Dallas-Mavs.com Forums - View Single Post - Bill Simmons threatened by Knicks GM Isiah Thomas

MavKikiNYC · 01-27-2006, 01:37 PM

NO OTHER SOLUTION THAN TO CUT TIES By JAY GREENBERG
JIM Dolan, dream owner for arrogant, unaccountable and under performing general managers, now has a nightmare on his hands to try even his exceptional level of patience. Wherever the truth is, somewhere between Anucha Browne Sanders' accusations of sexual harassment and Isiah Thomas' utter denials of it, there is no business plan that can tolerate a bad guy who has put together a bad team.

Isiah has to go, as Dolan will come to realize, the sooner the better. Eventually there will be a settlement because these things almost always reach a point where a settlement suits both parties. Still, long before this suit gets to any testimony from a witness chair, Dolan can read the deposition from empty seats, at least 1000 of them visible to him Wednesday night.

Dolan also is privy to the ledger detailing an NBA-high $120 million outflow for talent, plus previous flushings like Lenny Wilkens and Vin Baker. Sure, the Knicks team Thomas inherited 25 months ago was old, slow and hopelessly over the cap, forcing him to take on even more money and chances on flawed younger players.

Still, one of basketball's smartest-ever floor operators and cunning off-the court manipulators has astoundingly, almost exclusively, acquired players who do not think the game well.

The immediate impact of Channing Frye and David Lee, who have a chance to be lastingly good picks, has been oversold, and little Nate Robinson is a circus distraction from an otherwise terrible body of work. So, any kind of a quick turnaround will be impossible before the lawsuit approaches trial. Certainly a jury will be sworn in before Eddy Curry, the player upon which two high first-round picks and what remains of Thomas's credibility rests, gets healthy, if the center ever does.

Therefore it would be stubbornness of an unprecedented level, even for Dolan, to hang on. Assuming his willingness to fight Browne Sanders is partly out of anger at the dysfunction and, now, humiliation she has brought upon the organization, Dolan still would be better off paying Thomas to go away than her.

We can only guess what the owner believes really took place between Thomas and Browne Sanders, whether Dolan interprets it as threatening or just playful. But the boss who vouched for Glen Sather as an organizational builder while the Rangers continued to miss the playoffs could not be happy Thomas refused to provide players to the Knicks' marketing vice president, however demanding and aggravating she may have been.

Remember that as self-appointed gatekeeper of the players' down time, Jeff Van Gundy did not endear himself to Dolan. This board chairman, the one with the perpetually rose-colored glasses, wants everybody he pays to get along.

A Garden employee who has sat in on Dolan-run meetings finds it curious Browne Sanders' threat did not cause the usual Garden lockdown instincts to kick in. The fact Dolan didn't just pay Browne Sanders to keep quiet, says this source, is indication Dolan wanted this public as an excuse to get rid of Thomas. Despite the Garden's so-far backing of its basketball boss, that's an interesting thought, but it sounds a lot more like something Thomas is capable of than Dolan.

Just ask Larry Bird, or Piston teammates who were scared to death of Thomas, or the corporate bosses against whom Thomas maneuvered and lost in Toronto, or the Mom and Pop operators of the CBA whom he ruined. Don Chaney, Allan Houston and Lenny Wilkens were all good persons whose exits were handled by Thomas in callous and Machiavellian manner.

Psychologists will tell you sexual harassment is all about control and Isiah Thomas certainly fits the profile. Common sporting business sense says you get away with almost anything if you win, but Thomas hasn't put together a team or even appears to have any plan that can absolve him.

His time is shrinking. This embarrassment to an owner who hates to be embarrassed should bring it to an end.

01-27-2006, 01:37 PM	#43
MavKikiNYC Diamond Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 8,509	NO OTHER SOLUTION THAN TO CUT TIES By JAY GREENBERG JIM Dolan, dream owner for arrogant, unaccountable and under performing general managers, now has a nightmare on his hands to try even his exceptional level of patience. Wherever the truth is, somewhere between Anucha Browne Sanders' accusations of sexual harassment and Isiah Thomas' utter denials of it, there is no business plan that can tolerate a bad guy who has put together a bad team. Isiah has to go, as Dolan will come to realize, the sooner the better. Eventually there will be a settlement because these things almost always reach a point where a settlement suits both parties. Still, long before this suit gets to any testimony from a witness chair, Dolan can read the deposition from empty seats, at least 1000 of them visible to him Wednesday night. Dolan also is privy to the ledger detailing an NBA-high $120 million outflow for talent, plus previous flushings like Lenny Wilkens and Vin Baker. Sure, the Knicks team Thomas inherited 25 months ago was old, slow and hopelessly over the cap, forcing him to take on even more money and chances on flawed younger players. Still, one of basketball's smartest-ever floor operators and cunning off-the court manipulators has astoundingly, almost exclusively, acquired players who do not think the game well. The immediate impact of Channing Frye and David Lee, who have a chance to be lastingly good picks, has been oversold, and little Nate Robinson is a circus distraction from an otherwise terrible body of work. So, any kind of a quick turnaround will be impossible before the lawsuit approaches trial. Certainly a jury will be sworn in before Eddy Curry, the player upon which two high first-round picks and what remains of Thomas's credibility rests, gets healthy, if the center ever does. Therefore it would be stubbornness of an unprecedented level, even for Dolan, to hang on. Assuming his willingness to fight Browne Sanders is partly out of anger at the dysfunction and, now, humiliation she has brought upon the organization, Dolan still would be better off paying Thomas to go away than her. We can only guess what the owner believes really took place between Thomas and Browne Sanders, whether Dolan interprets it as threatening or just playful. But the boss who vouched for Glen Sather as an organizational builder while the Rangers continued to miss the playoffs could not be happy Thomas refused to provide players to the Knicks' marketing vice president, however demanding and aggravating she may have been. Remember that as self-appointed gatekeeper of the players' down time, Jeff Van Gundy did not endear himself to Dolan. This board chairman, the one with the perpetually rose-colored glasses, wants everybody he pays to get along. A Garden employee who has sat in on Dolan-run meetings finds it curious Browne Sanders' threat did not cause the usual Garden lockdown instincts to kick in. The fact Dolan didn't just pay Browne Sanders to keep quiet, says this source, is indication Dolan wanted this public as an excuse to get rid of Thomas. Despite the Garden's so-far backing of its basketball boss, that's an interesting thought, but it sounds a lot more like something Thomas is capable of than Dolan. Just ask Larry Bird, or Piston teammates who were scared to death of Thomas, or the corporate bosses against whom Thomas maneuvered and lost in Toronto, or the Mom and Pop operators of the CBA whom he ruined. Don Chaney, Allan Houston and Lenny Wilkens were all good persons whose exits were handled by Thomas in callous and Machiavellian manner. Psychologists will tell you sexual harassment is all about control and Isiah Thomas certainly fits the profile. Common sporting business sense says you get away with almost anything if you win, but Thomas hasn't put together a team or even appears to have any plan that can absolve him. His time is shrinking. This embarrassment to an owner who hates to be embarrassed should bring it to an end.