Isaiah Thomas is out...

[Chaplin]

No surprise...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Isiah Thomas was fired Wednesday as head coach of the Indiana Pacers, a surprise move that came just seven weeks after Larry Bird was hired as president of basketball operations.

"After looking at film, seeing how things were and evaluating the basketball operations, I detected the team's chemistry wasn't what it should be," Bird said. "A change was necessary and a fresh start was important."

Thomas told ESPN's David Aldridge that the Pacers called him Tuesday night in San Juan, where Thomas was attending the Olympic qualifying tournament, and asked him to return to Indianapolis to meet with Pacers management..

"I definitely still want to coach, and I know I can coach," Thomas told Aldridge. "I guess I'm disappointed that Larry and I didn't get a chance to work together. I'm disappointed he didn't give that a chance, for us to work together."

Thomas, an NBA Hall of Famer, led a young Indiana team into the playoffs each of his first three seasons, but they were knocked out in the first round each year. He was 131-115 in three years.

Bird did not announce an immediate successor, nor did he provide a timetable for choosing a new coach. But one logical choice is former Detroit Pistons coach Rick Carlisle, a former Pacers assistant when Bird was the Pacers head coach.

Carlisle, who spoke to Aldridge on Wednesday, said he talked to the Pacers on Tuesday night. Carlisle was fired as head coach of the Pistons on May 30.

"Nothing's done, but hopefully we can work something out," Carlisle said.

The team said it would honor the final year of Thomas' contract.

"We have decided to go in a different direction," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said in a statement. "When I hired Isiah, I thought he was the right man for the job and at the time and he was."

Bird and Thomas were contentious rivals from their days of leading the Celtics and Pistons to NBA titles in the 1980s. Thomas won two championships as a player with the Pistons.

When he was hired July 11, Bird walked off the podium at a news conference and shook hands with Thomas -- but neither smiled.

Bird led the Pacers to the 2000 NBA Finals and the best three-year record in their NBA history during his time as coach. Thomas succeeded him as coach.

Indiana had the best record in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break this past season, making Thomas the All-Star coach, but went 14-19 the rest of the season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Boston.

At the time, Walsh gave no indication that Thomas wouldn't return, although he said the second-half swoon was troubling.

Pacers players had continued to voice support for Thomas. Jermaine O'Neal, then a free agent, said before he re-signed with the team last month that he would not play for anybody but Thomas with the Pacers.

The biggest criticism of Thomas was his inconsistent rotations. While most players preferred a set role, Thomas made his decisions on his own feelings for a particular game and team matchups.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Ron Artest's days are numbered. Bird won't tolerate his behavior.

 

[Errntknght]

I don't know... Carlisle looks to be a lock for head coach and I'd guess he'll appreciate Artest.

Over the summer I was surprised that Carlisle didn't figure prominently in a few teams search for a head coach... now I think I know why. Bird told him to stay available and he'd get around to dumping Isaiah. One thing for sure that was about the hokeyest sounding excuse for firing a coach since... well, since Detroit fired Carlisle so they could turn the team over to LB.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by Errntknght
One thing for sure that was about the hokeyest sounding excuse for firing a coach since... well, since Detroit fired Carlisle so they could turn the team over to LB.

However, Carlisle was a very good coach, led the team to central division champs twice in a row and won the COY the year before. Isiah lost in the first round each of the 3 years he spent there, single handly lost a playoff game with last minute calls, and was on the chopping block the entire season.

At least Isiah had a reason to be fired, Carlisle got the shaft because someone "better" became available.

 

[Errntknght]

I thought they had good reason to fire Thomas but the reasons Indiana gave for doing it sounded very lame.

 

[Joe Mama]

Isaiah Thomas should have been fired before now. He was arguably the worst coach in the NBA. Yes Errnknight, he is worse than Frank Johnson.

Joe Mama

 

[SirStefan32]

Good move by Larry.

Rick is easily better than Isaiah.

 

[WizardOfAz]

Originally posted by Chris_Sanders
Ron Artest's days are numbered. Bird won't tolerate his behavior.

Maybe Jermaine O'Neal's days are numbered too. He scorched Bird and the organization today:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-pacers-oneal&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[jimjames1]

I'm not sure Thomas was really that bad of a coach. I mean, his team did well last year, except for that long skid they had midway through the season, which can be more or less chalked up to the fact that the team is mentally very young.

"I'm extremely upset. If it wasn't for Isiah Thomas, I wouldn't be here," O'Neal said. "Isiah has given me the confidence to be not only the player I am today, but the father and the son that I am today. He's sat down and been a father figure for me. I was just sitting there trying to grasp going into the season without him."

This, coming from a player who played under Isaiah, means a lot to me in determining what kind of coach Thomas was. I mean, as far as X's and O's go, who knows what kind of coach he was. But Jermaine O'neal made incredible strides as a basketball player under the leadership of coach Thomas, and he is saying in no unsure words that it was no coincedence. Now, considering I've watched about 1 Pacers game in the past 2 years, I can't really put forth a knowledgable opinion on what kind of coach he really was, but I think O'neal has some kind of an idea, and if all his players feel that way about him, who knows.

 

[jimjames1]

Also, what about the timing of this firing. I think Larry Brown was saying something about this, but why did the Pacers wait so long to fire him? If they had fired him quickly this offseason, Thomas would've been able to shop himself around to the 9 or 10 other coaching positions in the league. Instead, now he's just out of a job. I understand the NBA is a business, but there's something called professional curtiosy, and the Pacers' management could've excercised it.

 

[fordronken]

John Lucas had a pretty big following, too. Being your players' best friend doesn't always make the best team.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by jimjames1
Also, what about the timing of this firing. I think Larry Brown was saying something about this, but why did the Pacers wait so long to fire him? If they had fired him quickly this offseason, Thomas would've been able to shop himself around to the 9 or 10 other coaching positions in the league. Instead, now he's just out of a job. I understand the NBA is a business, but there's something called professional curtiosy, and the Pacers' management could've excercised it.

I imagine some of that is just loyalty, and I also think some of those opinions will probably change once he plays under a real coach. I also seriously doubt Thomas would have been hired by anyone else.

Joe Mama

 

[WizardOfAz]

Originally posted by fordronken
Being your players' best friend doesn't always make the best team.

I'm sure Jermaine will feel better after he hears that.

 

[se7en]

You ask why did they wait so long to fire him? It's simple. They needed to lock up their free agents and allow a little bit of time to pass. It would have been a lot worse if Bird locked up O'neal and Reggie and then less than a week later fired Thomas. That would not have looked good at all especially knowing how close O'neal is with Thomas. At least now it gives the appearance that he spent some time evaluating Thomas.

It's deceptive and I'm surprised no one saw it coming especially considering that Carlisle and Bird seem to come as a package. Makes Carlisle's inability to get picked up by another team appear more suspicious. Makes you wonder if he actually turned down a bunch of offers, knowing that he'd have this job. In the end I think it was the best move for the Pacers.

I'm not sure there was any better way to do it. It wouldn't have played as well in the media or with players had they done it sooner.

 

[zett]

Originally posted by jimjames1
Also, what about the timing of this firing. I think Larry Brown was saying something about this, but why did the Pacers wait so long to fire him? If they had fired him quickly this offseason, Thomas would've been able to shop himself around to the 9 or 10 other coaching positions in the league. Instead, now he's just out of a job. I understand the NBA is a business, but there's something called professional curtiosy, and the Pacers' management could've excercised it.

They are paying him his salary this year, So he doesn't even have to go to work and still gets paid! Thats sounds pretty curtious to me. I wish I was so abused. don't feel to bad for a multi millionaire.

 

[Errntknght]

Joe Mama, "Isaiah Thomas should have been fired before now. He was arguably the worst coach in the NBA. Yes Errnknight, he is worse than Frank Johnson."

Well, shucks, if you want to split hairs...

 

[fordronken]

Originally posted by WizardOfAz
I'm sure Jermaine will feel better after he hears that.

Yes, be sure and tell him, won't you? That is after all why I mentioned it.

 

[WizardOfAz]

Well at least it's blowing over in Indy......

http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/5/069562-6935-092.html

 

[jimjames1]

Why did Jermaine O'neal sign with Indiana in the first place? In his words, it was:

"in large part, because he (former Pacers coach Isiah Thomas) was coming back. Ten, 15 times, they told me. It was etched in stone."

Did any of you guys read that? To me that's terrible. Does anybody honestly think that Walsh and the rest of management had some complete 180 degree turn in their feelings for Thomas since they secured O'neal's contract. I don't. It sure seems like they purposefully deceived O'neal into signing with the Pacers, into signing away a good chance for the championships he could have enjoyed with Tim Duncan in San Antonio. Like I said, I don't really know what kind of coach Isaiah Thomas is, and Rick Carlisle might be an upgrade, but I definately do think they could've handled the situation better.

I guess I don't really care about this situation very much. I'm a Suns fan, and I'm glad nothing like this has happened in this organization lately, but I would like to see good people treated fairly, and I don't think Jermaine O'neal was.

 

[elindholm]

I think it's possible that Jermaine O'Neal is exaggerating. Sometimes, when one person calls another a liar, the first person isn't being exactly truthful either. We don't have any independent evidence making either Walsh or O'Neal more credible than the other.

 

[Joe Mama]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baske...0,5732684.column?coll=ny-basketball-headlines

Bird Still Cleaning House

Look out, Indy. Word is that Larry Bird is not going to stop with Isiah Thomas.

Bird, who fired Thomas this past week, is looking to reconfigure the team and solve what he has been referring to as a chemistry problem. That means some decent players could end up being available, players such as Ron Artest and Al Harrington.

Artest, while an incredible defensive talent, can't play offense and has the potential to zap a lot of a coaching staff's energy with his emotional and volatile nature. Though Artest seemed to get his act together by the end of last season, one can't imagine a no-nonsense type such as soon-to-be-coach Rick Carlisle putting up with some of the stuff a coach might face in order to get the most out of Artest. There are plenty of teams out there, however, who would be willing to do it.

Harrington, meanwhile, can't be that thrilled by Carlisle's return. The two weren't exactly best buds a few years ago when Carlisle was an assistant under Bird; Carlisle preferred Austin Croshere's style of play.

Though no general managers out there admit to fielding calls about Indiana players, don't be surprised if they do.

Ron Artest can't play offense? Says who? Last season he averaged 15.5 points per game for the Pacers. As far as I'm concerned there is only one question regarding Artest... will he take his Ritalin?

Joe Mama