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New York Knicks fans may despise Isiah Thomas for the colossal failure he was as President of Basketball Operations, but that seems to be nothing compared to what Larry Brown thinks of “Zeke.” Thomas was responsible for running up the Knicks payroll, leaving the organization with no financial room to move any of the unsuccessful acquisitions he brought in over the years. A lasting symbol of the Isiah Thomas era was center Eddy Curry, who was traded to New York for several future draft picks, including what amounted to be two lottery picks. Eddy Curry was nothing but an out of shape failure for the Knicks, playing in ten games over the last two seasons while collecting far too much money for doing absolutely nothing. Larry Brown coached the Knicks for one full season in, collecting his 1,000th win as a head coach on January 13th of. The marriage between Brown and Thomas ended with the Knicks amounting to a despicable record of 23-59 in one season, which was second-worst in the NBA at the time and tied for the most losses in franchise history. This lead to Brown’s firing on June. Brown was not a happy camper after his dismissal from New York mainly due to a feud with Stephon Marbury, but it’s no secret that Thomas ruffled Brown’s feathers as well. I highly doubt we will be seeing Brown and Thomas sitting down for a meal to talk basketball any time soon. That is for certain. Larry Brown joined CenterStage (Courtesy of YES Network) with Michael Kay re-aired on ESPN Radio New York to discuss his relationship with Isiah Thomas as a former head coach of the New York Knicks.
As a former head coach of the New York Knicks what was your relationship with Isiah Thomas? What are your thoughts on Thomas?
“I don’t have a relationship with him at all. He gave me a chance. I appreciate that, but I wouldn’t consider him a friend. I don’t look forward to seeing him, but I don’t wish him bad.”
Is there any bitterness towards Thomas?
“I didn’t like working for him.”
How come?
“No I don’t want to…people beat him up. I don’t want to beat him up. I just didn’t enjoy working for him. He thought what he did was right and I’m going to leave it at that.”
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