The Philadelphia 76ers (7-13) beat the New York Knicks (6-13) tonight 105-77. The 76ers and the Knicks are easily two of the top 5 worst teams in the Association this year. But the Knicks just lost to the 76ers by 28 points. The Madison Square Garden staff had to blast music to drain out the chants of “FIRE ISIAH!” Every Knick’s loss solidifies for me that they are abysmal. Coach Isiah Thomas told reporters, “I was searching tonight. I went one through 12 just trying to find any combination that would work, any person that had some type of energy or fire. And there was nothing there tonight.” This summer I bought a ticket to see the Knicks play the L.A. Lakers at MSG on December 23rd. If I could have predicted that their season would be this disappointing, I would never even thought of purchasing a ticket.
This sad saga of Knicks basketball has been brewing since Isiah Thomas was signed as president in December 2003. Since then they have won fewer than 39 percent of their games. Yet despite that, they rewarded him with a multimillion dollar contract extension last March. The summer sexual harassment scandal has led to a number of internal problems for the team. Former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders sued Knicks owner James Dolan and coach Isiah Thomas for sexual harassment. Both were found guilty and Dolan was ordered to pay $11.6 million in damages. That figure itself is astronomical for most NBA teams but not the Knicks. Nope. They have acquired overpaid players like Jerome James, Maurice Taylor, Grandpa Malik Rose and Jamal Crawford under Isiah. They are the highest paying team in the NBA and have shown nothing for it. But much of the controversy has surrounded Stephon Marbury (Starbury, Steph). People claim that teams improve when Marbury leaves. I disagree for three reasons. The T-wolves could not get out of the first round of the playoffs for many years after Marbury left. The Phoenix Suns can’t even reach the NBA finals. The Nets made the finals and they could not close the deal. Three teams that can’t win a championship doesn’t fit my definition of “improved.” Nonetheless, he’s the $20 million dollar man and has stirred the pot in the Knicks organization. At the start of the season, he began flying back to New York between games without permission and then was benched for his poor performance. He responded to his demotion by saying “Isiah has to start me, I’ve got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I’ll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know.” Since that comment things have slowly blown over regarding the feud, but the losses are still piling up. This is after a summer filled with his confession of having sex with a team intern and an interview on a New York television station where his cell phone rang. He shut off his phone and said, “that was my better ho, uh, half…” with other incoherent talk of being the greatest that ever lived. To add to the drama, Marbury’s father Don died of an apparent heart attack after attending the Knicks loss to the Suns at the Garden. This is a devastating tragedy and my prayers go out to Stephon and his family. Although the last few years have been shaky, Marbury has remained a very charitable person and gives a lot to the community. He grew up in Coney Island, Brooklyn and has managed to fight adversity throughout his life.Regardless of the problems surrounding the Knicks in the last few years, Marbury is still a good player.
Unfortunately, James Dolan (who has a band ‘JD and the Straight Shot’ that is horrible andrequires that all employees under him attend his concerts) is very close with Isiah Thomas. The Knicks have not won a playoff game since Thomas was signed as President. Dolan is stubborn. He refused to settle the sexual harrassment case outside court, fired three coaches (Wilkins, Brown, and Cheney) by just handing them checks of $31 million each. These arrogant decisions are corrupting the Knicks organization. And he won’t be leaving anytime soon. Even the commissioner David Stern is not liking the situation right now. Stern and every Knicks fan agree that this organization and its management is not representative of what the NBA stands for. I am sick of the Knicks but as any true sports fan, I am keeping the faith. Professional basketball is a business. Some possible solutions for the Knicks:
- Trade Marbury to Miami or L.A. for expiring deals
- Isiah goes back to being GM only if he is still a Knick (Drafting Genius)
- Hire Rick Carlisle as coach
- Hire a personal big man’s coach for Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph
- Hire a defensive coordinator to help the struggling defense
And one more thing. David Lee is a Man.
