Courtesy of Yahoo Isiah's blunders
10. Signing Vin Baker - In the mid 1990s, Baker was one of the top players in the game. He made four straight All-Star teams and twice averaged over 20 points per game. But the lockout season was a turning point for Baker. His weight ballooned to 300 pounds and he developed a problem with alcohol. He was a liability rather than a star. With the Knicks over the salary cap, Isiah Thomas used the team's mid-level exemption on Baker.
9. Signing Jared Jeffries - The Knicks were a poor defensive team, which must have driven Larry Brown, a defensive-minded coach if there ever was one, crazy. So, Isiah Thomas used his exemption to sign Jared Jeffries. The team then drafted Renaldo Balkman, a player with the identical skill set to Jeffries, and then Jeffries got hurt.
8. Signing Jerome James - Bolstered by the success of the Vin Baker signing, Isiah Thomas inked Jerome James to a free agent contract with the club's exemption. James was notorious for being an under-achiever throughout his career. He finally played up to his ability in the final year of his contract - imagine that - and he still managed just 4.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG before signing with the Knicks.
7. Trading Kurt Thomas - Kurt Thomas did whatever he was asked to do. He could play defense, rebound and score. And despite being only 6'7, Thomas frequently played center and held his own against players who had five inches and 50 pounds on him. Isiah Thomas dealt him for Quentin Richardson and the rights to Nate Robinson.
6. Hiring Lenny Wilkens After letting Don Chaney twist in the wind, Isiah Thomas finally fired him and replaced him with Lenny Wilkens. A Hall of Fame player and at one point a fine coach, Wilkens finished his two previous coaching gigs on dismal notes. He posted a 28-54 record with the Hawks.
5. Not protecting lottery picks on Eddy Curry deal - The Chicago Bulls decided to trade Eddy Curry because he would not submit to DNA testing on his heart. According to an AP report, the Bulls were worried that Curry's "genetic makeup leaves him susceptible to cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that combined with arrhythmia, could prove fatal." Isiah Thomas traded three players, three draft picks and the right to swap first-round picks in 2007 to get Curry. But the picks were not lottery protected, a standard condition of trades involving draft picks. The Knicks ended up trading the number two pick in the 2006 draft and swapping the number nine pick for the number 23 pick in 2007.
4. Trading for Steve Francis - - The Knicks already had an undersized, shoot-first, no defense playing, malcontent point guard in Stephon Marbury. So, Isiah Thomas opted to trade for his exact double when he sent the expiring contract of Hardaway and promising youngster Trevor Ariza for Francis and his massive contract.
3. Everything revolving around Larry Brown - After the dismal selection of Lenny Wilkens, the Knicks and Isiah Thomas apparently hit a home run with the signing of Larry Brown to be the team's coach. But Brown and Isiah Thomas did not see eye-to-eye and Brown was his usual cantankerous self. The Knicks had a dreadful season under Brown.
2. Trading for Stephon Marbury - Isiah Thomas put the Knicks deeper in salary cap hell in order to acquire Marbury. He dealt four players, the rights to another and two first-round draft picks for Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski. The Knicks were already massively over the salary cap and adding the bloated contracts of Marbury and Hardaway made this worse.
1. Sexually harassing a team employee - The Knicks hold a special place in my heart but in the end, it's only basketball. But when Isiah Thomas was found guilty of making unwanted advances and verbally insulting team Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations Anucha Browne Sanders.
Or is
John Marinatto has done worse as Commissioner of the Big East
1. Openly only cares about basketball
2. Sent the Big XII roses last year for thanking them for staying together.
3. Openly lobbied for Villanova for Big East football.
4. Has left the Big East headquarters in Providence, RI instead of New York City.
5. Has done nothing proactively for the football schools.
6. Lost Syracuse and Pittsburgh
7. Joked about moving the first round of the Big East tournament to the ACC.
8. Showed how weak a leader he was with increasing the exit fee.
I am missing some on him if anybody wants to add any it would be great.
10. Signing Vin Baker - In the mid 1990s, Baker was one of the top players in the game. He made four straight All-Star teams and twice averaged over 20 points per game. But the lockout season was a turning point for Baker. His weight ballooned to 300 pounds and he developed a problem with alcohol. He was a liability rather than a star. With the Knicks over the salary cap, Isiah Thomas used the team's mid-level exemption on Baker.
9. Signing Jared Jeffries - The Knicks were a poor defensive team, which must have driven Larry Brown, a defensive-minded coach if there ever was one, crazy. So, Isiah Thomas used his exemption to sign Jared Jeffries. The team then drafted Renaldo Balkman, a player with the identical skill set to Jeffries, and then Jeffries got hurt.
8. Signing Jerome James - Bolstered by the success of the Vin Baker signing, Isiah Thomas inked Jerome James to a free agent contract with the club's exemption. James was notorious for being an under-achiever throughout his career. He finally played up to his ability in the final year of his contract - imagine that - and he still managed just 4.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG before signing with the Knicks.
7. Trading Kurt Thomas - Kurt Thomas did whatever he was asked to do. He could play defense, rebound and score. And despite being only 6'7, Thomas frequently played center and held his own against players who had five inches and 50 pounds on him. Isiah Thomas dealt him for Quentin Richardson and the rights to Nate Robinson.
6. Hiring Lenny Wilkens After letting Don Chaney twist in the wind, Isiah Thomas finally fired him and replaced him with Lenny Wilkens. A Hall of Fame player and at one point a fine coach, Wilkens finished his two previous coaching gigs on dismal notes. He posted a 28-54 record with the Hawks.
5. Not protecting lottery picks on Eddy Curry deal - The Chicago Bulls decided to trade Eddy Curry because he would not submit to DNA testing on his heart. According to an AP report, the Bulls were worried that Curry's "genetic makeup leaves him susceptible to cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that combined with arrhythmia, could prove fatal." Isiah Thomas traded three players, three draft picks and the right to swap first-round picks in 2007 to get Curry. But the picks were not lottery protected, a standard condition of trades involving draft picks. The Knicks ended up trading the number two pick in the 2006 draft and swapping the number nine pick for the number 23 pick in 2007.
4. Trading for Steve Francis - - The Knicks already had an undersized, shoot-first, no defense playing, malcontent point guard in Stephon Marbury. So, Isiah Thomas opted to trade for his exact double when he sent the expiring contract of Hardaway and promising youngster Trevor Ariza for Francis and his massive contract.
3. Everything revolving around Larry Brown - After the dismal selection of Lenny Wilkens, the Knicks and Isiah Thomas apparently hit a home run with the signing of Larry Brown to be the team's coach. But Brown and Isiah Thomas did not see eye-to-eye and Brown was his usual cantankerous self. The Knicks had a dreadful season under Brown.
2. Trading for Stephon Marbury - Isiah Thomas put the Knicks deeper in salary cap hell in order to acquire Marbury. He dealt four players, the rights to another and two first-round draft picks for Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski. The Knicks were already massively over the salary cap and adding the bloated contracts of Marbury and Hardaway made this worse.
1. Sexually harassing a team employee - The Knicks hold a special place in my heart but in the end, it's only basketball. But when Isiah Thomas was found guilty of making unwanted advances and verbally insulting team Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations Anucha Browne Sanders.
Or is
John Marinatto has done worse as Commissioner of the Big East
1. Openly only cares about basketball
2. Sent the Big XII roses last year for thanking them for staying together.
3. Openly lobbied for Villanova for Big East football.
4. Has left the Big East headquarters in Providence, RI instead of New York City.
5. Has done nothing proactively for the football schools.
6. Lost Syracuse and Pittsburgh
7. Joked about moving the first round of the Big East tournament to the ACC.
8. Showed how weak a leader he was with increasing the exit fee.
I am missing some on him if anybody wants to add any it would be great.
