Isiah Thomas spent much of the last week telling everybody on the planet something we already know — he wishes he were still running the Knicks.
Thomas, who was hired as a consultant in August by owner James Dolan before the NBA blocked the move, said on the radio that he fantasizes about taking over for current GM Donnie Walsh "every single day of the week."
Thomas' fantasies, however, run far deeper than that, according to the New York Post.
"I want to be on the float and I want to get my ring," he said.
As for how he'll be getting onto that float, Thomas is looking to take another stab at bringing LeBron James to New York — something that he believes he should have been able to do in 2010.
"I think if you take away that trial," Thomas said, "I'm still there, we make the playoffs a couple of times and I don't know if Miami has LeBron or [Dwayne] Wade. We may have had LeBron and Wade."
"Riley believed and I believe it wasn't going to be about the money," Thomas said. "He was interested in building a dynasty. He was willing to take less. He read his history, he knew how we built teams in Detroit, how they built teams in L.A. With our plan, we could've gotten him in the traditional way. We would've had enough assets to do a sign-and-trade [for James]."
"I'd like to still hold onto that dream," Thomas said. "I do think that he'll win championships here in Miami, and they will be a great dynasty. But I think when he comes to New York and he wins it in New York, I think he's the greatest player ever."
Donnie Walsh, the team's actual GM, tried to downplay the conversation — despite the reality that he is recovering from a spinal-cord injury and has been asked about retirement.
"I'm going to see the game tonight. That's what I'm going to do. I look at the present. I'm not looking down the line. I have nothing to say about comments made by Isiah today," he said.
He even went on to say that he "doesn't consider Isiah not a friend."
Still, if Walsh does step down, Isiah will be waiting to submit his credentials — ones he believes are strong.
"When I look at my GM/executive record, if I'm evaluated on that, then whoever's after Donnie, if you're not talking about some of the top people in the game, I'll put my draft evaluation record up against anyone's," Thomas proclaimed.
