INGENIOUS!
To think, all this time Scott Layden was masterminding his own demise in order to get the Knicks that incredibly elusive point guard.
It doesn’t get any more resourceful!
Only someone as imaginative as Layden could’ve identified himself as such a valuable commodity and kept it so secretive. Sure fooled me. Apologies are nearly composed for typecasting him as the Witless Protection Program’s poster president/GM.
Now that light has been shed on Layden’s logic, how can I not have an exalted appreciation for the incompatibility he assembled and then reinforced at almost every position?
Now that the method behind Layden’s madness has been recognized, how can I not give him richly deserved props for capsizing the Knicks in perpetuity?
Now that I know where Layden was coming from, how can I not be impressed with his ability to draft slugs (Frank Williams appears to be his lone mistake in that regard) year after year, as well as his skill at getting shafted on free-agent signings and the short end of every trade.
Now that I realize Layden was angling to be replaced by Isiah Thomas, I fully understand why he originally appointed Don Chaney, urged James Dolan to give him countless contract extensions and continued to support his coach no matter what.
Alas, Thomas’ arrival is almost 10 years too late to do the Knicks any immediate good. As depressing at it is to revive this aghast from the past, Thomas rejected his first chance to immeasurably impact New York when he prematurely retired at age 32 rather than accept being exchanged for Teaneck’s Tony Campbell and a No. 1 pick following the ’93-94 season.
“I was healthy,” said Thomas, who only played 58 games that year. “I just wanted to remain a Piston.”
Think how many championships the Knicks would’ve competed for, if not captured outright, had Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, John Starks and Anthony Mason been directed by the NBA’s most poisonous point guard of all-time not named Magic or Oscar.
Think Detroit’s Bad Boys were baaad to the banderols! Well, think how baaad the Knicks would’ve been with the cutthroat Thomas submarining Michael Jordan’s Air Raids. Phil Jackson couldn’t have handed out enough books to compensate for inflicted damage. Think the Bulls would’ve won three straight titles in ’96-’97 and ’98?
Better yet, Knick fans should do themselves a favor and not think about it.
Dwell on the positive instead. While Layden’s subtraction is certainly enough to celebrate, the addition of Thomas should generate a fair amount of hope throughout the Knicks’ galaxy, albeit, deferred. His predecessors didn’t create this mess overnight and Thomas cannot be expected to clean it up overnight.
“What should one of the first things Thomas do as president of basketball operations?” an expert was asked.
“He should try to get under the cap by swapping bad contracts for little or nothing,” declared the expert.
Like, whoa, how many team executives like Danny Ainge does our expert think are out there? One less than there was yesterday, that’s for sure.
No, if you crave instant gratification, Madison Square Garden definitely shouldn’t be your first pit stop out on the town each evening for many moons. By finally getting down to business and dumping the person responsible for accumulating this erosion-moving clutter, Dolan got the hostile media off his carcass for the time being and bought some desperately needed patience from overpaying customers.
At the very least, Thomas needs one trading deadline, one draft and one summer fling of romancing free agents to carefully navigate the enduring quicksand left under his feet. Fans should take comfort in recalling, as the Raptors’ field marshal, Thomas saw something special in high schooler Tracy McGrady before anyone else and also drafted Marcus Camby and Damon Stoudamire.
In the months to come, Thomas’ biggest decision will be whether to take risks or drop back two or three seasons and rebuild for real. It says here New York fans, even at the Garden’s precious prices, will buy into the latter as long as they know what’s up.
It should take less than a month to evaluate Don Chaney, who rented temporary breathing room when Dolan determined the roster – consequently, the team’s 10-18 record – was Layden’s legacy to live down. Unless Thomas radically changes the players and/or Chaney drastically changes his coaching style, we’re in for the same old excuses and the same dreary endings.
No. Thomas has no plans to coach the Knicks. At least this Knick “Dream Team.” Of course, once the talent is upgraded, reality dictates those plans are subject to abrupt change.
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ISIAH’s RESUME
Played for Pistons 1981-1994: Won championship, 1988-89, 1989-90
Raptors general manager, 1994 – 1997: Franchise was 51 and 113 in its first two seasons
CBA owner, 1999 – 2000: League folded in 2000
Pacers head coach, 2000-2003:
2002-03: 48-34, lost to Celtics in first round, 4-2
2001-02: 42-40, lost to Nets in first round, 3-2
2000-01: 41-41, lost to 76ers in first round, 3-1