Intro: The Book of Isiah: Unraveling The Biggest Myth in Sports

Chapter 1: The  Roster:  Worst  in  Sports  History?
Chapter  2:  The  Past:  Rewriting  Isiah’s   Resume
Chapter 3: The Salary Cap Myth: Pure Media Madness
Chapter 4: The "Mistakes":  Mountains from Mole Hills
Chapter 5: The  Drafting  Genius:  Isiah  the  Prophet
Chapter 6: The Trades: Turning Weatherspoon Into Wine  

 

 Chapter 2

The Past: Rewriting Isiah’s Resume

 

  

 Pop Quiz: Which previous management experience has Isiah NOT excelled?

 
A)    General Manager of the Toronto Raptors
B)    Head   Coach   of   the   Indiana  Pacers
C)    Owner: Continental Basketball Association
D)    ALL  OF  THE  ABOVE
 


Hey Media – Do Your Homework!: The answer is C, and NOT D. Not all, but too many sports blowhards have remarked “how Isiah has failed everywhere he has been” as an executive. By all accounts Thomas seems to have failed as owner of the CBA, but who really cares? Donald Trump has had many business failures. It’s Thomas’ past experience as Raptors GM and then coach of the Pacers that best inform his choice as the perfect candidate for GM and then coach for the Knicks.
 
  1. The Buildup and Breakdown of the Raptors: As the first-ever GM of the expansion Raptors, Thomas drafted Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire, shot-blocking and rebounding big man Marcus Camby, and Tracy McGrady in successive seasons. He then added defensive stopper Doug Christie to create a strong foundation to put the Raptors into title contention for years to come. However, stemming from a failed bid to acquire team ownership, Thomas resigned after three years. Unfortunately, the post-Isiah Raptors abandoned his vision and embarked on a short-sighted strategy where all of his young prized acquisitions were let go or traded in exchange for “win-now” veterans such as Antonio Davis, Kevin Willis, and Charles Oakley. These trades (and the drafting of Vince Carter) were enough to get Toronto a short-lived taste of the playoffs, but came at the cost of building any real long-term future. What appeared to be a 5-year plan for title contention under Thomas ultimately became a 12 year plan for the Raptors.
 
  1. The Raptors Record – The Young Talent Finder: Isiah’s stint with the Raptors showed his great eye for young talent. Within a couple of years after Isiah’s departure all of his Toronto acquisitions blossomed for other teams. McGrady achieved superstar status while Stoudamire, Camby, and Christie all went on to play critical roles for title contending teams. Camby helped bring the Knicks to the NBA finals, and Stoudamire and Christie teams both came within a Game 7 whisker of upending the dynasty Lakers. By foolishly abandoning Thomas’ vision, Raptor’s fans were left to wonder what might have been.
 
  1. The Pacers Performance – The Young Talent Developer: Thomas’ stint as coach with the Indiana Pacers from 2000 – 2003 revealed another special attribute: DEVELOPING young talent. Many critics cite that Thomas underachieved because this Pacer team that made the NBA finals the previous season, but they conveniently forget that playoff tested vets like Rik Smits, Dale Davis, and Mark Jackson retired or were traded. Despite taking over the youngest team in the NBA, they made the playoffs in his three years and increased their win total in each year. And just as importantly, the development of Jermaine O’Neal, Al Harrington, Brad Miller, and Ron Artest, all flourished under his tutelage. Unfortunately, the “3-Year Cut-Off” was in effect again as Larry Bird became the Pacers GM and dismissed Thomas in 2003 in favor of long-time friend Rick Carlisle. While Carlisle is a fine coach who had achieved playoff success the following year, the team has since regressed and Carlisle was fired this past year.
 
  1. Knicks Next: Thomas’ past success at finding, and then developing players makes him the perfect candidate to be the General Manager, and subsequently, coach for New York Knicks. He has already overhauled a geriatric roster into one with young talent, and, in his first year as coach, has already developed talent (see Curry, Lee, Crawford, Balkman) that was reminiscent of his Pacer days. Only multiple injuries had prevented a Knicks playoff berth in 2007.
 
 
“Three-and-Out”: Had James Dolan acquiesced to intense media and fan pressure to fire Thomas at that familiar 3-year marker, history would have surely repeated itself. The team’s roster would have been “blown up” by “smarter people”, and the media would mislabel his stint in New York as yet another failure. But with the justice that is his contract extension, Thomas will finally have the opportunity to write his own ending to the script instead of having the media revise his resume once again.
 
 
Perhaps the “three and out” that Isiah has experienced throughout his career is the most troubling aspect of all. At each step his “work” as either coach or GM was taken into a different direction after he left. His Raptors roster was blown up, and the development of his players in Indiana did not progress. Like virtually the entire media did last summer with the Knicks, those with higher power than Isiah simply believed that they knew more than him. The Raptors were set back another 8 years after Thomas, and this year, Indiana will be one of the worst teams in all of basketball (write it down). Larry Bird, a good coach, whose record as General Manager for the Pacers has been simply awful, has received a small fraction of the national criticism as Thomas. Unlike many other GMs "doubting Thomas" turned into a national media obsession. In Chapter 10, "A Summary of Biases", we will explore the many reasons why.  

 

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