Chris Mannix's NBA Blog

Error Jordan in front office
Chris Mannix :: 8 months ago :: 22738 views

As an NBA player, Michael Jordan's performance was beyond reproach. The same certainly can't be said for his work as an NBA executive.

Let's review: In 3½ seasons running the Wizards -- he unofficially maintained front-office control during his two years as a player -- Washington was 110-179. His first coaching hire was University of Miami coach Leonard Hamilton, who resigned after the Wizards went 19-63 in his first season in 2000-01. Jordan then selected Kwame Brown with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft. Brown, who was picked ahead of Tyson Chandler (No. 2) and Pau Gasol (No. 3), was a bust in D.C. and was traded to the Lakers in August 2005. By then, Jordan was gone, unceremoniously fired by Wizards owner Abe Pollin just weeks after ending his final comeback in 2003.

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Isiah's gripe and more notes
Chris Mannix :: 8 months ago :: 21707 views

NEW YORK -- I'm running out of words to describe the Knicks' abysmal play. Fortunately for me, head coach Isiah Thomas already has some.

"No heart," Thomas said after the Knicks were crushed by Indiana 119-92 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. "We don't grit it out for 48 minutes. We don't grind, we don't compete the way we should. ... Tonight we didn't collectively play with heart or compete the way I know I do."

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Changes in store for Nets?
Chris Mannix :: 9 months ago :: 16991 views

With respect to Jason Kidd, I'm not sure what to believe about Headachegate.

Under ordinary circumstances, I would dismiss vaguely sourced reports that Kidd sat out last Wednesday's game against the Knicks in protest over the Nets' unwillingness to discuss a contract extension (Kidd will make $19.7 million this season and $21.4 million next season in the final year if his contract). Nets officials have vehemently denied that Kidd had anything other than a migraine headache that day. Kidd, meanwhile, has been proactive in his defense, calling an impromptu news conference the day after the game and appearing on the Mike and the Mad Dog radio show.

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76ers shake up their front office
Chris Mannix :: 9 months ago :: 9402 views

It was a steep fall from grace for 76ers president and general manager Billy King. Once regarded as one of the NBA's brightest young executives, he was fired Tuesday and replaced by Nets GM Ed Stefanski.

King was considered a prodigy when Larry Brown hired him as Philadelphia's vice president of basketball administration in June 1997. Promoted to general manager a year later, King engineered a swift turnaround in Philadelphia. King orchestrated the trades that brought forward Tyrone Hill and center Dikembe Mutombo to the Sixers. He also re-signed guard Eric Snow and signed forward George Lynch and center Matt Geiger as free agents. That group, along with Allen Iverson, formed the core of a team that advanced to the 2001 NBA Finals.

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Knicks are on media watch
Chris Mannix :: 9 months ago :: 6609 views

Beat writing is a tough business. In a dog-eat-dog world, the beat-writing profession is best described as wolf-eat-wolf, as journalists wage a daily war with each other in an effort to get the best information for their stories. The Internet has only served to make the business more competitive: If a player says something inflammatory one minute, chances are it will be posted in cyberspace a few minutes later.

The New York Observer's John Koblin recently depicted what it means to be a New York Knicks beat writer in a story titled "Life in Knicks Hell." Folks, it ain't pretty.

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