Good Story...


January 21, 2004
N.B.A. ANALYSIS
Thomas Not Satisfied With Contending
By CHRIS BROUSSARD

N.B.A.Analysis

What will Madison Square Garden's mad scientist do next? Break up one of the league's best backcourts by trading Allan Houston? Ship off Keith Van Horn while he plays the best basketball of his career? Bring in the noted malcontent Rasheed Wallace just when the Knicks are riding a chemistry high, full of smiles and compliments?

Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' trigger-happy president, has everyone on edge. Players are afraid to read the newspapers, fans expect him to acquire another superstar any minute, rival executives envy his unlimited spending ability.

In addition to creating buzz in his first month with the Knicks, Thomas has created an Eastern Conference playoff contender from a team previously booked for a series of lotteries.

But Thomas, who won a national title in college and two N.B.A. championships as a player, is not satisfied with the illusion of contention. A playoff berth and an exciting second-round exit does not excite him. That is why he refuses to sit back and let the new Knicks jell, even though they have won four straight games.

Thomas wants to bring New York a title, and he knows a team with a core of Stephon Marbury, Houston and Van Horn will not deliver one. So why stop the overhaul now?

"Having been a player and also been a coach, you always want to be the best and you always strive to be the best," Thomas said yesterday in a telephone interview. "And our players demand that I try to keep improving the team to be the best. Until you're the best, you're always trying to improve."

Asked if he worries about tinkering too much too soon with the Knicks, Thomas responded quickly and succinctly, "No."

Thomas refused to discuss individual players, but he reportedly has interest in Portland's Wallace, Cleveland's Darius Miles and Chicago's Jamal Crawford. Wallace will be difficult to acquire because Portland does not want Van Horn and his maximum-salary contract, and neither Miles nor Crawford will make the Knicks worldbeaters.

Wallace comes with many questions, and not just because of his behavior. Although he is more talented than either Van Horn or Kurt Thomas, one of whom would have to be involved in any trade for Wallace, he does not always produce greatness.

The 6-foot-11 Wallace has never been a strong rebounder, averaging only 6.7 for his career, and for the past few seasons he has been content to meander along the perimeter rather than use his talents inside. Some league executives believe he will be rejuvenated in a new environment, but others have their doubts.

"Is Rasheed Wallace going to give you better numbers than Keith Van Horn?" one Eastern Conference general manager said. "He's more athletic. Right now, he's not going to get better numbers than Van Horn. He needs a change of scenery. I think he'll play better in his next stop."

An official with another team said: "I think talentwise he's among the better players in the league because of his length, shooting ability, his ability to guard when he wants to do it, and he's quick for a guy his size.

"But I don't think he wants to be the best player on his team. He would like to be second or third so the pressure's not on him all the time to carry a team. Some guys want to be the star; some don't. Some play better if they don't have to be the star every day. That's true of him if you look over the course of his career. But most environments are a heck of a lot more pressure-packed than Portland."

Thomas could also be up to something that nobody expects before the trading deadline Feb. 19. One Eastern Conference official said such a move was not out of the question.

"I think he could because there are teams that want to get rid of players," the official said. "I'm sure Isiah can still make trades."

Since Thomas's successful revamping of the Knicks, two schools of thought have emerged. The first says he should lie low and see what this new group can do over a substantial stretch of games. The second says he should continue to make changes because the Knicks, while potentially strong in the East, are still far from legitimate championship contention.

First schoolers can gain confidence from Thomas's track record as a talent evaluator, which is nearly impeccable. He improved the Knicks tenfold by acquiring Marbury on Jan. 5. While coaching Indiana, he encouraged the Pacers' president, Donnie Walsh, to trade Jalen Rose for Ron Artest. Before that, he drafted Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby and Tracy McGrady for Toronto.

It is certainly possible Thomas will make a bad deal, but perhaps not very likely.

Walsh said Thomas's aggressiveness should not scare Knicks fans who are enjoying the club's sudden resurgence.

"I'd go with his instincts because I think he's got good instincts," Walsh said. "Whatever he's done so far has worked, so why doubt him now?"

If Thomas pulls off another blockbuster deal for a frontcourt All-Star, he should be given the league's executive of the year award. Even though such a deal is possible, it will be incredibly difficult to pull off since Thomas used most of his tradeable assets in acquiring Marbury.

One Eastern Conference general manager even suggested that Thomas may know he cannot make another grand deal.

"Isiah might still be saying that just because he doesn't want those guys to get complacent and lose their sense of urgency," the general manager said. "Right now, they're playing with a sense of urgency because they don't want to get traded. If he says all of a sudden that `this is our team,' it might be harder to keep guys on their toes."

With Thomas at the helm, on your toes is the right place to be.

[Edited by - HARDCOREKNICKSFAN on 01/21/2004 00:23:11]

Broussard's a good writer. I wish he was still the Knicks' beat writer:

...fans expect him to acquire another superstar any minute,

That sums it up for me.

Zeke shot his load on Marbury, this is all we get. And soon you guys will see this was a short term fix to get the fannies in the seats and what we needed was a superstar low post player who will draw a double for the playoffs. Guys aren't gonna hit jump shots with guys in their faces come playoff time. ASK SACREMENTO WHEN WEBBER WENT DOWN They lost their touch from the outside. JUMP SHOTS GET CONTESTED, BUT A LOW POST PRESENCE ADVANCES YOU TO THE NEXT ROUND. If Zeke is trying to win it all "THIS YR" he would have been better trying to get wallace wiith all those guys he gave phoenix.

Posted by playa2:

Zeke shot his load on Marbury, this is all we get. And soon you guys will see this was a short term fix to get the fannies in the seats and what we needed was a superstar low post player who will draw a double for the playoffs. Guys aren't gonna hit jump shots with guys in their faces come playoff time. ASK SACREMENTO WHEN WEBBER WENT DOWN They lost their touch from the outside. JUMP SHOTS GET CONTESTED, BUT A LOW POST PRESENCE ADVANCES YOU TO THE NEXT ROUND. If Zeke is trying to win it all "THIS YR" he would have been better trying to get wallace wiith all those guys he gave phoenix.

Who was the post presence for the Bulls when they won 6 titles? Oh wait... I forgot about Horace Grant and Will Perdue

Who went tot the finals in the East the last couple years? The Nets, the 76rs... is Kmart the great low post presence your talking about?

Yea.. low post players are nice. Maybe if we rehire Layden he can get McDyess and Spoon back.

Did anyone talk about championships, first palce in eastern conferenece or home advantage in the playoffs before the arrival of the crown price from Brooklyn?

Great article. I'm one of those that want to see this team play for a while. Now that theyve gelled, I think we should atleast wait like 10 games and see how we fair against some harder teams coming up.

as lomg as he keeps KVH & H2O !!!!! LOL..