So the Knicks’ Jamal Crawford says he “practices shots like this all the time.” Though I think New York would be better off if he practices shots from closer range more often, there’s no denying Crawford’s buzzer-beater was like a sucker-punch to the Rockets, losers of 4 of of their last 5. Though it is far too early to say Orlando got the better of the Stevie Franchise/T-Mac trade, it clearly wasn’t lopsided in Houston’s favor, either.
Because a day cannot go by at CSTB without another shot taken at Isiah Thomas, the following quotes from ex-Knick Dikembe Mutumbo appear in this morning’s Newsday, courtesy of Greg Logan.
“I think the decision of being shipped from New York has got to do with the relationship that David Falk has with Isiah,” said Mutombo, who was released by the Bulls before signing with Houston. “I think they have their own personal — what we call in the slang — ‘beef’ that goes way back. I think Isiah used it to hurt David Falk, trying to get rid of all of his clients.”
After Thomas became president of the Knicks last December, Falk warned Mutombo something might happen to him. At his exit meeting with Thomas in April, Mutombo asked if he would be traded.
“David told me had already made a couple of calls before I had even met with him,” Mutombo said, referring to preliminary trade talks. “My last meeting with Isiah was just to ask him, ‘Are you willing to trade me?’ He denied it; he said he had no intention to trade me and, if something was going to happen, he would call me first.
“I never got a phone call from . I heard about it in Monte Carlo when I was on the beach with my kids. Some fans said, ‘You got traded.’ I was surprised. I went to check my phone, and it was David Falk calling to say that I’d been traded.”