Report: Isiah Thomas “Calling the shots for the Knicks”
Few things in the sporting world have been as annoying and frustrating as the Carmelo Anthony trade demand and subsequent trade rumors. For months we’ve known that despite what Anthony may say publicly, he wants no part of being in Denver or, for that matter, New Jersey/Brooklyn. There is little question that option A, B, and C for Carmelo Anthony has and will likely continue to be the New York Knicks.
With that being said, what in God’s creation could be the holdup? The Nuggets are in a tough situation with their superstar demanding a trade before his contract has expired. They’ve essentially lost the final year of Anthony’s contract despite having all legal rights to his services through this season. Sure, it’s horrible for the Nuggets and their fans, but at this point they have to have come to grips with it. There is little question that the Nuggets have long since moved into “get what we can” mode.
The Nuggets know they have lost their star, the whole world knowns Anthony only wants to be a Knick, and the whole world knows that the Knicks desperately want Anthony. So what in the world is holding this up!?
One of the best in the business, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is now reporting what I and others have been hearing whispers of for months. That the man who single-handedly destroyed, embarrassed, and nearly bankrupted the Knicks, Isiah Thomas, is once again calling the shots in New York.
Respected basketball executive Donnie Walsh has done a tremendous job in rebuilding the Knicks after Thomas’ continual mismanagement, but for some reason owner James Dolan has once again seeded power to Thomas. Technically, Thomas isn’t employed by the Knicks as of yet but according to this report he is driving everything through James Dolan including the handling (or rather mishandling) of the Carmelo Anthony trade, the departure of Donnie Walsh, and the future hiring of the Knicks’ next President and GM.
One front office executive is quoted as saying “Isiah is calling the shots in New York. It’s a disgrace. Donnie should walk.”
Dolan, under the direction of Isiah, has continually overruled Walsh throughout the trade talks and continues to undermine the authority and responsibilities that he once hired him to oversee. Walsh has reportedly stood firm in never wanting to trade Raymond Felton for Chauncey Billups and has firmly stood against trading Danilo Gallinari as a part of the package.
So when you start to think about why on earth this trade has taken months and seems like one of the most dysfunctional things in all of sports, that’s because it is. A man who once completely wrecked the Knicks has been essentially given the powers of the General Manager for perhaps the most important trade in history of the franchise. All the while, the man who worked tirelessly to restore the franchise to respectability is being continually disregarded, overruled, and undermined right in front of his face.
If the waiting games hasn’t turned Anthony off to the idea of playing for the Knicks, the idiocy and ridiculousness of this situation and James Dolan’s continual obsession with letting Isiah Thomas wreck his team should be enough to make him seriously consider option D, E, and F.
