Thomas begins rebuilding
NEW YORK -- Isiah Thomas, the best little big man in NBA history, sees a bit of himself in Allen Iverson, except for the tattoos and cornrows. Hair and body art aside, Iverson possesses traits the Knicks sorely lack: a superstar player with a heart as big as his ego. Just like Thomas.
"He loves Allen and how he competes," said one of Thomas's close friends. "He would love to have Allen on his team."
Thomas, the Knicks' new president of basketball operations, will have to be creative or lucky to bring Iverson to New York. It's a long shot at best. But acquiring talent, superstar talent, is Thomas's top priority for rebuilding the Knicks and how he ultimately will be judged.
"There aren't a lot of [superstars] walking around," Thomas said. "People are not inclined to give up on those guys. We have to find other creative ways to beat the bushes and try to come up with some talent in some very unconventional ways. Cross your fingers and hope you get lucky."
Thomas needed just one game to fully grasp the magnitude of the job he inherited from Scott Layden, who once told an associate the franchise eventually will get out from under its salary cap woes.
"But not in my lifetime," Layden said.
Allan Houston, the Knicks' best player, will be 33 in April and has a bad knee, back, and contract. Antonio McDyess has been bothered by a sore left knee. Keith Van Horn is playing for his third team in as many seasons.
"The way the salary cap is set up today, mistakes are costly," said Thomas, who now controls the team with the league's highest payroll. "If you come in and really don't assess properly and do your homework you can set this franchise back further."
The trading deadline is Feb. 19 and Thomas figures to be active over the next two months. He's already called several general managers, including Donnie Walsh, his old boss in Indiana, which probably means that Thomas has interest in Jamaal Tinsley, who averaged 8.1 assists per game for Thomas as a rookie with the Pacers two years ago.
"Isiah wants long and athletic players," Walsh said.
Thomas has a good draft record, but not a perfect one. Thomas was responsible for drafting Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, and Damon Stoudamire for the Raptors. With the Pacers, though, Thomas convinced the team to draft Fred Jones when Tayshaun Prince was available.
It will be interesting to see what type of players Thomas pursues for the Knicks. As one of the original Bad Boys, Thomas may have a different philosophy in constructing a team than his predecessor and his new boss.
James Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman, praised Layden two months ago for adding players with character, the buzzword that expedited Latrell Sprewell's and Camby's departures from New York.
Prior to the 2002 NBA draft, the Knicks never worked out eventual Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire because of questions concerning his background. Miami's Caron Butler, who spent 14 months in a Wisconsin prison for bringing a gun and cocaine to school when he was 14, worked out for the Knicks but was never seriously considered.
But Layden is now gone and so too are the rules for rebuilding.
Sprewell's behavior during Tuesday's win at the Garden was reprehensible, although he acted even more childish during his return to Golden State four years ago when he was a member of the Knicks. As Sprewell said Wednesday, no one with the Knicks was complaining about his antics back then.
Of course, that profanity-filled visit to the Bay Area was sandwiched between one trip to the NBA Finals in 1999 and a return to the Eastern Conference finals in 2000.
The Knicks were well aware of the type of player they were getting when they traded for Sprewell five years ago. He was talented, unselfish, and a competitor who always played hurt. Thomas wants similar players.
"I'm in a process right now of assessing and evaluating our team and one of the things I'm evaluating and assessing is what will a New York Knick player look like," Thomas said. "And what values will he possess and how will he play and everything else. So before you can put X talent on this team I've got to get a better feel for what the Knick player is going to look like."
On Wednesday, Thomas criticized Knicks players for allowing Sprewell to run wild inside the Garden and humiliate Dolan, their boss. Although Thomas wasn't condoning Sprewell's behavior, he didn't knock him, either. Thomas seemed to respect Sprewell for competing, delivering (he scored 31 points), and playing with swagger. Thomas, after all, is someone who played with Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Mark Aguirre.
Despite being 42, Thomas still has a baby face. But looks can be deceiving. He would have clocked Sprewell in the throat with a forearm, and that's what he wished one of his players had done.
