Thomas takes step toward shedding Anderson, source says
New York Daily News
Sept. 30, 2004


NEW YORK - Isiah Thomas is so committed to removing Shandon Anderson from his life that he is willing to give him $24 million not to play basketball.

According to a Knicks source, Thomas informed the veteran guard not to report to work come Monday, the first official day of training camp. That move would appear to be a first step in negotiating a buyout agreement with Anderson, who has three years remaining on his contract worth $24 million.

However, Thomas, the Knicks' president, said Thursday night that the team has no plans to "give money for nothing."

please, please, please.

Where is this from? I couldn't find this story on the Daily News website...

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/7741524

i found this on the realgm board. it was posted there earlier tonight. this is the link the poster gave. dont kill me if its fake, i'm just the messanger. the poster is usually reliable and wouldnt make something like this up. i hope.

Wow! It's been a minute since I've heard the words "Shandon Anderson" and "talent level" in the same phrase. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard those two words used together.

Get him outta here!

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/story/237439p-203814c.html

Shandon faces
payoff & layoff

Owed $24M but not a roster spot

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Wouldn't you be smiling if Isiah Thomas would pay you to stay home?

Isiah Thomas is so committed to removing Shandon Anderson from his life that he is willing to give him $24 million not to play basketball.

According to a Knicks source, Thomas informed the veteran guard not to report to work come Monday, the first official day of training camp. That move would appear to be a first step in negotiating a buyout agreement with Anderson, who has three years remaining on his contract worth $24 million.

However, Thomas, the Knicks' president, said last night that the team has no plans to "give money for nothing."

"There will not be a buyout," Thomas added. "You can count on that."

Without going into details, Thomas seemed to suggest that Anderson will remain on the roster but would not be welcomed around the team. In the meantime, the Knicks will continue to explore trade possibilities for their unwanted player.

Anderson was expected to arrive in New York last night and could meet with Knicks officials sometime over the next few days. A person close to Anderson said he will report to work as long as he is under contract with the team.

Neither Anderson nor his agent, Dan Fegan, returned phone calls yesterday.

Anderson fell out of favor with both Thomas and coach Lenny Wilkens last season, culminating with the player blowing off his exit interview with them in April. Anderson became so disenchanted with the franchise that he also skipped several mandatory charity events.

A rift between Anderson and the Knicks' top basketball officials began in January when Anderson's streak of 543 consecutive games played - the longest such streak in the league at the time - ended in Atlanta, his hometown. The following day, Anderson missed a game against Miami due to a migraine headache and was sent home.

Anderson has a history of migraine headaches but has managed to play despite the pain. That night, the Knicks insisted that he return home and they scheduled a MRI exam for 24 hours later. Thomas then wanted Anderson to go on the injured list but he refused, claiming he wasn't hurt.

In March, after a loss to the Bulls in Chicago, Wilkens publicly blamed Anderson for the defeat, saying the forward had ignored his instructions to foul with 26 seconds left and the Knicks trailing by two. Anderson appeared incredulous when informed of Wilkens' comments, saying, "I could be honest with you but nothing good is going to come out of it." Several players, including Stephon Marbury, said Wilkens never had told the team to foul.

On another occasion, Thomas, who likes to have a close relationship with his players, became infuriated when Anderson refused to acknowledge him as the two passed in the hallway outside the Knicks' locker room.

The Knicks were shopping Anderson over the summer and came close to getting him included in the deal for Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams. However, the Bulls insisted on acquiring players in the final year of their contracts and instead agreed to take Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski plus Dikembe Mutombo and Othella Harrington, two veterans who also fell out of favor with Thomas and Wilkens.

With the additions of Crawford and second-round pick Trevor Ariza, the Knicks have an abundance of players who can be used at either shooting guard or small forward. The best-case scenario for both Anderson and the Knicks would be a deal, but his trade value has never been lower.

SAFETY FIRST: Wilkens hinted yesterday that Allan Houston may not play in any of the Knicks' eight exhibition games. Houston missed 32 games last season due to recurring pain in both knees. "He's going to do what I let him do," Wilkens said. "Blame it all on me. I'm a little cautious. I want him ready for the first game."

Originally published on October 1, 2004

Thanks for the link turtle33.

Wow. I didn't realize MC Shan skipped his exit interview. Very Ron Artest of him. I always liked Shan. I realized he dropped off after Steph showed up, I guess now we know why...

Posted by islesfan:

The biggest problem with Shandon is that he's ridiculously overpaid. He's still somewhat servicable as a swingman though. Since the Knicks are still stuck with his salary, real and cap wise, whoever fills his roster spot better be able to be as serviceable as Shandon is otherwise this doesn't make much sense. If all that comes from this is that some major project, who will never see any game action except in bigtime blowouts, can make the roster then all it does is diminish the talent level of the team.

shandon was pretty damn awful last season. he had his golden opportunity when h20 went down and came up with some of the worst postseason play that i can remember from a knick. he needs to go and isiah has the resources to just buy him out or tell him not to show up. one "major project" that could come from this is the re-signing of dermarr johnson. would you rather have shandon, or dermarr?

his skills are limited is a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE understatement man

Posted by fishmike:

based on his pay scale only though... If Ariza gave us this year what Shandon gave us last year people would be talking about like he's better than sliced bread.

i think you're talking about shandon two years ago b/c last year, he was atrocious - hitting the side of the backboards on those baseline 3 pointers. i really can't remember a good thing he did last season. the year before, he actually played well for us off the bench but regardless, he needed to go and hopefully he's gone.