NEW YORK -- Isiah Thomas couldn't win as coach with the players he assembled as president.
Now, he's lost both jobs.
Thomas was fired as the New York Knicks coach Friday after a season of listless and dreadful basketball, a tawdry lawsuit and unending chants from fans demanding his dismissal.
Thomas lost a franchise record-tying 59 games this season, and along the way seemed to lose the support of his players, who didn't always play hard for him the way they did last season.
"I can't really tell you where he failed with the club. I think that we reached a point this season when our team didn't compete for a long time," new team president Donnie Walsh said.
"The bottom line is that we haven't won and the team didn't look like it was motivated to try to win and be competitive."
Walsh said that isn't always the coach's fault, but Thomas is blamed for enough already -- sometimes unfairly, Walsh added.
"I feel like some of the bigger events that happened on the way with Isiah have overshadowed some of the good things he's done for the franchise," Walsh said.
Walsh said no player brought up Thomas' name during their exit meetings Thursday, though Walsh said he wasn't going to be asking for it, anyway.
Thomas, the coach for two seasons, will remain with the organization in an unnamed role, reporting directly to Walsh, who said he informed Thomas of the decision Friday.
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