By MARC BERMAN
I wouldn’t get too bent out of shape that Isiah Thomas has technically remained in the organization. He doesn’t even have a title.
And he’ll have no influence on the draft. During the conference call, I specifically asked if Thomas would attend the pre-draft workouts and Walsh said he wasn’t sure. This role is a complete nonentity – done to save some face for Isiah as he looks for another job elsewhere. In fact, Glen Grunwald has a bigger role than Isiah now. Walsh said Grunwald will still run the draft. Walsh really condemned Isiah’s coaching job, saying the team didn’t look “motivated to try to win.” Ouch.
It sure sounded to me this is Mark Jackson’s job to lose, the way Walsh talked intimately about what he’s looking for when he interviews Jax. When prompted about Jeff Van Gundy, Walsh acted a little too cavalier on the conference call, saying now that you brought him up, I’m putting him on my list.
I was told that Walsh then gestured as if he was writing Van Gundy onto a list. Figure VG wouldn’t be interested anyhow, since his buddy Jax is a top candidate. But what is Walsh going to say? No, VG is not a good enough coach to be considered?