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Knicks tale of the tape: Phil Jackson vs. Isiah Thomas
New York Knicks owner James Dolan and former president of basketball operations Phil Jackson agreed to part ways this week. Richard Drew/Associated Press

Knicks tale of the tape: Phil Jackson vs. Isiah Thomas

For the past decade and a half, pretty much the only time Knicks fan have cheered owner James Dolan is when he’s fired someone in charge of the team. Phil Jackson’s hiring as the president of basketball operations in 2014 was seen as a progressive move in some circles.

“I’m a chess player, so that was a power move right there,” Carmelo Anthony said at the time of the hiring.

There was similar optimism in 2003 when the Knicks hired Isiah Thomas in the same role. His tenure turned out to be disastrous, much as Jackson's time bore little fruit in the wins department in the Big Apple. With the Knicks agreeing to mutually part ways with the Zen Master earlier this week, here’s a tale of the tape of Phil's and Isiah’s tenures in New York.

Incoming résumé

Isiah Thomas arrived in New York with experience as a part owner and executive with the expansion Toronto Raptors, where he drafted Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby and Tracy McGrady. He also owned three seasons as a head coach in Indiana, where the Pacers lost in the first round each year. His stellar draft record in Toronto provided some optimism for Knicks fans that he could engineer a rebuild.

Phil Jackson had no prior experience as a front office executive but did bring with him 11 NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, along with his Zen Master allure. In terms of skepticism of running a front office, there were definitely more questions surrounding Phil than Isiah at the time of their hiring.

Advantage: Isiah Thomas

Draft picks

Thanks to a series of ill-fated trades (much more on this below), Thomas only drafted once in the lottery despite the Knicks never having a winning record during his tenure in New York. However, looking back, he did draft very well given his position even if a lot of those picks ended up being sent out in later deals (much more on this below). Wilson Chandler at 23rd and David Lee at 30th were shrewd moves. Channing Frye with the eighth pick in 2005 was criticized, but in retrospect, it turned out to be a fair pick.

For Phil, his only shining moment in New York was drafting Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in 2015. Even though he tried his hardest to undo his lone genius moment in New York by shopping Porzingis in trades last week, Phil did land a potential franchise cornerstone, so this round goes to the Zen Master.

Advantage: Phil Jackson


James Dolan was more excited to hire Isiah Thomas than he was to part ways with him. Ray Amati/Getty Images

Signings

Isiah’s signature free agent signing was giving Jerome James a five-year, $30 million deal off the strength of one decent playoff run with the Seattle SuperSonics. James played a total of 90 games with the Knicks and scored 223 points and grabbed 163 rebounds with the team. Also shouts to giving the same five-year, $30 million contract to Jared Jeffries.

Those contracts were bad, but Phil giving Carmelo Anthony a five-year, $124 million deal with a no-trade clause has prevented the franchise from pivoting into a rebuild, as the organization has been hampered by Carmelo’s unwillingness to waive his no-trade. The Knicks are now in a position where they have very little leverage in the trade market and might have to simply buy out the remainder of his deal. Also, shouts to signing Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72 million deal last summer. Phil Jackson wins the worst signings here, so…

Advantage: Isiah Thomas

Trades

Phil Jackson traded for Derrick Rose, gave away Tyson Chandler for nothing, and dealt J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland only to watch them be key contributors in the Cavs’ championship run. That pales in comparison to Isiah Thomas, the human trade machine.

He traded for Stephon Marbury, gave away Trevor Ariza (and Penny Hardaway) to acquire Steve Francis, and when that didn’t work out, he dealt Francis along with Channing Frye to acquire Zach Randolph. The most egregious move came in 2005, when Isiah moved a package of players and draft picks, including two first rounders, to the Bulls in order to acquire Eddy Curry. Two of those draft picks turned out to be LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah.

Advantage: Phil Jackson

Coaching hires

Isiah’s most high-profile coaching hire was Larry Brown, who spent one season in New York and finished with a 23-59 record before Isiah himself took over and coached the Knicks from 2006 to 2008 to a 56-108 record, or a .341 winning percentage.

Despite rumblings that he might take over as head coach himself, Phil hired Derek Fisher and had him preach the principles of the triangle offense to the tune of a 40-96 record before he was fired midseason in 2016 and replaced with another triangle offense disciple in Kurt Rambis. The hiring of Jeff Hornacek last summer was seen as a breath of fresh air and a change in direction for the team’s offensive philosophy, but it was not before long that Phil again insisted on running the triangle offense. Hornacek finished 31-51 in his first season in New York.

Advantage: Draw

Championship prediction

Isiah Thomas, in 2008: "My belief and what I see and where I believe we can go as a team and an organization, I believe one day that we will win a championship here and I believe a couple of these guys will be a part of that. I believe I'll be a part of that."

Phil Jackson, in 2016:

Advantage: Draw

Lasting legacy

Despite his tumultuous tenure with the Knicks, Isiah kept a close relationship with James Dolan and was hired as the president of the WNBA New York Liberty in 2015. Isiah's run in New York will be remembered for all of the disastrous signings and trades that ultimately doomed the team, and also for embarrassments off the court, including a sexual harassment suit that was filed by Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders, which was settled out of court for $11.6 million.

Phil's tenure will be remembered for when a once-legendary head coach became out of touch with the modern-day NBA. He pushed back against the emphasis of three-point shooting in today's league ("how's it goink") and had a clear disconnect with his two best players. If Porzingis remains in New York and becomes a franchise player, Phil deserves some credit, but even then, he literally had to be fired to be stopped from trading the one good thing the Knicks had for the future.

Porzingis is still with the Knicks, so…

Advantage: Phil Jackson

And the winner is...

It's hard to really choose a winner here. After 12 rounds, the judges are going to declare this a draw. Both Isiah's and Phil's tenures in New York were ultimately disastrous, so it makes sense that this news item showed up on my timeline today:

Long live the Knicks!

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