The New York Knicks could use another Isiah Thomas-driven distraction right about now -- since they seem unwilling to fire him.
The words "Knicks" and "turmoil" are starting to go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or, more appropriately, like flies and sh*t.
They're in town tonight, those dysfunctional, lovable Knicks. They flew into Metro Airport with a 2-8 record, after being dismantled at home by the Golden State Warriors, 108-82.
Training camp began with a cloud already formed over the team, in the form of the fallout from coach Thomas's legal troubles stemming from accusations of a fired employee who said Thomas groped her and called her "bitch."
Then starting point guard Stephon Marbury left the team briefly last week, and was fined nearly $200,000. With little to no explanation of his behavior, Marbury was nonetheless re-installed into the starting lineup, as if nothing happened.
Now the Knicks are working hard on a seven-game losing streak.
Last year, Thomas was given an ultimatum by boss James Dolan to significantly improve the Knicks or be fired. The team again finished below .500, but showed just enough, apparently, for Dolan to give Isiah another chance. And that chance would come with newly-acquired Zach Randolph, the big man Isiah craved.
Yet the record is worse after 10 games this season than it was last campaign.
And there's absolutely no sign of the turbulence that continually surrounds the Knicks letting up any time soon.
Pro basketball is a game born out of the cigar smoke-filled arenas in Philadelphia, New York, Syracuse, and Boston. In places like Madison Square Garden, for example.
Once, that arena was considered a sort of hoops Mecca. Championships were won there, and the Knicks were one of the few teams that could even hope to interrupt the latest string of Celtics domination with dominance of their own.
Now, the New York Knicks are a joke. Their arena, even, is besmirched, because the young lady who brought charges against Thomas was an employee of the Knicks' parent company, which uses the MSG name as its foundation.
I don't know about cigar smoke, but they sure are toking on something in the Knicks offices, as long as they continue to let Isiah Thomas coach their ballclub.
The Knicks will be the fourth basketball entity that Thomas will leave in worse shape than when he found it, joining the CBA, the Toronto Raptors, and the Indiana Pacers. Only the Detroit Pistons, as a player, did Isiah improve by his mere presence. And that team was 21-61 before he joined it.
The New York Knicks are in town tonight, coached by their Thanksgiving turkey. The Pistons should feast this evening.
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