Isiah Thomas and his New York Knicks have become the running joke of the NBA.
Thomas became the President of Operation in 2003, taking over a team way over the salary cap and with little talent or trade bait. They finished 30-52 in 2001-2002 and followed up 37-45 in 2002-2003.
They had a salary cap number of $93 million.
Below is the 2002-2003 roster and salary.
Player 2002-03 Salary Total Contract Signed Through
Allan Houston $14,343,750 7-yr; 100.41M 2006-07
Antonio McDyess $12,600,000 6-yr; 67.5M 2003-04
Latrell Sprewell $11,937,500 5-yr ;61.9M 2003-04 (p)
Shandon Anderson $6,100,000 6-yr; 42.0M 2006-07
Charlie Ward $5,570,000 6-yr; 28.0M + 2002-03 (p)
Howard Eisley $5,312,500 7-yr; 41.0M 2005-06 (t)
Clarence Weatherspoon $4,991,800 5-yr; 27.23M 2005-06
Kurt Thomas $4,903,750 3-yr; 13.0M 2003-04 (t)
Travis Knight $4,000,000 7-yr; 22.0M 2003-04
Othella Harrington $2,700,000 7-yr; 17.33M 2004-05
Michael Doleac $1,400,000 2-yr; 3.00M 2003-04
Frank Williams $832,560 4-yr; 4.40M 2004-05 (t)
Mark Pope $637,435 1-yr; 637,435 2002-03
Lee Nailon $587,435 1-yr; 587,435 2002-03
Lavor Postell $587,435 2-yr; 1.05M 2002-03
**Others $16,510,000
Total $93,014,165
In Thomas' first year, he tried to turn the team around by add talent and getting younger. Two of their best players—Antonio McDyess and Allan Houston—were battling injuries, and Latrell Sprewell was set to opt out of his contract.
Unlike in the NFL and MLB where you can easily revamp a team, the NBA and its salary cap structure does not allow for an easy transition.
You have to trade for equal salary, find a team under the cap to dump salary, or just wait until a contract runs out and draft well.
Thomas did transform the Knicks' roster the next year.
He changed the faces of the franchise by bringing in over 10 different players. He found Phoenix trying to dump Stephon Marbury's salary and brought the former All-Star point guard back East.
The following year he brought in the young Jamal Crawford to replace Houston's scoring void and to pair with Marbury in the backcourt.
In 2005-2006, he added Larry Brown as head coach and players Eddie Curry, Quentin Richardson, Steve Francis, Jerome James, Maurice Taylor, and Jalen Rose. He drafted Channing Frye and David Lee.
This is the year that most Knicks fans point to as the season Thomas made all his major blunders. While this may be true, this is also the year Isiah went for it.
He had his eye on Kevin Garnett and on making major changes to the core of the team. He now had the salary to package along with young pieces and big names.
However, the moves never materialized, and Larry Brown was unable to provide the consistency on the bench the team needed to gel. Thomas threw the dice and lost, but at least he tried.
Fast forward to this season, and Thomas is sitting on the hottest seat in sports.
The Knicks are once again out of the playoffs and Eddie Curry and Zach Randolph can't play together. Marbury has been nothing but a distraction, and Knicks fans are miserable. "Fire Isiah" chants rain from MSG crowds and NBA analysts.
They say that if Thomas had gotten under the cap, hadn't have traded for him, or signed him, the Knicks would would have been back on top.
It is the same thing you heard in Boston about Danny Ainge and Billy King. King took the fall and his team is in playoff contention, and we all know what Boston is doing this year.
Where are the "Fire Danny Ainge" people now? They are praising how he transformed his struggling team into one the league's best.
How? By taking on some bad salaries, drafting young pieces, and taking chances.
Above was the roster Thomas was given to start his New York career. Here is where the team is today and with contracts moving forward.
Player 2008 2009 2010
Stephon Marbury $20,840,625
Zach Randolph $14,666,667 $16,000,000 $17,333,333
Eddy Curry $9,723,983 $10,500,423 $11,276,863
Quentin Richardson $8,685,500 $8,700,000
Jamal Crawford $8,640,000 $9,360,000 $10,080,000
(Jerome Williams)
Malik Rose $7,647,500
Jerome James $6,200,000 $6,600,000
Jared Jeffries $6,049,400 $6,466,600 $ 6,883,800
Fred Jones
Dan Dickau
Nate Robinson $2,020,179 $2,911,078
Renaldo Balkman $1,369,920 $2,112,417 $3,027,094
David Lee $1,788,033 $2,682,050
Mardy Collins $1,034,760 $1,867,742 $2,801,613
Wilson Chandler $977,900 $1,046,200 $1,775,401
Randolph Morris
TOTALS $89,644,467 $68,246,510
It is a much younger team, with lots more talent and pieces to trade.
I am not saying Isiah Thomas does not deserve any criticism as has he not made all the best moves. But being under the salary cap is overrated, and what free agents are they missing out on anyway?
He does have a good eye for young talent in the draft. Having young talent to give up along with salary is the best way to bring in veteran stars. Give Thomas some credit for giving the Knicks some pieces to work with in the future.
This team is not a polished product, and they do struggle playing together. This year has been a struggle to watch or even root for.
But I don't think that this is why they have been assembled. I think its part of a larger plan. At the end of next year is when I feel it is fair to judge Thomas.
If the Knicks make no moves and show little improvement, the axe should fall.
Until then, go back and see what Scott Layden left the Knicks to work with and compare it to what they have to work with now.
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6 months ago
I am sick and tired of the Layden Excuse, and you should be too.
(1) Yes, Layden left a mess. But Thomas knew that BEFORE he accepted the job. And GM jobs become available (usually) because the current gm has done a terrible job. How many gm inherit a great roster??
(2) Isiah and all his supporters act as if Isiah was the only man on Earth who knew the post-Layden Knicks needed to get "younger and more athletic" (one of Isiah's favorite catchphrases in the beginning).
WHOEVER REPLACED LAYDEN WAS GOING TO MAKE CHANGES. Heck, Layden wanted to make changes too, but Dolan cut Layden's credit cards in half (one of the only smart things Dolan has ever done), forcing Layden to sit on his thumb, while the team got older, more brittle, and less athletic.
(3) The ONLY way to judge Isiah's reign of error since December 22, 2003 is to ask:
"Would the Knicks be better off today if they had hired a Colangelo (Jerry or Bryan), Walsh, West, Buford, Presti, etc.??"
The answer is a resounding HE11 YES!!!!!!!
from 6 months ago
I'm sorry what have the Pacers done lately with Donnie Walsh, How about West in Memphis? Presti is still showing what he can do, didn't the Knicks improve the first year Isiah was there? And the Colangelo's never had to deal with a salary cap mess like the one in NY. So while I get you think someone else could have done a better job, show me a guy other than Billy King or Ainge who has inherited such a crapy talent and salary sitution and turned it around?
6 months ago
Not only would they be better than they are today, but they wouldn't be stuck with 2 huge losers (Marbury & Z. Randolph) with huge contracts that no one wants, and an over rated/over-paid fat center! They'd have drafted better (don't know why everyone thinks that Isiah has such a great eye for talent?). They could have drafted A. Bynum, they could have kept the draft picks that they traded for the fat center and had LaMarcus Aldridge. Isiah has flat-out failed! He is incompetent and I'm tired of people trying to defend the total disaster that this guy has been. Please, let's just fire the guy and move on!
from 6 months ago
Marbury comes off the books, and Zach Randolph is a 20-10 guy. I didn't say he didn't mess up pairing him with Curry. Andrew Bynum is decent, lets not act like this guy is Dwight Howard, and many other teams passed on him as well. If he was so great then why was Kobe demanding to be traded because they wouldn't trade Bynum for Kidd or Jermaine O'neal? The Curry move didn't pan out, but there were many other GM's who would want a 23 year old big man, and over pay him. See Samuel Dalembert, Stromile Swift, Darco Milicic, and the other half of the big men in the league. Did people want Theo Ratliff, Wally Z? Did Gerald Green become everything he wass supposed to be? No, but they came in handy when making trades didn't they. Did Isisah mess up moves, yes, does the team have the ability to make more moves then it did in the past, yes. That was my point, its easy to say could've, should've, but this is the NBA you take chances, sometimes they are good, sometimes there bad. I give Isiah credit for rolling the dice, and taking some shots.
6 months ago
Marbury is a loser and Z. Randolph is a loser. I don't care what their individual stats are, they're losers and the kind of guys that you don't want in your locker room! If you had a choice today with 20/20 hindsight, who would you take Bynum or Frey? He had the choice and he blew it! I don't care what other guys did? Kobe is a spoiled brat, who care what he wants! You don't hear him complaining now do you? He could have gotten Curry for expiring contracts and he gave away 2 high draft picks. He could have done the same in the Marbury trade. The guy couldn't negotiate for a bucket of ice in Siberia in the winter, let alone at this level. Did Isiah mess up moves? He's been a disaster! The only move that he's made that worked out beyond expectations is drafting David Lee. Every other decision that the guy's made has been wrong. Not just wrong, but disasterous in terms of salary cap implications! What moves can they make today that are directly linked to anything good that's been done by him? Outside of Lee, Crawford and maybe N. Robinson, they couldn't give the rest of the team away for free.
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