Isiah Thomas had a .341 winning percentage as the Knicks coach. More Photos »
The last vestiges of Isiah Thomas’s authority were stripped away Friday afternoon, freeing the Knicks to begin fixing the mess he left behind.
Donnie Walsh fired Thomas as coach, two weeks after supplanting him as team president. Thomas will remain with the team as a personal adviser to Walsh, but with no title and no authority.
“Following a lot of discussion and thought, I made the decision that Isiah will no longer coach the team,” Walsh said during a late-afternoon conference call. “I value Isiah and his knowledge of the game, and he will remain with the organization, reporting directly to me.”
Walsh said the search for Thomas’s successor would begin immediately, and he acknowledged for the first time that Mark Jackson, a former Knicks point guard, would be among the candidates. Walsh gave no timetable for naming a coach, but he has said he wants someone in place before the June 26 draft.
Thomas was unavailable for comment, and a team spokesman indicated that he would not be speaking publicly anytime soon.
Thomas’s new duties are unclear, although they will probably involve some scouting and informal advice on player personnel. His dismissal had been expected for weeks, ever since Walsh was named the team’s top basketball executive April 2.
The decision to retain Thomas in a lesser role was also expected. James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman, gave Thomas a multiyear contract extension 13 months ago and remains fiercely loyal to him. Walsh and Thomas are also friendly; Walsh hired Thomas to coach the Indiana Pacers in 2000.
Dolan made no reference to firing Thomas on the day that he named Walsh as president. Similarly, Walsh avoided saying that Thomas had been fired when he made his announcement Friday. Walsh, who was promised full autonomy by Dolan, said the decision about Thomas was his alone.
Since the moment he arrived, Walsh said he would keep an open mind regarding Thomas. But the Knicks’ disastrous season, combined with overwhelming ill will toward Thomas from a disillusioned fan base, made his dismissal seem inevitable.
The Knicks went 56-108 in Thomas’s two seasons as coach. They had a losing record in all five seasons of his tenure as president, despite a payroll that ranked at the top of the league.
Walsh did not specifically critique Thomas’s moves as an executive or his skills as a coach. He said that he neither asked for, nor received, any assessment of Thomas from the players during their recent exit interviews.
“If you look at it, we’ve lost for four years, and Isiah’s been the coach the last two years,” Walsh said. “And I just think that a new voice, a new coach, is necessary to change the direction of the team.”
David Lee, who was taken by Thomas with the 30th pick of the 2005 draft and is the Knicks’ most promising prospect, expressed regret over Thomas’s dismissal.
“My overall opinion is that I’m sorry to see Isiah leave as coach, because of the opportunity he gave me over the past two seasons,” Lee said in an e-mail message. “I am excited that he will remain a Knick.”
Walsh’s attention now turns to hiring a replacement. He said he wanted “somebody that can lead men, that can teach the game of basketball” and who can help retool the Knicks into a contender.
Scott Skiles, who was fired earlier this season by the Chicago Bulls, is perhaps the strongest candidate, based on his experience and hard-driving style. Rick Carlisle, who worked for Walsh in Indiana, also has a strong résumé, but is not believed to be high on Walsh’s list. Walsh would not rule out Jeff Van Gundy, the former Knicks coach, although it seems doubtful that Dolan would want him back.
The process could take longer if Walsh waits on candidates from playoff teams. Tom Thibodeau, the assistant coach who is credited for the Boston Celtics’ defense, could be one. Other possible candidates include the Detroit assistant Terry Porter, who coached Milwaukee for two years; Dwane Casey, who was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2007; and Mario Elie, an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, who previously worked for the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the scale of the job, Walsh would not rule out hiring a rookie coach like Jackson, who is an analyst for ESPN and ABC.
“He’s one of the smartest guys that ever played for us at Indiana,” said Walsh, who acquired Jackson twice during the 1990s. “He’s always been a guy that I think could make a really fine head coach, and I certainly will interview him.”
Jackson quit his job as a Nets analyst this week, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children in Los Angeles. He has never coached at any level. But neither had Thomas or Larry Bird when Walsh hired them to coach the Pacers.
“There are people that can overcome that,” Walsh said.
Herb Williams, a Knicks assistant for more than six seasons, will also be considered, Walsh said. Walsh will retain, at least for now, the Knicks’ current front-office staff, including Glen Grunwald, the senior vice president for basketball operations.
Thomas never wanted to coach the Knicks, but was ordered to take over the bench in June 2006 after the team fired Larry Brown. The Knicks showed modest progress in Thomas’s first season as coach before injuries intervened, and Dolan rewarded him with an extension. The Knicks entered this season with playoff aspirations but quickly came apart after Thomas feuded with Stephon Marbury and lost the faith of the locker room.
Now Thomas, after four and a half years as the face of the franchise, will retreat to a nebulous background role somewhere down the company flow chart.
“I can’t really tell you where he failed with the club,” Walsh said. “I feel like some of the bigger events that happened on the way with Isiah have overshadowed some of the good things he’s done for the franchise. I think he can help us with this franchise.”
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