You go from a team that's talking about just getting to the playoffs to a team that is talking about winning the whole thing. And I'm starting. There's no comparison."
One of the most mystifying stories in the NBA this season has been the odyssey of Thomas, an established veteran who came to the Bulls in the Eddy Curry trade and after a brief audition was sent home for the season while the Bulls paid his $14 million salary. Thomas finally was released March 1 and signed with the Suns, where he is matching his eight-year career numbers—averaging 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 26 minutes per game.
Would he have made a difference for the Bulls, who use Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni at his forward position? Though the team has been circumspect about Thomas, there long has been a feeling Thomas didn't exhibit the work ethic to blend with the young Bulls.
Even D'Antoni, in saying the Suns checked out Thomas and heard only positives about his character, admitted there were questions about his practice habits.
"Practice is practice," D'Antoni said. "Maybe we won't get [his best], but we don't have any practices [because of injuries and so many games] in March. We're not worried."
Thomas mostly kept quiet while he sat home with his family waiting for his release.
"I was bitter," Thomas said. "The simple fact is [I believe] inside they knew I was better than Deng and Nocioni. Not taking anything away from those guys, [the Bulls] are a team on the rise. But to have a veteran guy come in and put him on the back burner like they did, you can read between the lines. Guys see that. It could be a tough situation for them if they want to get players in there."
Certainly the Bulls have a different opinion, and veterans like Adrian Griffin and Antonio Davis last season, Othella Harrington and Darius Songaila, have been positive about their time with the team. So it seems there always will remain a mystery about Thomas and the Bulls, especially the way the Bulls have gone through 10-day contract players all season and has been desperate for some size.
"There really is no explanation for what happened," Thomas said matter-of-factly about the Bulls and his lost season. "My understanding was they wanted to stick with their young core. The first excuse I got was I was out of shape. The second excuse was I was going to have a hard time playing for [coach Scott Skiles]. Then the season starts and I don't play. We go to New Jersey (his home) and I play [eight] minutes.
"Then my wife is sideswiped by a cab in New York and I go home to check out the family, which is the most important thing. The next thing I know, I get a call and am told to stay home or come back if I want. You have to read through the lines on that one.
"So many different things happen in life, but I know I'm still a good player. I know I can still play in this league, and when I was about to get released, all the good teams called, the Suns, Spurs, Pistons, Nets. So that told me something.
"It's unfortunate because from watching [the Bulls] and seeing what was going on I know they could have used me. They're a young team and I knew going in I was going to have to play [power forward or center]. I didn't have a problem with that. I'm playing center here.
"I heard all the stories about Skiles and his ego and this and that, but at this level you never know how your body is going to hold up, how many years you're going to be able to produce. I just wanted to play basketball. But they didn't want me. So I just have to move forward."
Thomas is a free agent, and he says he feared at first he might be blackballed. But he said his agent got positive reports and interest, which helped him relax.
"There are things in this life you know and understand," Thomas said, "and things you don't."
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3/10/2006 12:24 PM