By Ben Viemeister.
Ever since Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas took over as the President of Basketball Operations of the New York Knicks, he has been spared stinging criticism. Zeke is king. Zeke is flawless. Zeke is a genius. All of these plaudits have contributed to his already massive ego. The addition of Jamal Crawford in light of Allan “100 Million Dollar Man” Houston’s knee problems? Prescient. Trezor Ariza, the human pogo stick from UCLA, stolen in the second round of June’s draft? Another miracle performed by the prophet Isiah. Such excitement over the addition of Ariza and Crawford led to unrealistic expectations. Remember all of the froth spewed forth from the mouths of captain Stephon Marbury and Thomas during the preseason about challening for a championship? No one asked them, When?
Championship contension definitely won’t happen this season. Not for this team. Granted, the Knicks improved their athleticism markedly over the offseason. Ariza, a 6’7″ swingman, and Crawford, a 6’5″ combo infuse the Knicks with speed, a key ingredient lacking during the regrettable reign of Scott Layden. For this, Thomas should receive praise. However, his failure to acquire a legitimate big-man (Bruno Sundov does not qualify) is plaguing Lenny Wilkens’ ballclub.
Sorry. 6’9″ power forward Kurt Thomas’ masquerade as a center does not cut it. Not even with the dearth of formidable centers in the JV league called the Eastern Conference. The real contenders in the conference possess a solid post-player. Indiana has Jermaine O’Neal. Cleveland enjoys the services of Zydrynas Ilgauskas—who will play out his mind, being that this is his contract year. Miami dominates with some mammoth of a man named Shaquille O’Neal. Even the Wizards with Brendan Haywood, Boston with brittle Raef LaFrentz, and the expansion Bobcats with Primoz Brezec have better centers than the Knicks.
Isiah Thomas’ idea of depth at center is Nazr Mohammed, who is unaware that defense is part of basketball, and Bruno Sundov, a 7’2″ Croatian stiff. Yes. Those are the only two listed centers on the Knickerbockers’ roster. The situation could have been better. The failed courtship of Erick Dampier was lauded by the pundits, as they asserted that Dampier would be a big bust in the Big Apple. Others, like yours truly, saw it for what is was: An ominous harbinger of things to come. For if a NBA team lacks a center, the franchise has no chance of competing for championships.
As the centerless—and thus rudderless—Knicks
enter the Lonestar State, allowing opponents to score 98.6 points nightly, Isiah has to reevaluate his priorities.
Surely he has watched his struggling team fail to defend the opposing team’s prime post player during the last two contests. Jermaine O’Neal poured in 33 points. Chris Wilcox, a power forward playing center while Chris Kaman recovers from injury, dropped 21 points in the Garden. So the genius operator, Thomas, has a question to ask himself.
Does he want to solely pursue athletes who can jump out of the arena, even if they are malcontents—Eddie Robinson and Marcus Haislip? Or does Thomas truly understand his franchise’s glaring need for a dominant pivot-man? Over the past eleven months, Thomas has targeted troubled vagabonds. First it was lottery bust Eddie Griffen, who was struggling with substance issues. Then during this offseason, the ex-Bad Boy almost signed pencil-thin center Keon Clark, who experienced an injury-riddled season with Phoenix and Utah in 2003-2004. The bottom line is this: Thomas needs results. Enough accumulating wing players who cannot (or consciously refuse) play defense, while neglecting to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
The center could be one-dimensional, in the mold of Ben Wallace: a defensive stopper. Points (i.e. around 85 a game) can come from the bevy of athletic slashers that Thomas has cobbled together. An interesting free agent whom Thomas should consider is Ken Johnson, the former Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Tear. Having twice watched him play in the NBDL, the Ohio State graduate rebounds well and does a nice defensive job, swatting away shots. Even a former number one pick in the lowly NBDL draft would be an improvement over Bruno Sundov.
So if Zeke truly yearns to bring a title for championship-deprived Manhattan, then it is time he acquires a real center. Without such a move, the Knicks will continue to wallow in the sewer of mediocrity, and the tenacious New York media will promptly end their genuflecting before the smiling, duplicitious Prophet Isiah.