http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2005/02/26/2003224725

Knicks play shell game

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: Isiah Thomas' strategy of diversion through chaos has begun to require multiple-choice questions to decipher his latest tactics

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , NEW YORKAP, NEW YORKAP, NEW YORK
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005,Page 20
"The way we're going to improve our team is basically through the draft."

Isiah Thomas, President of the New York Knicks

Isiah Thomas said the Knicks will find new talent. "Four first-round draft picks is something we didn't have a couple months ago," he said.

Isiah Thomas shipped out four more Knicks on Thursday to receive two forwards, draft picks and salary cap baggage in a desperate attempt to:

-- find a player, any player, who can be happy next to Mr. Grumpy Pants, Stephon Marbury;

-- create a wormhole in James Dolan's wallet large enough to suck the owner into a world far, far away;

-- divert attention from how Chris Webber, like Vince Carter before him, joined an Atlantic Division rival;

-- thoroughly repel future head coaches like Phil Jackson or Flip Saunders;

-- create an early severance package for himself as he sends the Knicks into Clipper territory.

There is probably no singular answer behind Thomas' unwieldy management style -- except for all of the above -- but the root of his troubles has become apparent: He is in the middle of an identity crisis, wondering who he is without the ball in his hand.

It was so easy for Thomas as a Hall of Fame player with a soothsayer's court vision. But as a manager of money and personnel in his point guard afterlife, Thomas has left ingloriously from Toronto, the Continental Basketball Association and the Indiana Pacers.

The Knicks were supposed to be Thomas' makeup game when he was named president in December 2003, but he has never looked more confused about his own abilities than right now in implementing one contradictory move after another.

What are fans that pay the freight of the highest payroll in the league to believe?

When he arrived, Thomas insisted he would not tolerate a rebuilding process to get worse before turning better, because, as he said, "I'm stubborn."

Obviously, he has altered that self-evaluation, because he is now freely hinging the Knicks' future on draft picks of questionable quality after dealing Nazr Mohammed to San Antonio for forward Malik Rose.

"The way we're going to improve our team is basically through the draft," Thomas told reporters Thursday night.

Odd, but it was just two months ago when Thomas described obtaining the young Mohammed for Keith Van Horn in February 2004 as a deal "we had to do," later adding, "I wouldn't have done anything differently."

Again, that doesn't jibe with his actions. He continues to move those he once coveted to receive pieces currently discarded. In a separate deal Thursday, Thomas packaged Moochie Norris and Vin Baker to Houston for Maurice Taylor and picks.

It is hard to imagine Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy -- a man once ensnared by Dolan's pettiness -- sending the Knicks a player who would make them better.

Perhaps Thomas mistook one former Michigan player, Taylor, for the former leader of the Fab 5, Webber. Thursday night, Thomas promised he did not seek a deal for Webber, not wanting to take on such a massive contract.

He has said this before, but there is even inconsistency in Thomas' consistency. After Thomas was hired, he eagerly took a poke at former Madison Square Garden executives for building up a league-high US$86 million in salaries.

"I can't think of an organization that has been saddled with this kind of debt structure," Thomas said.

By the end of Thursday, Thomas had added another US$32 million in contracts on top of a US$103 million payroll without apologies to the debt-weary fans -- and, surely, Dolan's Cablevision subscribers -- who will have to absorb the Knicks' gilded patchwork team.

What is the upside of the downsizing of expectations? Obviously, Thomas can still spin everyone on the tip of his finger when he told reporters Thursday night, "Four first-round draft picks is something we didn't have a couple months ago," without truly conceding how potentially worthless they could be.

So, somehow, it seems appropriate that Thomas' conflicted approach to his lineup is led by the contradiction embodied by the sulking Marbury - a player with tremendous statistics at the heart of a team that is 22-33, a player with infinite skills who resorts to panicky jump passes in tight spots, a player who can do it all but has yet to get it done.

The acquisition of Marbury was the first of many "defining" trades -- is it already seven deals in 14 months? -- for Thomas.

But as Thomas has probably learned by now, Marbury hasn't made him better, either.

Each disappointment has only made Thomas more insecure as a manager. Each fizzled move has only made Thomas more unsure about how to save himself from himself.

Thursday, there were probably multiple reasons behind his contradictory decision to put the Knicks on path to what is likely a three-to-five-year rebuilding plan, but there is one root at the bottom of the chaos: the self-doubt of Thomas.

Kurt Thomas celebrated the passing of another uneventful NBA trading deadline -- at least for him -- by scoring 21 points on 10-for-11 shooting to lead the New York Knicks past the Philadelphia 76ers 113-101 on Thursday.

Thomas also grabbed 12 rebounds, and Tim Thomas shot 10-for-14 and scored 27 points for New York.

"If we play [power forward and center], it's going to be hell on people because we're such good shooters," Tim Thomas said. "It's going to force guys that aren't used to coming out of the paint to have to come out and try and contain us."

Philadelphia, which had only eight players in uniform -- none of them named Chris Webber -- was led by Allen Iverson's 29 points. Webber, acquired on Wednesday from Sacramento, will make his 76ers debut on Saturday against his old team, the Kings.

"I don't care who is on our basketball team," 76ers coach Jim O'Brien said. "Our team has to make a decision, at some point and time, that we are going to pay the price and be a good defensive basketball team."

Stephon Marbury had 17 points and 12 assists, and Jamal Crawford added 16 points and nine assists for New York.

good article. Does not hate, just asks the right questions.

LIke WTF is Isiah doing?

And why do fans keep pointing to when ALLans deal falls off the table, and how our valuable our expiring deals are. Why are we talking about 2007 when Mo T.s deal is done? We seemed rivited with mediocre players no matter who is at the helm!

And Marbs won't be in his prime in 3 years!

These expiring contracts are way over rated!

If we could have taken on a Baron davis, its obviously taking on a huge contract and a player whom has big risk!

Now Dolans tax problems is not my money, but even when rebuilding, it costs us tens of millions of dollars! If we convert those expiring contracts, we are not getting top flight blue chip players! We are getting players that other teams want to dump! They are not worth their contracts! IS this a way?

Will we live to see these draft picks actually pan out? Or used as trading assets?

Why Mo T? I do hope he really does well as a player, cus he don't make us younger, or more athletic! He is a post player, and we can hope he makes us better, but not too much! Weird, just weird!

The problem is that he keeps trading shorter expiring contracs for longer expiring contracts.

also, keep in mind, we did not have to give up any contributors to this season. and because I still believe we will make the playoffs (6 games out of first in atlantic and out of the number 8 seed)
This trade didn't effect the current knicks at all.

It improved the future and did away with the past.

Let's go knicks!

Beat indiana and you will make the cynical board believers!!!