Knicks: Isiah Thomas Out

This afternoon, the Knicks announced that Isiah Thomas' reign over the franchise has officially come to an end.

The only question that Drive and Dish would like to ask is the same question that Knicks fans have been asking today: What took so long?

Obviously, Isiah must have had "pictures" on Knicks owner James Dolan. After all, it's widely known that Mr. Dolan has battled his share of demons over the years.

And based on his obliviousness to Mr. Thomas' stunning ineptitude, one is left to wonder if Mr. Dolan's drug and alcohol problems have resurfaced. What else could explain the impaired judgment on his part that permitted Isiah to keep ruining his franchise, year after year?

Mr. Thomas has ruined every franchise that he's been allowed to run (or, more appropriately, run into the ground). He did it in Toronto, he did it when he coached Indiana, he did it when he bought the Continental Basketball Association (which he bankrupted) and, finally, he did it with the Knicks.

But if history is an indicator of future events, Isiah will -- no doubt -- resurface yet again. And, once more, he'll ruin whichever organization he gets his hands on.

More:

KnickerBlogger notes the timing of Isiah Thomas' firing:

"(Knicks owner James) Dolan showed a good understanding of the New York press by making the decision public on Friday at 5pm. Most people are either on their way home to their family or having happy hour drinks at their local pub with the music pumping. By Monday morning no one is going to remember that Isiah Thomas was fired. The mere mention of Thomas’ name draws laughs and criticisms, and this was a good way to minimize the number of people that are going to sit around the water cooler and bad mouth the organization."

And The Wall Street Journal's Market Beat Blog notes that today's stock market rally coincided with the date of Isiah Thomas' firing (and it also traces the market's volatility to the start date of Thomas' coaching tenure with the Knicks):

"It’s tempting to think the gestation of the current market malaise began on July 22, 2006, the day the New York Knickerbockers named Isiah Thomas head coach of the team, but it’s too much of a stretch. Similarly, it’s too much of a stretch to suggest that today’s rally has anything to do with reports that Mr. Thomas is done as Knicks coach after a 56-108 tenure, during which time shares of Cablevision Inc., which owns the Knicks, rose a meager 4.9%. Then again, when one considers that Mr. Thomas’s first game as head coach of the Knicks took place Nov. 1, 2006, well, Cablevision is down 18% since then, which when compared to the performance of the New York pro hoops squad, doesn’t seem too terrible. The real question for management now is this: since nobody else wants them, are Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry eligible to be exchanged for Treasury securities at the Federal Reserve’s discount window?"