From NJ.com: Isiah on the possibility of trading Kurt Thomas:

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1076310966211830.xml

With 10 days

until the trade deadline, GM Isiah Thomas said he is still beating the bushes looking for a deal that might improve the team. But the way he talked about Kurt Thomas, it sounded as though the team's starting power forward, who is usually at the heart of most trade speculation involving the Knicks, is not going anywhere.

"We're in negotiations with Kurt right now, talking to him about extending him," Isiah Thomas said. "We're trying to work numbers out and everything else. The first day I got here, I realized how important Kurt was to the team. And all the talk that I had heard, before I got here, every trade proposal involved Kurt. You have not heard one trade proposal come out of here since I've been here involving Kurt. He's a valuable player."

Someone asked Isiah if that meant Thomas was untradeable.

"I wouldn't go that far," the GM said. "We want to get better. We recognize Kurt's importance and we want to reward him for that."

But what if Thomas is the one Knick other teams always seem to want?

"If they're interested in him, he's a pretty good player, and we should probably try to hold on to him," Isiah said.


(I think Isiah, realizing Kurt is his best trading chip, is playing a game of high stakes poker with teams that have a low post player.)

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/story/162713p-142654c.html

Kurt's pinkie ailing

By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Kurt Thomas revealed yesterday that he may have ruptured a tendon in his right pinkie finger.

Thomas, who sustained the injury nine days ago, is scheduled to meet with a hand specialist today to determine the extent of the injury. A worst-case scenario is surgery on his shooting hand, which could sideline Thomas anywhere from two to four weeks.

"I'm pretty concerned because the doctors are concerned," Thomas said. "It's not getting any better."

Thomas' finger remains swollen and yesterday doctors placed the pinkie in a splint that Thomas will wear when he is not playing.

Thomas hasn't missed any games because of the injury and last night he scored 28 points. Thomas made 14 straight shots over two games before missing his first shot with 0.9 seconds remaining in the first half.



KURT RESPONSE: Isiah Thomas reiterated that the club is currently in contract negotiations with Thomas. But when asked if that meant the veteran power forward would not be included in deal by the Feb. 19 trading deadline, Thomas said, "I wouldn't go that far. We want to get better. We recognize Kurt's importance and we want to reward him. If they're interested that means he's a pretty good player and we should try and keep him."

The Knicks are one of several teams interested in Portland's Rasheed Wallace. In order to make a deal for Wallace, the Knicks likely would have to include Thomas.

"The first day I got here I realized how important Kurt was to the team," Thomas said. "All the talk that I heard before I got here was every trade proposal involved Kurt. You have not heard one trade proposal come out of here since I've been here involving Kurt. He's a valuable player to us." ... Knicks, who are 5-0 without Allan Houston, don't play at MSG again until Feb. 17 vs. Detroit. That is the first game Houston is eligible to come off the injured list.

Originally published on February 9, 2004

KT's headbutt incident and the subsequent suspension didn't help his barganing leverage (for his contract extension) at all.

I changed my mind about KT. He could be very good next to a Rasheed Wallace. Better then Dampier/Nazi would look next to him. KT has been more consistent then those guys.

Posted by TRU:

Posted by HARDCOREKNICKSFAN:

KT's headbutt incident and the subsequent suspension didn't help his barganing leverage (for his contract extension) at all.

Whateva. You're crazy if you think that this little incident will be an issue when Thomas is signing away all of Dolan's zeros...

What I meant was that instead of having two possibly standout games (like his last game before Dallas), now he has this issue. In other words, KT has less positives to refer to regarding his negotiations.

There's no one available that will do Kurt's job better than he does.

Thomas has great D for his size, excellent midrange shot (esp w/ Marbury), and he's a tough guy that fits the Knicks. Any position besides big PF/C will not help us. We only need the strong low post presence. Thomas is perfect for that position right now. Anyone else on the market is either a. not for us or b. good ticket sellers.

Wait a couple of years and get some young talent. Zeke showed us his skill in trades, lets see his skill in scouting for unappreciated potential.

w/another woman. don't believe anything that man says until feb.19. maybe even the 20th just to be safe.(he can be really tricky) something will most definitly happen, but i'm not going to waste my breath trying to decifer what that will be. it's kind of anoying to have a gm like that, but good. rodney whitenazr mohamidjamal crawfordvin bakerrasheed wallace? ect..ect..ect..that's alot of contracts were picking up.(supposedly) not to mention the fact that even though zeke says talks are progressing, kurt says he has'nt heard anything. hmmmmm? fact is he does'nt fit well with the team were trying to put together. can't run, can't jump. although that headbut must have put a smile on zeke's face.reminisent of rick mahorn or dennis rodman. don't get it twisted, no hating on kurt. remember most of us also liked ward, but when it's time to go, it's time to go.
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At least he admits hes going to lie to you.He says that he can't tell the press anything. I like a GM like that. Hes going to war for me.And no I didn't like ward .It really wasn't his fault, its just hes a career backup and we needed a starter.I would trade kurt for Shareef.

Wait a couple of years and get some young talent. Zeke showed us his skill in trades, lets see his skill in scouting for unappreciated potential.
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Wait a couple of yrs? come on
Marburys 26 we want to improve now if you can upgrade position you do it as quickly as possible-need more athletic
Thomas cant go up against big 6'10" and get clutch rebound
(interesting point though-kthomas in college history was one of 3 players ever to lead nation in pts per game and rebounds per game-before he hurt both ankles in pros-can anyone name other 2 players?

Posted by BigRedDog:

I would trade kurt for Shareef.

what person who was not an a Hallucanigenic drug wouldn't trade KT for Shareef? Why would portland want KT over Shareef??

All im saying is that we need a good defender in the front court. KT, although small, is the best that the league can offer right now. Sure, lets get another SF in addition to Houston and KVH, players that are in the top 20 in the league for salaries. Yeah, lets get another shooter in aiddition to Marbury, Housotn, and KVH.

Cmon... All the Knicks need is a good frontcourt defensive player with Kurt Then the Knicks will have an excellent team. I love Zeke and he DID make this team 10000x better w/ the Starbury trade. However, i dont appreciate him just BUYING players so the Knicks can get a little beter. Plus, these sugestions are just for shooters. We've already got 3 all-star shooters. Why 1 more?

Defense. Low Post Style. Thats all we need.

PS And if you need someone like htat, make sure he's better than KT. Otherwise, just add him on instead of replaicing KT.

Ahh man! I dont want to trade Fwill.