Simmons on the Knicks

THE FIVE DUMBEST ISIAH THOMAS MOVES OF THE OFFSEASON (IN REVERSE ORDER)

5. Jerome James for $30 million
So predictable, I even predicted it. Maybe the first lucrative free-agent signing whose confidence was completely shot before the preseason even ended. On the bright side, at least he has a weight problem.

Paul Says: I agree that this signing was pretty bad. But you really can't consider the money. This is the going price for a big man in the NBA. The Knicks needed size, so they got someone with talent, but without the cojones to make the most of it.

4. Larry Brown for $60-plus million
He's one of the best five coaches of my lifetime. There's no question. But Brown has clearly established himself as a certain type of coach -- someone who takes over an underachieving team with quality veterans and teaches them how to win. He's notoriously impatient with young players, whether it was Detroit (Darko and Carlos Delfino), Athens (Carmelo, Wade and LeBron), Philly (Larry Hughes) or even Indiana (Jalen Rose and Travis Best). Well, have you taken a look at the Knicks? Not exactly a veteran team -- they're mostly rookies, second-year guys and young players who have driven their coaches crazy. Why is this a good situation for him? What's different between this situation and the '97 and '98 Philly teams that won a combined 60 games? Remember, those teams had Iverson, Hughes, Tim Thomas, Derrick Coleman, Theo Ratliff and others ... it took Brown three years to turn things around and five to make the Finals.

(Side note: If you're scoring at home, Larry Brown is 65 years old. When my father turns 65, I don't even want him shoveling snow anymore, much less coaching guys like Crawford, Marbury, Richardson and Curry and dealing with 3 a.m. phone calls from Isiah like, "Good news, I just traded four first-rounders, Penny Hardaway and cash for Zack Randolph!")

Paul Says: The Knicks had to make this move. Yes, some of these guys will drive Brown nuts, and if they can't be moved Brown may only last one season, but the Knicks had to do it.

3. Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson
Classic "quarter for two dimes" trade. Everyone needs to settle down on Robinson, by the way. He's 5-foot-7 and he's not a point guard. That's a problem. In the NFL, he would be one of those exciting kick returners who makes only two or three plays per year but seems 10 times more dangerous than he really is. Watching Nate run an offense is like watching Michael J. Fox run the show in the final game in "Teen Wolf," only without the ridiculous edits. He's a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body. On the right team, this could work. On a team with two other shoot-first point guards, it's a mess.

Paul Says: I love Kurt Thomas. He was exactly the type of player the Knicks needed. Someone who can rebound and play defense and score without needing the ball constantly. This was a huge mistake.

2. Channing Frye with the 8th pick
I was lukewarm on this one when it happened ... and then Isiah spent $90 million on two guys who play the exact same position as him. Four steps beyond completely illogical. That reminds me...

Paul Says: I also hate this pick. But I don't judge it in the context of the Curry and James moves. Once again the Knicks needed a big man.

1. Eddy Curry
If it works out, Eddy gives you a low-post scorer who doesn't rebound and peaks in the first quarter every game. If it doesn't work out, he could die on the court and you're stuck with his uninsured $60 million contract. There's no in-between.
Actually, this wasn't dumb; it was more creepy than anything. Let's roll the dice with him ... if it doesn't work out, we'll just clear him off the court and put in Jerome James. Unlike Tedy Bruschi, he wasn't cleared by the Bulls to play and nobody really knows how bad his heart condition is -- the whole situation is somewhat disturbing, if you ask me. There's a reason they don't show Hank Gathers' final game on ESPN Classic.

Paul Says: This is a huge gamble. Its like playing a $100 yo. If it work you are a genius, if it doesn't you wasted $100. Tim Thomas and Sweetney are like $100. You'll miss them, but its not worth holding on to them if you can get someone like Curry. That said, I hope this Curry thing has a better than 18 to 1 chance of working out. I hope he doesn't die on the court. And he was cleared by doctors to play. But the Bulls didn't want to take that chance.