The Clippers invented the concept of being a laughingstock franchise. But when they use the Knicks as an example of a dysfunctional franchise, you know things are a mess here in New York.
A day after Clips owner Donald Sterling called out Dunleavy for his job performance and promoted the idea that the 12-25 Clippers still can rally to make the playoffs -- Cue Jim Mora...Playoffs? -- Dunleavy fired back at his owner:
"Are we getting Kobe, Dwyane Wade or LeBron James? I would agree with that, but even with those guys right now, we'd have to go [something like] 34-10 to make the playoffs," Dunleavy says in the LA Times. "I would only make deals to help our future -- anything else is suicide..."
Dunleavy then adds this:
"...Anything else and you become the New York Knicks...."
"Now if you want to do that and take on big contracts and long-term deals to potentially hit a home run or get some kind of turnaround," Dunleavy says, "that's not the direction I would go as a businessman or if I owned the team."
Comments (28)
thats dunleavy code for "f*** your couch isiah"
Everywhere and anywhere you go, Team Isiah is a punchline in many and various jokes.
It's high time that the Knicks organization's dignity is restored to its proper place. Lord Thomas commands zero respect around the league. Same for Jimmy D.
It turns my stomach that the Knicks are compared to the lowly Clippers. There will be a whole generation of kids that don't know that the Knicks were once a relatively successful franchise (If your kid was born circa 1992, they would not know the Knicks as a winning franchise.).
Geez, a year ago, I wouldn't have traded Curry for Kaman; now...
Has the question ever been posed to Curry why he can't average 10 rebounds?
Don - Amen.
Kaman would actually be a good fit on the Knicks, unless this year is an aberration - rebounds, blocks shots and scores pretty effectively in the post. Ah well.
Alan - thanks for the contract info on Curry. I had heard that the inability to get insurance was a factor in Chicago's willingness to let him go, but that may have just been a smokescreen. Its not like he defended, rebounded or played with heart there either. Chandler is the one Paxon should be fired over.
DAMN...WHAT A SAD DAY WHEN THE LA CLIPPERS AND THE NEW YORK KNICKS ARE PUT IN THE SAIME SENTENCE.
man dolan and isiah should be proud that they have stripped a once proud franchise of of all its dignity.
thanks allan for the info on curry...anybody that would trade for curry god help them(oh yeah isiah already did and gave up two lottery picks as well)
THE KNICKS HAVE BECOME A LAUGHING STOCK!
How can the Knicks be a punchline for Dunleavy when
we have more W's than them???? Second, the Clips were no joke for the last two years!!!! THEY PLAYED BALL!!!! Without BRAND
what do they have???? Get your shots in now!!!! 41 games left, and the Knicks will fare better than the Bald spot on MD's head!!!
It makes me sick that the fair weather " fans" change there opinion with each and every Knick game! Grow a set you bundle of sticks!
we have one more win that the paper Clips????
who's the Joke here????
Both teams are jokes at this point. But it's the like the old joke about the drunk man and the ugly lady. She berates him for being drunk and he says, “Yes, I’m drunk. But you’re ugly. And when I wake up tomorrow, I”ll be sober and you’ll still be ugly.”
Well, the Clips are a joke . . . when 2 front-line players are injured. But when those players come back, they’re much closer to the team that made a lot of noise in the playoffs two years ago . . . and we’ll still be ugly . . . er . . . a joke.
PEaceman,
The guy wasn't talking about wining record. He was talking about being a franchise with a relative low payroll and of course with a good team. Look at San Antônio.
The Knicks are a total mess regarding to managment. The did exactly what dunleavy said: "would only make deals to help our future -- anything else is suicide..." James Dolan kill the Knicks. That's the whole thing. not about wining records. And the Clippers are without Brand, Magetty. They're lucky that Ka-Man is playing like that.
In the other hand we have Big-Fat Curry and Lazy-Bo Randolph.
That's why we are a total mess and guys of course will make fun of us.
Man, even my girlfriend makes joke about the Knicks. And remember, we're in Brasil. She doesn't have the medial information that we have. Last night she joked about the Knicks. Can you believe me?
but at the same time there used to be a little something called professional courtesy and respect. Even if your peers are making absolute fools of themselves you do not comment on it.
This definitely shows a distinct lack of class by Dunleavy.
How Ironic he makes a point to zing NY about taking on contracts when the CLIPPERS for nearly a decade looked like nothing more than an NBA farm team. Never resigning their rookies; allowing them to leave and become stars elsewhere. One could almost make the argument that Sterlings team only started winning BY MISTAKE.
Not like Dunleavy comes off looking good in this. When you decided to publicly take a crap on someone else, then you have to pull down your own trousers in public first. Dunleavy lost his team before he got that extension two years ago.
His point was, desperation trades wouldn't improve their record, but would only add years of high-salary payroll. The Clips became the Paper Clips by avoiding any player investment at all. The idea was, if they sucked, at least they were below the cap. (Then they finally spent some money, but made the mistake of rehiring Mike Dunleavy.)
The Knicks, however...
Mike’s right. When the Clippers stunk, it was almost the opposite problem that the Knicks have. One thing you can say for Dolan, he hasn’t been reluctant to sign checks. The problem is, the money hasn’t been spent in a smart way. Only to make mistakes (read: bad contracts) go away. The Clips are the counter-example to the Knicks. Spend no money and get what you (don’t) pay for. But that still isn’t as ludicrous as having the highest payroll in the league and one of the worst records. That doesn’t come easy. That takes years and years of bad deals . . . and, especially, trying really hard NOT to learn from your mistakes. Anybody remember Isiah’s first press conference? When he came in and said all the right things. Like . . . he wasn’t going to make all those same mistakes again, and take on all those horrible, long-term contracts. And we all cheered. Then that’s exactly what he did. The funny thing about continually comparing Isiah to Layden is that he continued a lot of Layden's terrible strategies. The only thing he did differently was draft better. Other than that, has Isiah been better for the Knicks than Scott Layden? Probably not. Both disasters.
Isiah is a target but I have never seen an NBA coach get worse coverage, he is not the worst NBA coach with the worst record. He is not the worst GM. People hate Isiah and when there is a mob type enviornment everyone wants to add there two cents.
This blog was started with a group of folks who had faith in Isiah and as soon as they left and the Knicks record went south. One blogger started the Isiah hating and others came out like droves saying they've read the blog for a long time but never commented. But as soon as the focus became hating Isiah they have been consistent and this blog hasn't really been about much else.
So the media and peer treatment of Isiah is like a NY cop on a black man with a wallet. It's ok to shoot at him 49 times when it's not what you would do with the average citizen.
As far as the media treatment by MSG. I believe it is as bad as Alan testifies. But the media has never been the kind hearted victim. The only question is which came first, the chicken or the egg.
NYKAL
The reason why you have someone like MD coming out publically is because the environment and the status of this team allows it to happen. When you suck, it doesn't matter who you are to know that you suck and some will even say it publically. That's all.
I'm a die-hard fan but this entire organization, ownership, management, and majority of the players are a joke and deserve to be the a$$ end of any joke. Still trying to figure out how some keep thier jobs when all they have done is done the wrong thing over and over and over again. Think about it, can anyone come up with a better blueprint on how to screw this team up? It is comical.
$11.5 mm fine
Rediculous salary cap
Good Money for terrible players
Denying fans 1st ammendment rights
Raising ticket prices
Arrogant and concieted attitudes (IT and JD) losers
Oh, and most importantly, a losing record.... again.
Give Morris some play time. Unload everyone except Lee, Robinson and Crawford. F the rest of them.
I've said it before and will say it again, can someone please send me an application for a job at MSG? Seems to be a great place for job security considering the country is heading into a recession.
Sad thing is everything Dunleavy said is true.
And I thought Stern saying the Knicks are not a model of good management was bad enough.
Thanks for nothing, Isiah and Dolan!!!
We have one more win than the Clippers AND WE'RE BRAGGING ABOUT THAT.
Who's the joke here?
Yeah, the joke is Dunleavy? It's not like his team has the Celtic's record! I guess they have been the league Joke so long he's looking to divert attention? Dunleavy must be the most underpaid NBA Coach/Gm because the Man can't afford to go to the " The Hair Club for men? Pageing Mr. Dunleavy...CY Sperling on line one!
Ripping Dunleavy or the Clips is irrelevant if the point is that the Knichs have become a laughingstock. The better question is - should they be? BAZ has a point that Isiah gets more criticism than any other executive with a comparable record. But part of that he brings on himself with his arrogance, b.s. claims and promises, and the utter garbage he spews after each game.
Personally, I could give a rat's a$$ about the national media or other "voices" - can't influence them so I ignore them. What I can't ignore is the state of this team, and Isiah's proven (over four years now) inability to do anything to fix it. Part of my irritation comes from the fact that the Knicks were lousy before Isiah got here, so it seems like they've sucked for ages. Obviously, that isn't his fault. He is not the worst coach or GM ever, but he is clearly out of his depth - in other words, he is not good enough. Fine. Try and find someone who is.
The Clippers comparison scares me because of one similarity with the Dolan Knicks - winning is unimportant. For years Sterling has kept Baylor despite his horrible track record, because he didn't rock the boat and kept the payroll at rock bottom. My nightmare is that Isiah becomes the bizzaro Baylor, overseeing a mammoth payroll for losing season after losing season, without ever being replaced.
Peaceman
IT MAKES ME LAUGH WHEN SOME OF YOU BLOGGERS DEFEND ISIAH...
let me see...
the only reason the media is all over isiah is because he is black.
right...not because we have not had a winning record since he's been in charge
no that can't be it...
not because he
traded two lottery picks for eddy(where's the krispy kreme) curry
signed jerome james
signed jarred jeffries
traded for q-rich whose back has no insurance
lost a sexual harassment case which cost the garden 11.5 million dollars and tarnished its image
traded for stephon marbury and then tried to throw marbury under the bus when he never became the player he wanted him to be
it just because isiah is black right?
dude i am black and don't care what color I.T. is
I want someone that can make this team a winner not a laughingstock...
Alan,
What do you think about picking up a young guard like Kyle Lowry? Conley is the PG of the future; would Memphis entertain a trade?
If the Knicks considered a trade similar to that, what would that say about their commitment to N8? I still haven't heard anyone say exactly what N8"s role is. Is he a starter in the league? Is he Vinnie Johnson? Rory Sparrow? (Ok, Sparrow never wrecked the rim like N8.).
@NYC 2 Infinity,
SOME OF YOU BLOGGERS MAKE ME LAUGH BY DEFENDING MARBURY. Yeah right, Zeke made Marbury abandon his team at the Suns game, in such a move Steph's Ego couldn't take not starting, so that is throwing Steph under the Bus????? Please! Save your bus throwing fairy tales for the Marbury family, their the only ones that will buy what your selling!
You're knicks GM for the day, what do you do?
Ground rules:
1)Only trades that you would make if you were on the other side of the trade (In other words, no Lebron for JJ1 and JJ2) and the trade has to work under the salary cap.
2) Remember you have a pick this year but may not have one next year.
3) Dolan will only let you buy out one player
4) Anyone you fire/trade/buyout has to be replaced by someone who's available.
5) Dolan's still the boss
5a) You're not allowed to take illegal action even if it's for the benefit of the team (no contracts out on Dolan or anyone else).
6) You're the GM, not the coach. You could argue for a player rotation but you better choose a coach who will listen.
So? Whacha gonna do?
PEACEMAN
I AM NOT DEFENDING MARBURY....HE IS A-HOLE.AND A SELFISH PLAYER WHO ONLY CARES ABOUT HIMSELF.
but he has always been selfish and not a team player.
so doesn't isiah take the blame in that situation?
he traded for him knowing his past history thinking he could change him.
when he realized he could not change marbury he made him the scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the knicks but marbury was just a part...
what about a 6'11 center who won't rebound
small forwards with limited or no offensive game(Lee,balkmen,jeffries)
no true point guard
a team that is allergic to defense
ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE NOT MARBURY'S FAULT.
THEY ARE ISIAH'S FAULT.
NOW WHO IS GOING TO FIX IT?
@ NYC 2 Infinity,
RON ARTEST! You asked, there is your answer!
Yes, Zeke is responsible for the majority of the problems.
What I have a problem with is some of the players are not living up
to their end of their contract! Can you blame Zeke for bringing in Marbury when you have a Journey Man PG like Billups playing for 5 different teams before finding his groove and becoming an All Star and World Champ?! You have to take chances!
As far as distractions...the ABS trial is the biggest injustice that Zeke has on record! Come on man, she looks like Zach Randolph
in a wig!!!!! No Joke! I am pro -Knick not pro Thomas.
I am not for tanking..........yet! With 41 games left and 5 L's out of the 8th seed ( maybe less when the Nets get crushed by GSW tonight) I will remain dilligent about this knick team. Until the math equals no playoffs and I don't believe it will, I will watch and love my Knicks just like every year!
Mike Dunleavy looks like a used condom.
40+ games to make up 5 or even 10 games is not unreasonable. Playoff spots 5-8 are in play. Check the math. While you're at it, look at the schedules for the teams that are ahead of us in the standings. I have and it is more than possible that we could get the 6 seed. But regardless of where seeded, once you're in the playoffs anything can happen (see 1999 season). The bandwagon is getting ready to pull out and real fans are already on board. We're just waiting on you fairweather guys.
But that would be a fan's mindset now wouldn't it? Tanking games sucks. You diminish the whole game itself when you lose games to get ping pong balls. Support your team or don't. All of this, "I'm a Knicks fan but I'm angry" crap is pretty effeminate. Drink something if you need the courage to stand up for your team.
It's easy to stand with the mob. I'll stand with my team. I may not agree with every decision, but that's MY team. Anybody else talks about it and we can take it outside. Go to Boston, Detroit, Philly even during lean years and you'll find that people like me exist. . You may not like that I exist and that my opinion is different than yours, but I do exist. And I do think. And my opinion is no less than yours.
Therefore, I don't need you to agree. I only submit to you that there are other lines of thought regarding this team. That everyone does not see them as a joke. That these young guys are learning and growing and getting better. And since when has striving to get into the playoffs been a bad thing? To quote Herm Edwards, "Hellooooooooo? You plaaay to win the game!!
Dunleavy has been around. He's from New York; has played big time college and pro ball; has a son that did/is doing the same; and has no reason not to tell it like it is.
He told the truth; and didn't overdue it like he could have. Anyone that can't see the debacle the Lnicks have become under Isiah Thomas' reign here; just can't plain see !
Mathematical elimination fever! Catch it!