Isiah's Master Plan

I've finally figured out Isiah Thomas' master plan to save his job. And no, it has nothing to do with winning games, though the Knicks did squeak one out in Denver last night.

The Knicks' settlement with Larry Brown was supposed to be confidential, but parent company Cablevision included the amount in a filing to the Securities Exchange Commission this week. There was $40 million remaining on his contract, and he was asking for an additional $12 million in damages. Most observers thought he'd net at least $30 million via arbitration... but Brown settled for $18.5 million to walk away.

The fact that Brown got less than fifty cents on the dollar for the rest of his contract has, predictably, enraged several members of the NBA coaching fraternity -- including several of Brown's closest friends and allies.

Expect this to be a theme as the Knicks face new opponents this year. Every opposing coach will be asked what he thinks of the Knicks' treatment of Larry Brown. Spurs coach Gregg Popovic sounded off last week, and last night George Karl and Doug Moe were up. Karl said the Brown controversy showed "a dark side of Knicks basketball and NBA basketball," while Moe commented that the Knicks had gotten out of Brown's contract for "pocket change."

All this raises the question:

When Isiah Thomas is inevitably fired... who is going to want to take over? If you were a highly sought-after NBA personnel guy or coach, would you be willing to go work for an organization that just squeezed Larry Brown? Or would you wait and hope that a more attractive job became available?


Our guess is the axe will fall before Christmas. Jamal Crawford's desperation steal and heave last night likely saved New York from a 1-9 start; I don't see too many winnable games coming up on their schedule, with visits to San Antonio and Houston on deck, followed by home games against the Cavs, Wizards and a trip to Miami. At that point, the Knicks will be forced to close out the season with interim management... Herb Williams redux, perhaps... and have a ton of trouble finding their next GM next summer.

So maybe that's Isiah's master plan. If he can't turn the Knicks around, he can make the job look so bad that no one else will want it.

Knicks Knation

The New York Daily News -- my newspaper of choice for all things Knicks (and Nets, and Yankees, Jets... etc.) has launched a new Knicks blog, written by beat writer Frank Isola. Check out his first post, which offers a succinct and unique insider's perspective on the decline and fall of the Larry Brown era.

It's easy, at this point, to look at the Dolan/Thomas/Brown relationship as doomed from the start, and to explain last year's 23-win season as the product of a brutal power struggle between coach and GM. The problem is, Knick fans want someone to blame.

Some blame Brown, and have wildly optimistic views on the 2006-07 season.

Some blame Thomas, and can't wait for the axe to fall.

Some, like our MySpace buddy Sell the Knicks, lay all the blame at Jim Dolan's feet.

Me? I look at it this way:

Let's say you own a fish tank. You see five really pretty fish at the pet store, buy them, and put them in your tank. One by one, they die... one of them is a salt-water fish, and you have a fresh water tank. One of them is a predator. One of them needs higher water temperature. The one thing they have in common is that they're totally incompatible.

So who's to blame?

Not the fish. The nimrod who put 'em all in the same tank.

So if you want an explanation of the Three Mile Island caliber 23-win meltdown of the Knicks, riddle me this: who made the decision to hire Larry Brown to coach Stephon Marbury just weeks after Brown tried to have Marbury cut from the Olympic team?

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Larry Brown and Jalen Rose now join the ever-expanding list of people who are being paid millions of dollars not to work for the New York Knicks. The buyout of Brown's contract was reportedly finalized yesterday for somewhere north of $30 million. Rose's buyout is probably worth around $15 million.

So how much are the Knicks paying people to stay away?

• Larry Brown: ~$30 million (possibly as much as $52, but unlike James Dolan, we'll be conservative with the money)
• Jalen Rose: $15 million
• Maurice Taylor: ~$9 million
• Allan Houston: $20 million
• Jerome Williams: $6 million
• Shandon Anderson: $8 million

For those keeping score, that's $88 million dollars Cablevision is paying out so those six guys won't be associated with the Knicks.

Attention Mr. Dolan -- I don't work for the Knicks. How do I hitch a ride on this gravy train? I guarantee, I'll come even cheaper than the junkyard dog. Give me $500k, and I won't show up for a single practice.