THIS just in: Stephen Jack son said he was packing heat to protect Sebastian Telfair . . . or was it Sebastian Cabot, or John Sebastian?
On that note, Isiah Thomas needs to spend more of his free time cutting grass, petting animals or partaking in any form of mindless relaxation that allows him to clear his attic of cobwebs.
Thomas’ thought process desperately craves cleansing, purging or reprogramming; more likely, all of the above. In the last week, Thomas has unfurled one obtuse viewpoint after another; first at the expense of Little (Greg) Anthony, and now in defense of the NBA, high ground he felt the urge to take following deathly situations involving the gun-ho Jackson and the unarmed-but-fluffed (pillow head) Telfair.
“This is a league that’s survived a lot of things. It’s always been a league on the forefront of social conscience and social change,” Thomas sermonized. “These types of incidents won’t affect the league, but they may affect the individual.
I think people will see it as an isolated incident.” Well, yeah, if it weren’t for a minor catch; when there’s one such isolated incident followed closely by another and another, it becomes almost routine.
It’s not as if they’re confined to players, either, as the sexual law suit against Thomas, and yesterday morning’s DUI arrest of Kings coach Eric Musselman wretchedly attests a pus-packed pattern that has long since surpassed perception.
And guess, what, Isiah? Fans and advertisers are fed up; a truth that hasn’t escaped the league’s 30 owners and David Stern. A reality they’re frenetic to reverse.
Yet another fact of life Thomas clumsily cannot grasp.
Permit me to offer Stern a suggestion while he mud-wrestles with the Knicks-Larry Brown contract conflict. Seems the commissioner should be drooling to unearth what possessed Brown to insist on unprecedented language that arranged for an arbitrator should his coaching situation turn ugly.
Either Brown mistrusted James Dolan and Isiah Thomas from the git-go. (Where or when would he frame such a feeling?) Or Brown’s plot was to stir up irreconcilable differences with management to provoke early termination in order to collect the remaining guarantee.
Pre-nuptial agreements can’t help but generate suspicion. It amounts to an uneasy truce.
Every time one of those faithless marriages is launched surely the two parties are confident it’s not going to last too long, that it’s a living lock to crumble into the quicksand it’s built on.
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Jared Jeffries’ length, versatility to guard several positions and team-first approach make him a welcomed, role-playing addition to the Knicks. At the same time, if you caught the Wizards after he took over the starting small forward position by default (Jarvis Hayes’ seasonending injury) you’d know the currently disabled Jeffries isn’t all he’s defensively cranked up to be. Anybody with an above average offensive move had no trouble beating him off the dribble and he was easily pushed around.
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Long-time column contributor John Milich reports Pat Williams has solved the immigration problem: He has agreed to adopt Mexico.
How fortunate were the Kings Bonzi Wells twice rejected 5-year offers between $36 million and 38M? Since signing with the Rockets for two years for $5M, the 6-foot-5 forward, entering his ninth campaign of controversy, has been on the sidelines injured. “It’s been a wasted 18 days for him and the team,” Jeff Van Gundy sighed. Wells is currently on extended leave due to a mysterious “personal problem.” Meanwhile, John Salmons, Wells’ replacement, is demonstrating at both ends (his coverage on Andrei Kirilenko Friday elicited rave reviews from Musselman some seven hours before being pulled over Saturday morning by Sacramento police for alleged drunken driving) why the Kings were willing to overpay the Sixer free agent.
Contrary to what was written in this space, LeBron James signed a 3-year extension (a fourth is his option) in July, not a five-year deal. That’s what I get for relying on memory instead of taking the time to look it up . . . This just in: Column contributor Todd Costello reports Greg Anthony severely criticized the Knicks for drafting him No. 12, overall, in ’91, instead of Leron Ellis, Shaun Vandiver and Pete Chilcutt.” Dajuan Wagner, so sick his colon and rectum had to be removed, is a cinch to win the Most Improved (nee Comeback of-the-year) Award. Signed as a free agent to a skimpy 1-year guarantee by the Warriors, the Camden, N.J., product has taken advantage of Jason Richardson’s injured absence and is averaging double figures, starting every game. After noticing the Raptors had won their first five preseason games, Alonzo Mourning decided to report.
About the only intrigue remaining in Bulls camp, according to the Chicago Tribune, is whether Luol Deng or Andres Nocioni will start at small forward, and if 5-9 Andre Barrett can make the roster over 7-1 Luke Schenscher. The former Seton Hall whiz is making management mull over whether it can afford to keep another small guard on the roster. “I’d argue that it’s just as hard to find a legit point as it is to find a 7-footer who can do anything,” Scott Skiles underlined. “There just aren’t many legit point guards anymore. A lot of them are score-first guards.” Kenyon Martin returned the U. of Cincinnati Wednesday to lead the Nuggets to a preseason win over Indiana. Proving some things never change, Martin limped off the court after a collision, and Stephen Jackson denied waving his piece in front of Fabolous.
Far be from column castigator Frank Drucker to suggest the New Jersey senate race is super slimy, but “I’ve just called in Christie Whitman to clear the air.”