Isiah Thomas: Report Card After Two Years
Thursday, Dec. 22 marks the two-year anniversary of the appointment of Isiah Thomas as President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. After two years, it's time for a job review. So how's Isiah doing?
To be fair, one must first take into account what Isiah Thomas inherited -- a team with a 10-18 record; an aging, athletically-challenged roster; and a salary cap nightmare. The tenure of Isiah's predecessor, Scott Layden, was an mitigated disaster. Knicks fans were ready for a change ... even if the choice of Isiah Thomas seemed curious given his track record of running the CBA into the ground and failing to improve either Toronto (as GM) or Indiana (as coach).
From day one, Isiah's stated goal was to get younger and more athletic. His unstated - but completely obvious - goal was to rid the team of every single player he inherited. Presumably, the accomplishment of these goals would translate into more wins. So how's it going? Let's take a look at the "before" and "after" rosters:
Younger? Check. More athletic? Check? All new players? Check. In fact, Isiah's incessant roster churning has also seen the following players both arrive AND depart during his relatively brief time on the job:
Vin Baker
Matt Barnes
Jamison Brewer
Jermaine Jackson
DerMarr Johnson
Nazr Mohammed
Moochie Norris
Bruno Sundov
Tim Thomas
Cezary Trybanski
Jerome Williams
OK, so where were we? Oh yeah ... has the younger, more athletic roster full of fresh faces translated into more W's and fewer L's? Unfortunately, that's where Isiah's report card gets a big fat D. In the 110 games leading up to Isiah's arrival, the Knicks were 47-63 for a .4273 winning percentage. In the 159 games since his arrival, the Knicks are 68-91 for a .4277 winning percentage. When you have to go out four decimal places to find improvement, something's wrong ... and plenty remains wrong with the present state of the New York Knicks.
To See Part Two of Isiah's Report Card, CLICK HERE
To be fair, one must first take into account what Isiah Thomas inherited -- a team with a 10-18 record; an aging, athletically-challenged roster; and a salary cap nightmare. The tenure of Isiah's predecessor, Scott Layden, was an mitigated disaster. Knicks fans were ready for a change ... even if the choice of Isiah Thomas seemed curious given his track record of running the CBA into the ground and failing to improve either Toronto (as GM) or Indiana (as coach).
From day one, Isiah's stated goal was to get younger and more athletic. His unstated - but completely obvious - goal was to rid the team of every single player he inherited. Presumably, the accomplishment of these goals would translate into more wins. So how's it going? Let's take a look at the "before" and "after" rosters:
| Dec. 22, 2003 Allan Houston Kurt Thomas Keith Van Horn Mike Sweetney Antonio McDyess Dikembe Mutombo Othella Harrington Clarence Weatherspoon Howard Eisley Shandon Anderson Charlie Ward Michael Doleac Frank Williams Maciej Lampe Slavko Vranes Milos Vujanic (rights) | Dec. 20, 2005 Stephon Marbury Eddy Curry Channing Frye Jamal Crawford Nate Robinson Trevor Ariza Quentin Richardson David Lee Antonio Davis Maurice Taylor Malik Rose Qyntel Woods Jackie Butler Jerome James Anfernee Hardaway |
Younger? Check. More athletic? Check? All new players? Check. In fact, Isiah's incessant roster churning has also seen the following players both arrive AND depart during his relatively brief time on the job:
Vin Baker
Matt Barnes
Jamison Brewer
Jermaine Jackson
DerMarr Johnson
Nazr Mohammed
Moochie Norris
Bruno Sundov
Tim Thomas
Cezary Trybanski
Jerome Williams
OK, so where were we? Oh yeah ... has the younger, more athletic roster full of fresh faces translated into more W's and fewer L's? Unfortunately, that's where Isiah's report card gets a big fat D. In the 110 games leading up to Isiah's arrival, the Knicks were 47-63 for a .4273 winning percentage. In the 159 games since his arrival, the Knicks are 68-91 for a .4277 winning percentage. When you have to go out four decimal places to find improvement, something's wrong ... and plenty remains wrong with the present state of the New York Knicks.
To See Part Two of Isiah's Report Card, CLICK HERE
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