Isiah Thomas has had this vision for the Knicks. The problem for the everyday world was not everyone could see it. That whole 23victory mess last season clouded matters. But now, Thomas feels it is coming into focus for all to view.
After all, it’s hard to miss 6-11, 6-11, 6-11 aligned side-bysideby-side.
But that’s the front line Thomas, the Knicks president of basketball operations and head coach, can tote out, after officially signing Washington restricted free agent Jared Jeffries yesterday to a five-year, $30 million deal.
“Over the last couple of years, everyone has kind of been on me about ‘What’s the plan? What’s the vision?'” Thomas explained.
“In a rebuilding phase when you articulate it, it’s hard for people to visualize … When you have a vision and a thought and you articulate it, it’s not like having reality in front of you when you have 6-11, 6-11 and 6-11.” That would be Jeffries, Channing Frye and Eddy Curry. The Knicks, who will spend $60 million on Jeffries via luxury tax considerations, may have a logjam at small forward with Jalen Rose and Quentin Richardson.
But that’s a problem for another day. Yesterday was about Jeffries and the chemistry he brings to the team and the opportunity the team gives him.
“My role in D.C. was to have defensive responsibilities, to be effective without having to have the ball: run the floor, block shots, offensive rebound, finish in transition, make open shots if you’ve got them,” said Jeffries, considered a defensive gem but an offensive liability – a rep he wants to shed.
“Hopefully, Coach Thomas gives me a situation where I can go out and expand (offensively).
“My whole career, I’ve never been an offensive player,” said Jeffries, who has averaged 6.1 points in his four-season career. “The one thing I want is that my team wins. I want to be part of the situation where I fit in and help people win, because if you win, you’ll be remembered.” And while Thomas respects Jeffries’ hopes for offensive expansion, the chemistry, versatility and DEFENSE of the turns-25-in-November, threeposition defender are what appeal most.
“We needed better defenders. But I wasn’t necessarily looking for guys who didn’t want the ball.
Those guys get you beat because … they get alligator arms at the end of the game,” Thomas said.
Both Thomas and Jeffries talked about their similar philosophies – both are Indiana products. Where Thomas really seemed most pumped was talking about the intangibles Jeffries brings. He summed it up at one point noting, “You can plug in 15 and 8 and it may not work; you can plug in 4 and 6 and it works.” Last season, no matter what the Knicks plugged in, the result was a blown fuse.
“I’ve wanted him since the first day I got here,” Thomas said. “I spent a lot of time this summer talking about chemistry.
One of the things written and said and was true about us, the chemistry wasn’t right. Jared, more so than talent, brings chemistry where he balances your locker room, he balances the plane ride. In a group setting, he’s the chemical piece that makes everything kind of work in a strange kind of way.
“His talents and skills speak for themselves.
His intangibles, when you look at a scouting report, how do you find that person who makes the group work? He balances the group,” Thomas said.