Golden State GM Chris Mullin is expected to emerge as a top candidate for the Knicks GM job if Isiah Thomas eventually is fired from his dual role as coach and president, The Post has learned.
Mullin was at sold-out Madison Square Garden on Tuesday and heard all the “Fire Isiah” chants as his Warriors belted the Knicks by 26 points.
The former St. John’s sharp-shooting superstar out of Brooklyn told a confidant Wednesday that an employee from the organization, during an informal chat, secretly asked Mullin if he’d be interested in coming to the Knicks if the GM spot is open next summer.
Owner James Dolan is not ready to make a move yet and Thomas will coach the team tomorrow against the Bulls, though he appears on thin ice.
Mullin, 43, is in his fourth season as Golden State’s executive VP of basketball operations and has built a young, athletic team that posted one of the biggest playoff upsets in NBA history when it shocked the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs last spring.
The Knicks said yesterday they have not looked at any potential candidates because the job is filled. There were no indications Dolan is ready to fire Thomas imminently despite the Knicks’ eight-game losing streak and 2-9 record, tied for second-worst in the league.
The most likely scenario if Thomas is fired in the near future is for senior VP Glen Grunwald to inherit the job on an interim basis until a proper search can be done during the offseason. Assistant coach Herb Williams would be promoted to head coach.
A lot would have to happen before New York’s favorite son could come home. Mullin is beloved by Golden State owner Chris Cohane, so the Knicks could have a hard time getting Mullin out of his Golden State contract. A league source said Mullin has at least one more guaranteed year left on his pact after this one, maybe two.
Mullin executed one of the best trades in recent memory last season when he obtained Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington from the Pacers – a move that helped break the Warriors’ 13-year playoff drought. Mullin also traded for All-Star Baron Davis.
Nominated for the Hall of Fame last year, Mullin runs a basketball camp in Brooklyn every summer and owns a home in the Hamptons. Popular in New York, where almost all of his relatives still live, Mullin is the quick-fix to their image the Knicks might need.
Mullin is extremely happy in the Bay area, but New York is his home.
“He loves the Knicks,” an old friend of Mullin’s said yesterday. “He always wanted to play here.”
The Knicks will host the Bulls tomorrow at 1 p.m. for their sixth straight sell-out of the season, but “Fire Isiah” chants could ring out again. Signs are the players are quitting on Thomas.
Pistons reserve Flip Murray’s harsh words about the Knicks late Wednesday night were the ultimate indictment of a franchise and its coach. It is the ultimate embarrassment when a bit player from an opponent squad is not afraid of ripping you. It demonstrated the Knicks have hit rock bottom.
“They looked like they didn’t want to compete,” Murray said after Detroit’s 98-86 victory. “They were just out there. All you have to do is look at their body language. They’ve got a lot of issues.”
The Knicks were off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so they couldn’t respond to the bashing.
Their 2-9 record is tied for the worst 11-game start in franchise history. The players have no answers and neither does Thomas, who curiously and repeatedly has blamed himself, a sign he might want to get the boot.
Eddy Curry is one of Thomas’ staunchest allies but even he admitted Thomas this season is trying too hard to add and change stuff to the playbook on a daily basis.
“He’s the same person to me, other than that we’ve been trying different stuff,” Curry said. “We’ll come in and try something different. Right now he’s trying to get us prepared for every kind of situation.”
Thomas also is agitating his players with his changing rotation. When the Knicks were 2-1, Thomas stuck to a strict eight- man rotation with the same unit. Now he’s all over the place. The clearest exam ple of Thomas’ er ratic decision- making was demoting Stephon Mar bury for Mardy Collins during the West Coast trip, then reversing the action and playing Collins for one second Wednesday.
Every player is regressing, starting with Thomas’ key new addition, Zach Randolph, who had a riveting start to his Knicks career. Randolph is not defending well and is coughing up the ball in the post, dribbling leisurely and getting stripped. He has committed 11 turnovers the past two games.
It was very noticeable that Marbury went out of his way to praise his old coach, Flip Saunders, after Saunders’ current team, the Pistons, hammered the Knicks on Wednesday, talking about how well-coached Detroit was.