Okay fine, Isiah Thomas got a contract extension
The rumors are true.
Isiah Thomas, the favorite punching bag of, well everyone, has received a contract extension from James Dolan. A year ago at this time, there would be a greater sense of outrage, but the facts show that Isiah has performed up to the standard that his employer requested. If we were to dig deeper, we would see that last year Larry Brown was so destructive to the team that basically anyone could come in and stand around in a suit on the sideline and the team would show improvement.
The Knicks also happen to play in the worst division ever. Toronto is supposed to be a year away from competing at the very least, and their coach has the reputation of being too confrontational and days away from losing his job at all times. Naturally, Toronto is running away with the division and Sam Mitchell and coach of the year have been put in the same sentence. The Nets have been an injury wrecked disaster, as well as being one of the softest and worst crunch time teams in the league. Philly and Boston have each been accused of losing games on purpose. In the midst of all that, Isiah’s Knicks are in the playoff mix, but probably won’t win the division.
Some positive things that Isiah has done include convincing Stephon Marbury to buy into letting the offense run through Eddy Curry, keeping the team together after the brawl with Denver, surviving a rash of injuries, and managing to keep guys with seemingly fragile psyches from quitting on the season. I’m looking at you Jared Jeffries, Channing Frye, and in the most amazing turn of events of the year… STEVE FRANCIS!
I have very mixed feelings about this extension. On one hand, Isiah has turned the team around for the better. Curry is a productive NBA player, David Lee is a budding star, Steph has become the certified team leader that people who call him “Cancerbury” never thought he would be. On the other hand, the Knicks should still be a lot better than they are, even with the improvement. They’ve had a handful of games where they didn’t show up or played no defense whatsoever. Isiah the strategist has one play to be called in all late game situations, which is “Jamal Crawford clear out” since re-named “Steve Francis clear out.” But like I said, the team has shown improvement, so Isiah is here to stay.
And so the Knicks will stay the course. Lowered expectations are a wonderful thing (for Isiah). The team is much more fun to watch than it was last year and James Dolan can feel satisfied with an improving team, even if it will never get as far as say, the conference Finals in a weak conference.
Nice work Isiah. You saved your reputation. In a division with Mo Cheeks, Doc Rivers, Sam Mitchell, and Lawrence Frank, you are one of the better coaches.
34 Responses to “Okay fine, Isiah Thomas got a contract extension”
Mar.12 at 2:31 pm
Reggie Evans says:
first
Mar.12 at 2:35 pm
MacGuyver says:
LOL @ That last line. Classic shit homie.
Mar.12 at 2:44 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I wonder who he’ll waste the midlevel exception on this summer!
Mar.12 at 2:44 pm
Bigi says:
I think Franchise saw what you guys said about him…And started playin’!!!!Reverse-Jinx!Peace.
Mar.12 at 2:48 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
I would take Cheeks, Mitchell, or Frank over Thomas every time. I’d take Rivers ahead of Thomas if my team sucked and I really needed a high draft pick.
Mar.12 at 2:54 pm
dez says:
brutal. but true. how much better will this team be next season? does it really matter? will i still attend every knicks game i can? probably. although its equivalent to bleeding my own blood.
Mar.12 at 2:57 pm
Ben Couch says:
Russ — third time’s the charm? *fingers crossed, pleading with the basketball gods*
Mar.12 at 3:09 pm
Ron says:
Can you really say he’s better than Mo, when the Sixers are a few games removed from that 8th seed? After the exile of 2 superstars, thar team hass actually gotten better and the last 3 games have actually been fun to watch. (Excwpt for Kobe catching Korver with another elbow to the face of a non-black dude. Why didn’t he hit Greg buckner, or Stackhouse, or Devean George? Remember, ‘The Mamba’ is very calculated in his actions. I’m just saying…
Mar.12 at 3:10 pm
Chris O'Leary says:
Could Dolan have fired Zeke the GM and kept him as coach?
Mar.12 at 3:12 pm
Ron says:
Man typing and working at the same time is never easy to do. Sorry for all of the errors.
Mar.12 at 3:18 pm
Tommy Patron says:
Remember, it’s ZEKE calling the end of game play, then try to think of why it would always be a clearout for small scoring guards to go one-on-one for the win.
Mar.12 at 3:23 pm
Mike says:
Russ: Isiah will probably offer the full mid-level to Jerome James again.
Mar.12 at 3:27 pm
Mike says:
Anybody else going to the Knicks-Raptors game in Toronto on Wednesday? I know I sure am. First NBA game of my life. And I get to see my favourite team play the division leader in a game that actually means something. Too bad David Lee might not play. Too bad Jamal Crawford is hurt. Hopefully Marbury explodes for 40+ and the game is worth going to. Because it’s my first live game, and because it’s the Knicks, they’ll probably get destroyed and Isiah will send Mardy in to horsecollar Bosh a fight will spill into the stands and I’ll get injured.
Mar.12 at 3:42 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Somehow someway, Ron Artest will be on the Knicks next year. Either through trade or the Kings will just cut him.
Mar.12 at 3:47 pm
MC Welk says:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2754~1717~25&teams=23~23~18
Mar.12 at 4:02 pm
KMG says:
Okay, I’m gonna get it out of my system now: THIS IS BULL$#!T!!! I will always love the Knicks, I will continue to support the team through good times and bad, but once again, I cannot and will not endorse these sheisty front office bastards better known as James Dolan and Isiah Thomas. Incredible…before his year of “get it straight or get out” is over, with no real guarantee that the team is even gonna make the playoffs (regardless of how well they’re doing), and the man gets a MULTIYEAR EXTENSION? Apparently Anucha Sanders isn’t the only one who’s been sexually propositioned by Isiah Thomas, because he must have given the blowjob to end all blowjobs to keep his job.
Mar.12 at 5:50 pm
Z says:
SLAM is hating. You basically predicted that Zeke would fail and he didn’t. That was a nice story full of back-handed compliments, Sam.
Mar.12 at 5:57 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
F the Sixers. ALso i like the Knicks and Isiah deserves the extension. Now what?
Mar.12 at 6:28 pm
Sherri says:
am jus saying Larry Brown would’ve possibly done much more better sh*t with Curry last saeson, too bad he aint play. Although the Knicks are doin` somewht OKAY [jus cant get myself to say GOOD, dunno why though], but i miss me some Larry Brown, and the suspense he brought with 10500 different lineups. Larry should’ve been given more time its all am sayin`. =]
Mar.12 at 6:32 pm
Hersey says:
Biggest payroll, most expensive seats, bloated roster of similar players… They might get an 8 seed and that’s success? Glad I’m not a Knick fan.
Mar.12 at 6:39 pm
benny says:
This is probably restating Sam’s point, but, forget about the rest of the division. It seems that NJ’s breakdown alone makes the Knicks look like a success. Thus, VC’s already on NY & dude don’t know it yet.
Mar.12 at 7:08 pm
Tariq says:
i told y’all francis would come back. don’t doubt my expertise!
Mar.12 at 8:22 pm
David says:
I was a big fan of Isiah during his playing days, and still think his career was great. His career as an exec and coach is disappointing because he seems to be extended past his skills. For whatever reasons, his coaching history shows that his players like playing for him, even if they’re underachieving. His GM history shows that he can draft well and he was certainly able to get a lot of trades done for this Knicks team - completely different squad from that of a few years ago.
Mar.12 at 8:23 pm
David says:
And Khalid, where have you been since the all star game?
Mar.12 at 8:55 pm
Omar says:
Like hip-hop and TV, basketball is DEAD.
Mar.12 at 9:40 pm
Will Lee says:
rivers and frank were nearly coach of the year when their teams were good. i think we should just cancel the award, rename it to Jerry Sloan Award or Pat Riley Award, or G. Pop Award, then give it to the winningest coach that year. That award has nothing to do with coaching.
Mar.12 at 10:00 pm
deestarbuckz says:
Jack Bauer would have coached the Knicks to 50 wins, revived and killed Nina, saved Kim from herself, killed seven terrorists, tortured three, and found the bomb in MSG… that would have deserved an extension!
Mar.13 at 12:36 am
Adam says:
Isiah gives good hugs after Jimmy Dolan recites his favorite Godfather II line: “I can handle things, I’m smart, not like everybody says. Not dumb, I’m smart, and I want respect!” James Dolan knows Fredo’s pain. But things are gonna change. He can feel it. Get crazy with the cheese whiz, perdedor.
Mar.13 at 6:03 am
Slobodan Chutzpah says:
Okay, the Knicks have played better under Thomas this season. (But as Sam said, there was no way else to go.) Being a fan, I’m sort of glad about that. But then I look at their bloated payroll and poorly constructed roster and realize this is as good as it’s gonna get. Ever. These Knickerbockers are at their absolute best a 40-win team that gets bounced out of the playoffs in the 2nd round. So even if the good Dr. Reverend kinda earned an extension as a coach, under what logic does he earn an extension as a GM as well? I might have to go strangle somebody now.
Mar.13 at 9:20 am
The Crack Staff @ Perkisabeast.com says:
This is the best news we’ve heard in years. At least we knbow there’s one team in the Atlantic we won’t have to worry about rebounding into contention for a while. Some in the Beast Lair are still thanking that rascist paraquat for our trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Man, I LOVE the Knicks, they’re better for our self esteem than an AA meeting
Mar.13 at 12:11 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Revisiting my Knicks season preview, Mutoni asked the question if Isiah would still be around after this season, and here was my answer. It’s pretty accurate:
They’ll be one of the more improved teams in the league and could be as high as the 5th or 6th seed in the East. Yeah I said it! And I started writing this before Spike Lee went on national TV on Monday Night Football and said the same thing. Part of that is because they were so so so so bad last year. They had the wrong kind of coach with the wrong kind of players last year. A teacher? The students didn’t want to listen. Isiah brings the arrogant swagger that this particular crop of players will respond to. Isiah has been hated on and challenged his whole life as have many of these players. Unlike Larry Brown, Isiah doesn’t cling to a mantra like “play the right way.” No, Isiah says things like “I’d sell my mother to win.” Ironically, Isiah is pulling a Larry Brown. You see, back when Larry Brown still had a reputation that was worth a damn, what he would do was pick and choose coaching jobs based on the most pathetic situation he could find. That way, Larry would look like the savior once he took a team from bottom of the league to say, a decent playoff team, the exception being Detroit, where he took Rick Carlisle’s team to the Finals twice only to leave because he wanted to taint his legacy and get that money money. Isiah watched the Knicks bottom out under Larry, and now he gets to be the savior. Larry was probably gunning for Isiah’s GM job all year, but he lost the power struggle. Deep down you know he’s got to be mad and probably a little impressed that Isiah beat him at his own game. Now that the Knicks won’t be a team that’s caught in the crosshairs of a power struggle, they will have a coach that actually wants to help the team win and won’t tinker with the lineup to a non-sensical degree. Plus they got Balkman. The Knicks are going back to the playoffs, Isiah will be a coach of the year candidate, and the team will never advance beyond the second round at best until the year 2012.
Mar.13 at 2:59 pm
Sherri says:
i am just thisss much away frm jumpin` on the Knicks under Isiah bandwagon…ummm but sumthin` says NO!!!
Mar.13 at 3:20 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
So much for David Lee ever starting.
Mar.14 at 1:03 am
JR says:
who is this guy claiming to be steve francis? didnt the real stevie franchise retire the day he became a knick?