By WFAN.com
Isiah Thomas' run as the Knicks president and head coach ended in 2008, but 2 1/2 years later, he played a role -- albeit a reluctant one -- in the team's blockbuster trade to acquire Carmelo Anthony, according to a new book.
In an interview with WFAN's "The Afternoon Drive" on Monday, veteran basketball writer Ian Thomsen shared a story from his book "The Soul of Basketball," which was released Tuesday. Thomsen said in February 2011 he talked to then-Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri, who described the offers he was entertaining from the Knicks and Nets for Anthony.
The Knicks were willing to give up Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, a first-round draft pick and two second-round picks. The Nets offered four first-round selections, Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Ben Uzoh and Troy Murphy, according to Thomsen.
"Masai Ujiri had told me the two trades he had, and he wanted to make the Knicks trade, but he thought his owners wouldn't go for it, that they needed a little something extra," Thomsen said.
The key to the whole trade then became Timofey Mozgov, Thomsen said. The Nuggets wanted the center. The Knicks were reluctant to part with him.
After speaking to Ujiri, Thomsen called Thomas, whom he had a good relationship with from his time covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated. Thomas has maintained a close relationship with Knicks owner James Dolan, one that led to the Hall of Famer's return to Madison Square Garden in 2015 as president of the WNBA Liberty.
"I told him about the two deals and told him it might very well be coming down to Timofey Mozgov," Thomsen said. "And he listened, and he said: 'I really appreciate you telling me. I want nothing to do with this.' He said: 'I'm getting killed in New York. It's been three years since I was there. They're still killing me in the press as if I was still running the Knicks.' He said: 'I don't know Masai at all. If I were to get involved in this, I could just see how this is going to go. The trade's going to fall apart. It's going to leak out that I had something to do with it. I'm going to get all the blame.' He said: 'I'm just going to leave this to the Knicks. They can figure this out on their own.'"
However, hours later, Thomas called Thomsen to tell him he passed the information on to the Knicks.
"I wake up in the morning, first thing, Timofey Mozgov, the reports are, has been included in the trade, and Carmelo was traded that night," Thomsen said.
"It was really interesting how Isiah -- he was the finisher on this, I think."
To listen to the interview, click on the audio player above.
