"Xavier McDaniel, I Presume..."

(Since the Knicks continue to surrender second half leads and lose games I figured that we're going to need to do something else with this space on occasion. With that in mind I've trekked through the wilds of the Internets to find the latest news on some of our long-lost Knicks from happier times.)

Though only a Knickerbocker for a short time (2003-2004), Dikembe Mutombo is someone that all of us know very well. The image of him laying beneath that hoop in Seattle, arms extended, clutching that basketball after his Nuggets upended the top-seeded Sonics is one of the iconic images for an entire generation of hoops fans. And, so is his finger-wag. I think the fact that he has moved around to so many teams (Nuggets, Hawks, Sixers, Nets, Knicks, Rockets) keeps him from being as beloved as he deserves. He is a 4-time Defensive Player of the Year, 8-time All Star and owner of the best Cookie Monster impression this side of Sesame Street. He is Hall of Famer on the court and perhaps the greatest humanitarian off the court that the NBA has ever seen. And, four years ago Isiah Thomas, that great evaluator of talent, told him that he was washed up and should hit the beach.

Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle was talking with Dikembe about the fact that he is being honored by the NBA and the Rockets for his impressive career and the conversation veered towards the manner in which then-General Manager (but not yet coach) Isiah dismissed the veteran center's ability to contribute and traded him unceremoniously to the Chicago Bulls, for whom he would never play a minute. Mutombo explains to Blinebury in the Chronicle that it was Isiah's insulting words that drive him to excel still and that have made him able to step into the starting lineup the past two seasons when Yao has gone down with injury.

"It's still a wound... My wife and I still talk about it. It's still a bit sad to see the commissioner coming and all those people coming to celebrate the 17 years of my career and accomplishments and you look back and say that about (four) years ago, I had a guy tell me that I couldn't play basketball no more, to go to the beach and onto vacation. That's the same guy who's losing his job tomorrow. ... I never said nothing (to Thomas),' Mutombo said. 'The last time we played at the Garden (Jan. 9), my wife asked me to go shake his hand, to just forgive him. I went and shook his hand and I told him, 'On behalf of my wife, I want to shake your hand and I forgive you for everything you've done to me."

Dikembe is a deservedly proud man and he pulls no punches when he talks about Isiah. And, I love it. I'm glad that the only guy in the NBA that Isiah Thomas has successully motivated during his (soon to be over?!?!) tenure in New York is playing in Houston. I'm glad that Isiah shipped out the guy who led the league in blocked shots four times while his teams ranks last in that category by a country mile.

"Xavier McDaniel, I Presume?"

(Since the Knicks continue to surrender second half leads and lose games I figured that we're going to need to do something else with this space on occasion. With that in mind I've trekked through the wilds of the Internets to find the latest news on some of our long-lost Knicks from happier times.)

When asked about by Mitch Lawrence at the News about the way the NBA has changed, Sam I Am Cassell recalled a manlier, brawnier and more violent time defined by, among others, our very own Charles Oakley:

"I won a long time ago, when there was the real NBA," he said. "When the league was all about men....The league is very soft now...I know a lot of guys, like Charles Oakley, LaSalle Thompson and Buck Williams, they couldn't play in the game like it is right now. The enforcer on the team, he'd be cut right now. The game was tougher. It ain't that tough right now. It's like they're protecting the quarterback."

...Although the Seattle Sonics are experiencing some growing pains in Kevin Duran'ts first year the one player who has been getting high marks from folks around the league is former Knick Kurt Thomas, who has been banging in the paint and hitting pick-and-roll jump shots in the great Northwest this season.

THOMAS TARGETED: The one player the Sonics are anticipating they will be asked about in coming weeks is center Thomas, who has an expiring $8 million contract and has shown he can still play at a high level. Thomas entered Thursday averaging 7.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game.
The Sonics may consider re-signing Thomas for next season because he has been such a positive influence on the younger players and he is the team's most legitimate center in years.

So, Kurt Thomas, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is:
A) playing for a cap-friendly price
B) a valuable trade commodity
C) A positive influence on younger big men
D) Better than previous big men the Sonics have had, including Jerome James

Of course, the Knicks kicked Thomas to the curb, largely because Stepon Marbury and his negative influence on younger players didn't get along with Kurt's crazy eye. And, to replace him Isiah drastically overpaid for the guy that Seattle would never choose over Kurt. Looking back this may be the personnel carousel that most epitomizes the Isiah regime.

Anyway, I hope Kurt gets traded to a contender. I love watching him body-up on Duncan in the playoffs and would root for him most anywhere that he lands.