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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Bucks News and Notes Column

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Charles F. Gardner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mar. 29--He was discarded the Chicago Bulls in November, consigned to the National Basketball Association's scrap heap.

Tim Thomas, considered an underachiever at the end of his time in Milwaukee, has taken a long, strange trip since leaving the Bucks in a trade with the New York Knicks during the 2003-'04 season.

Thomas felt certain he would land in a good place this season, even while waiting at home in New Jersey for the Bulls to make the next move. Bulls coach Scott Skiles decided that the team would be better off without Thomas, after he played in just three games with the team early in the season.

Thomas waited patiently at home and enjoyed his "vacation."

Finally, he was waived the Bulls and signed the Western Conference-contending Phoenix Suns on March 3.

He was greeted with a hearty chorus of boos from the Bucks fans at the Bradley Center on Tuesday night, and he heard a few boos on Monday when the Suns played in New Jersey. But Thomas simply was glad to be back on the court after his long exile.

"I knew something good was going to happen," Thomas said. "But as a player, you always want to play.

"That was my main concern, with the time off, thinking about the rust. I did a good job of staying in shape, working out twice a day. I was working out at Villanova, at my high school, at the YMCA."

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said he had few reservations about signing Thomas, especially at the appealing price of $200,000.

"That's an unbelievable bargain," D'Antoni said. "Now if I had to pay $13 million, I might have some questions. For us, it was a no-lose situation.

"We're trying to get him over the rust, but he's going to be terrific for us. He's going to spread the floor and keep it open for Steve (Nash). He hits threes and he's 6-10 and strong. There's a lot of spots for him. As we get him in shape and get into the playoffs, we're going to count on him a lot."

Thomas started with a flourish for the Suns, scoring 20 points in less than 20 minutes in his debut against the Orlando Magic on March 3 in Phoenix.

But he has struggled recently, scoring zero points in the Suns' 110-72 loss Monday at New Jersey and opening the game Tuesday with three turnovers in his first 3 minutes on the floor.

He finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes as the Bucks routed the Suns, 132-110.

Thomas' contributions might become more important to Phoenix with the news Tuesday that Amare Stoudemire will be out indefinitely, anywhere from 10 days to the rest of the season. Stoudemire had missed the Suns' first 66 games after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee, but he returned for three games.

The 6-foot-10 Stoudemire was bothered stiffness in both knees after going 0 for 6 in 14 scoreless minutes against the Nets on Monday.

Thomas said he took into account the Suns' injury situation when deciding to sign with them. He also had received interest from the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.

"It was a dead lock for me to be in a situation to win a championship," he said. "Coach (D'Antoni) called and said, if I was to come here, I would play right away, due to Kurt (Thomas) being hurt and Amare being hurt.

"That was key for me, after being out 3½ months, to go into a situation with a team like this and go right in and play. It was a better situation for me."

It clearly was a better situation than Thomas experienced in Chicago, where Skiles made no secret that he didn't want the forward around. Thomas had arrived as part of the trade that sent center Eddy Curry to the Knicks, and Thomas was obtained for the value of his expiring contract ($14 million), even though the Bulls would have to pay him this season.

"The only thing I can come up with is they do have a core of young guys there that they evidently like," Thomas said of the Bulls. "Other than that, there was really no reason for me not to play there.

"Scott Skiles and I talked one time, for about 3 minutes. I asked him, did he think I was dogging it in practice? He told me no. From that point it was, like, go figure. I'm still trying to figure it out."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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