April marked the end of one of the most atrocious executive stints in sports basketball history. Last Saturday Isiah Thomas was fired as the New York Knicks head coach, officially ending the most miserable five year period in Knicks basketball history.

 Thomas’ termination concluded a season marred by internal turmoil, lackadaisical and horrendous play, a reprehensible sexual lawsuit and constant chants of “Fire Isiah” at Madison Square Garden.
This year Thomas Knicks lost a franchise record-tying 59 games and lost the confidence of his players who appeared to grow increasingly disinterested and didn’t always give their maximum effort.

 When revered former Indiana Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh was announced as the Knicks new president of basketball operations it was pretty much a formality Thomas days were numbered. While Walsh and Thomas enjoyed a good relationship when Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers from 2000-2003,Walsh almost didn’t have a choice not to let the embattled coach go given the mounting restlessness.

 The real question is how could things have gone so dreadfully wrong for one of the greatest point guards in the history of basketball?

 As a player, Thomas could practically do no wrong. Thomas was a streetball legend in his hometown of Chicago, and led the Indiana Hoosiers to a National Championship in 1980 as a sophomore. The second overall pick of Detroit Pistons in the 1981 NBA Draft, Thomas was an All-Rookie First Team selection and an All-Star in 1982. Thomas was known as the “Baby-faced or Smiling Assassin” for his deceptive innocent look that belied a fierce, gully competitor.

 Standing 6’1 185 pounds, Thomas was a cold-hearted killer, who dazzled fans with his filthy ankle-cracking handles and spectacular forays to the rack against much bigger foes. Thomas was a 12-time All-Star, two time All-Star Game MVP and he led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 90.’ For his career, Thomas averaged 19.2 points, ranks fourth in NBA history in assists with 9,063 (9.3 dimes a game) and is ninth in career steals (1861). Thomas was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in league history and enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame in 2000. 

 Yet for all his playing accolades, Thomas on court greatness has never been able to translate in the executive arena.

 After his retirement in 1994, Thomas became part-owner and Vice President of the expansion Toronto Raptors. Thomas drafted future stars Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby and Tracy McGrady, but his tenure only lasted four years after creative differences with his partners.

 In 1998 Thomas became the owner of the CBA (Continental Basketball Association), purchasing the league for $5 million. After rejecting an offer from the NBA to make the CBA the league’s official minor league, the CBA went bankrupt and was defunct by 2000. Several team managers blamed Thomas for the league’s folding because of his frivolous spending, mismanagement and possibly deliberately running the league into the ground to make room for the NBDL. That claim is preposterous and nothing but sheer haterism because the CBA was so jacked up the best urban renewal constructionists couldn’t have rebuilt it.

 After coaching the Indiana Pacers to three playoff appearances from 2000-2003, Thomas was fired when Larry Bird became Team President. On December 22, 2003 Thomas was introduced as the New York Knicks Team President and the Knicks made the playoffs that year, getting broomed by the New Jersey Nets in the first round. Everything went downhill from there.

 The Knicks haven’t made the postseason since, registering two dismal 59 loss seasons the past three years. The Knicks hired and inexplicably fired Larry Brown within one year, buying out the Hall-of-Fame coach’s remaining four years on his 5 year deal for $40 million. When Thomas took over the coaching reigns last year it appeared New York was finally starting to turn the corner. The Knicks became a formidable crew, working their way into the eight spot in the East with a little more than a month left and Thomas was rewarded with a multi-year extension.

 The Knicks faltered, finishing with a 33-49 record, stricken by injuries and inconsistent play. In essence, the extension was probably premature because New York failed to match the intensity prior to the Thomas re-up. Since then the Knicks have been a model of atrociousness.

 A once proud, successful franchise has become a catastrophic debacle. This year was marred with spastic, listless play, uninspired defense, dissention and overall excessive garbation on a nightly basis. Thomas and his players were frequently seen bickering on the bench during games and it seemed like they had completely turned him off. One of the main reasons for Thomas heated revilement is his questionable managerial decisions.

 In 2004, Thomas traded for hailed New York native Stephon Marbury. A two-time All-Star, Thomas and Marbury initially had a great relationship. Thomas mentored Marbury and the two were so tight they even became neighbors. This year things between the two soured so much that Marbury dipped a Phoenix game and took a flight home after Thomas told him he was getting benched.

 Thomas also gave phat $30 million contracts to Jerome James and Jared Jeffries which was totally unacceptable because neither did anything to warrant that kind of paper. James has been absolutely pathetic, becoming overweight, sloppier than a can of Manwich and unproductive, and Jeffries has flopped as well.

 Eddy Curry looked like he might assert himself as a dominant force last year, putting up 19.5 and 7 rebounds, but it was only a mirage, as Curry’s numbers dropped to 13.4 points and an anemic 4.7 boards. To put that in perspective, 6’0 180 pound Chris Paul snatched more board than that his rookies season!

 The $11.6 million Madison Square Garden was forced to pay former Knicks employee Anucha Browne Sanders in a sexual harassment against Thomas didn’t help his image either.

 Thomas deserves the brunt of the criticism he’s gotten because he assembled the disgraceful squad, but some people need to raise up cause it’s ain't all on him.

 While extremely talented Marbury has proven to be a cancerous, selfish, chemistry-killer who hasn’t won anything in the show, and Curry has been an underachiever since he entered the league. Thomas has also proven to be a good player evaluator, drafting David Lee, Renaldo Balkman and Nate Robinson.

 To blast Thomas is only taking one-sided view. You have to use a panoramic lens to see the full picture. The Knicks were a disasterpiece before Thomas got there. They were millions of dollars over the salary cap and littered with gifted, uncommitted, knuckleheaded apathetic ballers who never had the mental toughness or desire to be winners. There’s going to have to be enormous renovations to change the negative, losing aura that’s saturated this organization.

 So where does Thomas go from here?

 He’s still got a spot with the Knicks in an undisclosed capacity but he can’t have any contact with the players. That’s like living in the same crib as your wife and being told you can’t have physical contact with her. It’s just doesn’t make sense. It will be several years, if ever for Thomas to be entrusted with a high-profile spot in the NBA again. His reputation has suffered too much damage.

It’s ashamed one of the rawest hoopers to ever touch the orange may also go down as one of the worst executives to ever don a suit.