http://www.nola.com/newsflash/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-5/1114115391173200.xml&storylist=

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Isiah Thomas wasn't exactly gushing as he spoke Thursday about Phil Jackson, the unemployed coach with nine championship rings who should expect a phone call soon from the New York Knicks.

Expressing what can best be described as a grudging admiration for the coach known as the Zen Master, Thomas said he wouldn't have a problem working side by side with a man who has already publicly expressed a desire to possibly coach the team he once played for.

"I can work with anybody that wants to win," Thomas said.

Coming off their fourth straight losing season, the Knicks headed their separate ways Thursday after Thomas addressed as a group. The team president wore his NBA championship ring as a reminder to himself and the players of how he had to endure several seasons of struggle before earning the one piece of jewelry every NBA player craves.

The Knicks' first offseason order of business will be interviewing candidates to become the team's fourth coach in the last two years.

Aside from interim coach Herb Williams, who was told he'll be among the candidates, Thomas didn't mention any prospective coaches by name except for Jackson, who took a season off following his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers following last year's NBA Finals.

"He is someone we'll definitely reach out and talk to," Thomas said. "We need to find someone who shares our values and our vision of where we want to go."

Thomas did give some insight into his feelings for Jackson, who coached the Chicago Bulls in the early '90s when Thomas and the Detroit Pistons were their biggest rivals. He said he spoke with Jackson once or twice on the phone, and also attended one of Jackson's coaching clinics, to discuss philosophies related to the triangle offense.

But Thomas didn't answer directly when asked what kind of a relationship he has with Jackson, or whether he still harbors any of the ill feelings he might have felt when Jackson was accumulating championships while coaching one of Thomas' most bitter rivals, Michael Jordan.

"His intelligence was sharp and biting," Thomas said, drawing a comparison to Bill Laimbeer — a player disliked intensely by others but treasured by his own team for his work ethic and contributions toward turning a team into a winner.

Madison Square Garden president Steve Mills, who sat next to Thomas as he spoke with reporters, said team owner James Dolan of Cablevision hadn't expressed a preference for Jackson over any other coaching candidate.

But Mills did say the fact the Knicks were still paying former coaches Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens would have no bearing on the current coaching search.

Williams guided the Knicks to a 16-27 record. A nine-game losing streak that began in March ended any chance New York had of qualifying for the playoffs for a second straight year.

"We played hard every night, but we didn't play smart," Thomas said. "We weren't a very intelligent team."

It has now been four years since the Knicks won a postseason game, five years since they won a playoff series, and 32 years since they last won a championship (when Jackson was the team's power forward).

Williams earned the respect of the players and endorsements from various coaches and players around the league, but he didn't receive a declaration of support from Stephon Marbury, who is very close with Thomas.

"It would have been nice if I had it," Williams said. "But he always put on his sneakers, he always played aggressively and played hard, and to me that says more than anything that came out of his mouth."

Thomas said the Knicks are moving forward with the assumption that Allan Houston's knee injury will prevent him from playing next season, listed a big man and an athletic wing player as the team's two biggest needs and said he hoped Marbury would eventually develop some leadership qualities.

He also said no player on the roster was untouchable, but it's highly unlikely he would part with Marbury in a trade unless a monster opportunity — something along the lines of the Lakers being willing to part with Kobe Bryant, or Minnesota looking to move Kevin Garnett — presented itself.

"The way I feel right now, I'd trade my mother if the right deal came along," Thomas said.

[Edited by - kwazimodal on 04/21/2005 17:03:14]

Yeah I was just about to post this article. It's clear Jackson is a candidate whether Isiah wants him or not. Also seems pretty clear that Steph is not going anywhere.

Zeke lists a big man or athletic wing as the two top priorities (obviously). We'll see what's the better value at our pick come draft time.

Posted by VDesai:

Yeah I was just about to post this article. It's clear Jackson is a candidate whether Isiah wants him or not. Also seems pretty clear that Steph is not going anywhere.

Zeke lists a big man or athletic wing as the two top priorities (obviously). We'll see what's the better value at our pick come draft time.

Warrick and Frye, dammit! Warrick and Frye!


Also, I like the part about trading his mother.

hopefully by Bigman he means that if Bogut and Green are gone he will take Marvin Williams or Taft and not the next Frederic Weis. Knowing Zeke he will trade Marbury in a second now that its clear he can't lead us to at least an 8th seed at $18mil per year

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix0422,0,1354711.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines


2004-05 Knicks photos

BY GREG LOGAN
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

April 22, 2005


GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Unable to spin gold out of a 33-49 record, Knicks president Isiah Thomas yesterday admitted that the sum of the moves he's made in his 16 months in charge of the franchise adds up to little short of a disaster.

"This year was a big disappointment, and we will consider it a failure," Thomas said of a team that was favored to win the Atlantic Division but finished tied for last.











As the Knicks head into the offseason, they face what amounts to a crisis of leadership in all the key positions of the organization, starting with Steve Mills, the president of Madison Square Garden Sports, and including Thomas, coach Herb Williams and point guard Stephon Marbury.

Citing the Knicks' record in close games -- 22 losses by six or fewer points -- Thomas insisted: "There's hope. We're not as far away as our record may indicate."

But making that leap requires the kind of leadership that separates playoff teams from lottery teams in the NBA. Several teams have taken huge steps forward under new coaches, such as Denver's George Karl, Chicago's Scott Skiles and Memphis' Mike Fratello, who was rejected by Thomas, but the Knicks have floundered under the coaches Thomas hired: Lenny Wilkens and interim replacement Williams.

As he begins the search process anew, Thomas said he will talk to the "best and brightest minds in the business," including Phil Jackson, who won nine titles with the Bulls and Lakers. Former Minnesota coach Flip Saunders likely is on the list, along with Larry Brown -- who has said Detroit is his last NBA job -- Seattle coach Nate McMillan, at least some NBA assistants and Williams, who went 16-27 after replacing Wilkens on Jan. 22.

"I think we need to find someone who shares our .vision and shares our values in terms of what we're trying to do with our organization," Thomas said.

Jackson has expressed interest in the Knicks, but he's never undertaken a rebuilding job. Asked if Jackson's triangle offense, in which the point guard plays a lesser role, fits the Knicks, Thomas said: "I don't know. I'll see when we talk."

As a Hall of Fame point guard, Thomas has mentored Marbury, who never has won a playoff series in nine seasons. Thomas explained Marbury's lack of success as the result of "bad luck and timing" in that neither Kevin Garnett in Minnesota nor Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix was a mature player at the time.

"This is a situation where we'll stick with and try to put the pieces around him because he has the heart and the desire to win," Thomas said. "Our team this year had the heart and the desire to win, but we didn't play very smart. We played hard every night, but we weren't a very intelligent team out there."

If that's the case, it usually relates to the leadership of the point guard. If Marbury connected with his teammates in a positive way, it didn't show in the record.

"Leadership is a skill, and I don't think you should say he can't be a leader or he should be knocked for not being that," Thomas said. "Just because you're a great basketball player, it doesn't necessarily mean you can be the class president."

Mills believes Marbury will succeed based on his relationship with Thomas. "Steph listens to Isiah and spends a lot of time with Isiah and is learning how to become a better leader," Mills said. "So I like our chances of him getting to a point where he can really lead this team."

But Thomas rejected the .notion that the success of the franchise is tied to Marbury. When asked if he ever would trade his point guard, Thomas said, "The way I feel right now, I'd trade my mother if the right deal came along."

In other words, if it gets to the point where that ship is sinking, Thomas isn't going down with it.

"The way I feel right now, I'd trade my mother if the right deal came along," Thomas said.

What would be interesting to read is a response from his mother right now.

I love that. What he says is that or the right price, he would trade anyone.

12 months ago, he would never have done that.

My understandgin is that Thomas is clearly saying to marbury that there will be no second chance anymore. Cause he's not as untouchable as he used to be.

Posted by fishmike:

He's still untouchable this year.
I agree with most of what he says about Marbury. I think he's an elite player. I think he's tough. I think he plays too much. 35 minutes a night would make him a better defender.

I agree with everything about Marbury.

Sorry to keep harping on style of play but wouldnt people like to see Marbury with some uptempo guys? What if we traded TT + #54 for Jalen Rose + #16 and drafted Warrick and Petro. Think uptempo and picture a rotation like this:
Marbury
Rose
Warrick
JYD
Petro
bench Crawford, Ariza, Steven Hunter, Sweetney

Marbury's best in the half-court offense. I'd rather work to that strength. I don't know enough about Warrick or Petro to know how good they are in the halfcourt, though.

Posted by Nalod:

I thought Isiah already traded his mother once before!

I'm kinda sure the one he traded was his sister. So he still had his mother left. I may be wrong though.

Isiah always seems to say the right things- except his mother's comment, if a son says something like that, he can count himself out of the family (maybe he already is...). What I wan't to see is if he can really turn those words into action. The biggest needs of this team for next season are still the same as when he came in. So, will you finally be able to fill those needs, Isiah? Can you? Hmm...

Posted by Knicksfan:

Isiah always seems to say the right things- except his mother's comment, if a son says something like that, he can count himself out of the family (maybe he already is...)

I can picture Isiah showing up on the door of his Mom's house and her grabbing him by the ear and saying "get your behind in here young man!"

[Edited by - kwazimodal on 04/22/2005 11:20:15]