Luck of the Hoosier?

Well, it’s happened again. Isiah Thomas has been hired by the New York Knicks. Take a moment, and yes we haven’t Hot Tub Time Machined back a few years. Thomas, who is presently the head coach at FIU, has been hired as a consultant for the Knicks by his former boss James Dolan. This story has so many angles, I’m not sure where to start. Maybe right here:

- The last time Zeke worked for the Knicks it cost them $11.6M for Anucha Browne Sanders. No she doesn’t play for the Liberty, she just happened to be someone that Zeke sexually harassed.

- Zeke gave out several terrible cap limiting deals that further hurt the organization: Eddy Curry, Jerome James, and Jared Jeffries come to mind.

- As a coach for the Knicks they ended up firing him because the team was terrible under him and at one point they told him to not even speak with Knicks players.

I guess my biggest question is how does this happen? Zeke has only been able to do one thing and that is find talent. So how does he go from being lambasted out of NY and then right back into NY on a cushy deal? Some people say that Zeke was instrumental behind the scenes with getting A’mare Stoudamire to come to NY in the off season ($100M would have done that) even though his pitch to LBJ didn’t work. Maybe he found a way to look good to Dolan again and thus this signing. With the present GM, Donnie Walsh, possibly heading off into the sunset in 2 years, has Zeke been promised the GM position again? For New York fans, I hope not.

The next biggest thing is where is the NCAA? With this position Zeke is allowed to recruit for FIU and the Knicks, all in one fell swoop? Who is he representing when he walks in the door? This could mean higher recruits might find their way to FIU knowing that Zeke has a pipeline, that all of us can see, directly to the NBA. This reeks of something unfair and I’m waiting for David Stern or the NCAA to nix this whole thing. If this passes the muster, I imagine that the Lakers will be reaching out to (insert your favorite college basketball coach) Coach K for a similar kind of engagement. The possibilities would be endless.

What’s your take on this move? Does it make sense? How did HE get a job with the Knicks again?

New York Knicks - Chicago Bulls

Finally!!! The Bulls have found a sucker to take Larry Hughes and all it took was a sucker to take on Jerome James. There in lies the Bulls/Knicks trade today. The Knicks have agreed to trade Jerome James and Tim Thomas to the Bulls for Larry Hughes. Jerome James has been stealing money for a few years since Isiah gave him a big deal and Tim Thomas, well, if it isn't a contract year you can count on him mailing it in. The Bulls recently had Tim Thomas and paid him to stay at home (something between him and Coach Skiles). Larry Hughes is a two guard who can't shoot, but he's a scorer. I didn't think the Knicks needed another one of those. Overall, everyone that wanted out (Hughes and James) got another opportunity elsewhere.

What's your take on this trade? Even? Backwards for both teams? Just plain stupid?

NBA Round Up 9-25-08

Golden State Warriors - Well, I've commented on this a few times, here and here, but the information is finally coming out. Monta Ellis was riding a moped when he hurt his ankle. It was at a low speed according to sources. Thank God!!!! At least he wasn't hang gliding or learning how to ride a motorcycle in a parking lot. But, all in all, he'll probably get fined an inordinate amount of money by the team for not coming clean the first time, but that's why you sign big contracts. Monta, get well soon.

Denver Nuggets - The writing is on the wall and AI can read. During an interview with the Rocky Mountain News, AI acknowledged that he too could be on his way out of Denver. Because AI has an expiring contract and the fact that the Nuggets gave, um I mean traded, Marcus Camby away for a bag of chips, there's nothing left in Denver. The team they have now can't win the West, or even make the top 8. This will be interesting because I think AI has about $20M on his deal left, so, that's a lot of contracts to put together to make this happen. A blast from the past: Mateen Cleaves is going to be signed by the Nuggets because of the injury to Chucky Atkins. I didn't even think Cleaves was still playing basketball.

Charlotte Bobcats - Have signed Carl Landry, of the Houston Rockets, to an offer sheet. The Rockets are right at the luxury tax threshold and they may choose not to match the offer. Either way, Landry's knee is healthy and he is ready to bang for one of these teams.

Miami Heat - Michael Beasley has gotten rid of his agent, but he also got a shoe deal with Adidas. With that new deal in place, Beasley is ready to start training camp with the Heat and get ready for the season.

New Orleans Hornets - The big toe that kept Tyson Chandler out as an alternate for the US Olympic Basketball team has not quite finished healing. Chandler is still having problems with his big toe and he hopes to be ready for the season. The Hornets may find it wise to scale back some of his training camp participation since he's a very important cog in the Hornets winning.

New Jersey Nets - This is the gig I want. I want to retire (without filing the paperwork to officially do it), be a part of a trade and make $5M for just sitting at home, and then have the opportunity to make more money. Keith Van Horn's deal is something that can be moved by the NJN to help them acquire an actual player. Maurice Ager may also be bought out so that the Nets can get a 3rd string point guard.

Oklahoma City Thunder - With a lot of new pieces and a lot to figure out head coach PJ Carlesimo will watch how many minutes he gives his young superstar, Kevin Durant, during the preseason or will he. PJ is looking at a lot of different rotations and feels that Durant will need to play with lots of different players to see what works best for the Thunder. PJ will try and keep him from the big minutes during preseason. Earl Watson's fractured thumb has healed and he should be 100% ready to go for training camp and the preseason. On a different note, Robert Swift is hurt again. He broke a bone in his hand and will be limited in training camp.

New York Knicks - Well maybe the buyout stories are true, just not about Stephon Marbury. It seems as though Isiah's investment in Jerome James is up for discussion. James has 2 years and a little more than $12M on his contract and the Knicks are interested in buying both James and Malik Rose (1 year $7.6M left) out. So maybe Stephon, who reportedly is under 200lbs and in the best shape of his career, will stay with the Knicks. I won't try and make the Knicks fans excited, but if Steph truly is in the best shape of his career and motivated (by all that is going on, and his legacy is on the line), he may actually play well this year in D'Antoni's system. We'll see.

Los Angeles Lakers - Luke Walton still hasn't been cleared to do any running and won't participate when training camp starts next week. The Lakers will have to monitor this situation for a while. They have a lot of small forwards on the team, but they are got rid of Ira Newble who can contribute.

Orlando Magic - Hedo Turkoglu has said that he will opt out of his deal at the end of the year to make some more money. He wants to stay in Orlando, but he wants to get paid. I'm not mad at you Hedo.