Isiah Thomas doesn’t even understand how bad a Knicks GM he was

Isiah Thomas went on New York radio one day after Knicks owner James Dolan outdid himself by hiring the buffoon/sexual harasser/ruiner of all basketball things as president of the WNBA’s New York Liberty. It may look brave that Thomas was willing to take questions from Boomer and Carton with such a history of error, but it might just be that he doesn’t get it:

Now let’s be clear, since Isiah isn’t: The Eddy Curry trade was awful. After one decent year, Curry’s contract became a significant albatross for the Knicks, and the rest of the deal drained the Knicks of crucial assets. It’s one of the worst trades in franchise -- man, probably league -- history, the jewel in New York’s crown of burnt assets. Here is the actual sign-and-trade:

Knicks acquire:

Eddy Curry

Antonio Davis

The Spurs’ 2006 first-round pick via the Bulls

Bulls acquire:

Tim Thomas

Michael Sweetney

Jermaine Jackson

The Knicks’ 2006 first-round pick

A swap for the Knicks’ 2007 first-round pick (if better than the Bulls’, which it was)

2007 and 2009 second-round picks

Isiah’s convoluted justification for the above was that the Bulls traded the pick they acquired in ‘06 -- the second pick, LaMarcus Aldridge -- for Tyrus Thomas, the fourth pick. Aldridge is fantastic, Thomas washed out of the league. The Bulls messed up that second trade, but that has nothing to do with the Knicks. Because of the initial trade, the Knicks drafted 29th and got Mardy Collins instead of drafting second. They could have had Aldridge.

Oh, and that gentleman by the name of Wilson Chandler? That was a good pick! Isiah made some splendid late picks. That was always his greatest virtue as a GM. What he neglected to tell you is that while the Knicks got Chandler with the Bulls’ pick, the Bulls selected Joakim Noah with the Knicks’ pick.

The Knicks got Mardy Collins and Wilson Chandler when they could have had LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah. The damage goes deeper than that, really, but that’s all you need to know. Isiah gravely misjudged how bad his roster was, and punted New York’s best options to improve as a result.

Roughly a decade of horrible Knicks basketball can be traced back to poorly thought-out moves like the Eddy Curry trade, but Thomas still doesn’t get it. And now he has another job running a basketball team!

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