HoopsHype.com Columns

Still a bleak future ahead
by Marc Narducci / June 22, 2006

Isiah Thomas, with three first-round playoff exits on his NBA coaching resume at Indiana, now takes over as the coach.

The good news is that Thomas won't be ripping his general manager anymore for foolish moves. The bad news, of course is that Thomas is his own general manager and his penchant for loading up on overpaid and underachieving guards will have to be addressed.

The other disconcerting news is that part-time musician Jim Dolan is still calling the shots at Madison Square Garden headquarters.

Dolan tried to humiliate Brown into resigning, but the old coach showed his resolve, plus his financial acumen. It also goes to show that $40 million can't buy a person the ability to spare humiliation.

Dolan handled this entire bungled situation the same way his dysfunctional team played this season during a 23-59 nightmare.

If a team is the extension of who's at the top, then the Knicks might keep enjoying their view from the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings for quite some time.

Now Dolan and Thomas will have to plot to win games, which they will find is much more difficult than planning to overthrow a coach.

Thomas' three seasons as head coach in Indiana give no suggestion that he can turn the Knicks around. At least he will get the chance to show that he can coach a team better than he can build one.

The Knicks' disastrous season had plenty of people to blame, including Brown, but even if he had the coaching season of a lifetime, what would it mean – 30-82 or possibly 35-47?

And the bad news is that this is an over-the-cap team that should continue to perform under the radar.

Sure, Thomas will look to make some moves, but it's not as if he has many bargaining chips. The most desired commodity is Channing Frye, a 6-11 second-year forward.

Other than that, there are eight guards on the roster and many of them will be difficult to peddle.

If Thomas believes that a backcourt of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury can truly work then he must know something that the rest of the NBA doesn't.

It's true that Brown had a different starting lineup for almost every day of the week, which created an atmosphere of instability, not to mention a lousy starting five.

If the season started today, which Knicks fans are grateful it doesn't, here are five potential starters – Francis and Marbury and Jamal Crawford in a three-guard setup with Frye and Eddy Curry up front.

Maybe Thomas can convince center Jerome James that he is allowed to play well in a non-contract year, but that might be wishing for a lot.

Or Thomas could hope that NBA fossils Malik Rose and Maurice Taylor could find the fountain of youth. Or that second-year forward David Lee will develop into a consistent player. And here's a bigger reach – maybe the No. 20 and No. 29 picks in the draft can bring somebody who could immediately help.

It's a lot to ask for on a team whose lack of chemistry was only surpassed by an inflated payroll expected to be in the $125 million range this coming season.

The worst thing would be for Thomas to be stuck with essentially the same team for next year because nobody wants his players. That, by the way, isn't an outlandish thought.

The backcourt of Francis and Marbury will cost more than $33 million. The Knicks may be able to jettison expiring contracts of players such as Taylor ($9.75 million) and Jalen Rose ($16.9 million) near the February trade deadline, but what team would be boneheaded enough to deal for them now?

Thomas will bring a positive attitude that Brown was never accused of having with this group. Brown wanted the Knicks to play the right way, but it should have taken him two training camp practices to realize this wasn't going to happen.

There is no doubt that many of the players will enjoy performing for the more positive Thomas and virtually the entire team loathed Brown's constant head games.

But liking the coach and winning are two different things.

In the NBA, talent and chemistry are what win and right now the Knicks don't have much of either.

Thomas better hope that Dolan is more patient with him as a coach than his predecessor. Dolan will soon find that the same old tired songs aren't just being played by his local band.

The Knicks may have traded coaches, but this is a franchise whose immediate future doesn't look much better than its recent sorry past.

Marc Narducci covers the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

Tell us what you think about this column. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com