Isiah Thomas not lamenting missing out on Kevin Garnett

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Wednesday, October 17th 2007, 4:00 AM



First, Larry Bird stole the ball from him and then Isiah Thomas saw Danny Ainge swipe Kevin Garnett from under his nose.

Losing to the Boston Celtics is never easy, regardless if you are the Hall of Fame point guard for the Detroit Pistons or the embattled president and coach trying to resurrect the Knicks.

In the latter case, Thomas - whose team faces Boston tonight in a preseason game - was likely never in the running for Garnett in the first place. Whether or not the Knicks had the players to satisfy the Minnesota Timberwolves is debatable. But there is no denying that Thomas has the wrong background to circumvent a trade between a pair of old Celtics teammates.

"We lost out on the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said last month. "Red Auerbach came out of the grave and told Kevin (McHale) to give him to the Celtics."

Los Angeles had visions of having Garnett join forces with Kobe Bryant until Celtics GM Ainge and Timberwolves VP McHale finalized last summer's blockbuster trade that brought Garnett to New England. Thomas never hid his desire to land Garnett, and the Knicks made a bid that was rebuffed.

And although Thomas would never admit it, you get the idea that he buys into Jackson's theory that the relationship between Ainge and McHale is the reason why Garnett, the perennial All-Star power forward, ended up in Boston and not New York, Los Angeles or Phoenix.

"I don't know," Thomas said, smiling. "That's something you'll have to speak to those guys about."

When asked why he was smiling, Thomas replied: "I have a good life. I like to smile."

Ainge had previously burned Thomas and the Knicks by being involved in the deal that paved the way for Rasheed Wallace to be traded from Atlanta to Detroit. The Pistons ended up winning the title in 2004, while the deal for Garnett, plus the addition of Ray Allen, should elevate the Celtics from a lottery team to a contender.

But Thomas is confident that he significantly improved his roster by acquiring Zach Randolph, another power forward with Western Conference roots.

"We feel like we had a great summer and made a huge upgrade at the power forward position," Thomas said following yesterday's practice in Greenburgh. "Randolph is a guy that averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds and I think he may be the only player that did that."

Randolph doesn't have Garnett's resume or recognition but he is an accomplished scorer who has vowed to make the most of his new surroundings. He immediately gives the Knicks an All-Star caliber frontcourt presence as well as a player who will take pressure off Eddy Curry. Randolph is also expected to be the primary defender on Garnett when the Knicks face the Celtics four times during the regular season.

"All I know is that Eddy is a force to be reckoned with and I'm a force to be reckoned with," said Randolph, who will start opposite Garnett tonight in Boston. "(Garnett) is one of the top 50 players to ever play the game. I think that was a great move for Boston and the Eastern Conference."

The additions of Randolph and Garnett strengthen the Atlantic Division, whose only two playoff teams last season were the Nets and Toronto.

"On paper our strength is our inside play," Thomas said. "And I think we have the perimeter shooting to keep it free for those guys on the inside."

I'm not nixluva- but

I almost prefer getting randolph to garnett- I still worry that Garnett has too many miles and too much salary for a team like the Knicks who should be rebuilding - that 2-4 year window keeps randolph within his 'prime'

I'm not nixluva either.

Garnett's a better player than Zach, but he's older. Also, they gave up Al Jefferson while we gave up Channing Frye.

Getting Garnett really did not add up for us as we did not have a star to marry him up to and make his job easier.

And who in their right mind WANTS to play with PHuchedintheheadBury?

He is untradeable and im sure his reputation in the league is not that steller.

Isiahs plan is like the old movie "the dirty dozen", about convicts in the milatary who are given a second chance. They are flawed, but everyone loves a comback story! We are a tampon for overpaid talented malcontents!