The Blackballing of Isiah Thomas is Bullshit.

Isiah ThomasIsiah Thomas is in the news again. This time over some petty bickering with his one time BFF Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson. But I don't care about that. Real sports fans shouldn't care about that. Unfortunately ESPN is ramming it down our throats. What happened to ESPN? Why is it becoming the E! channel of the sports world? But enough about that. What I want to talk about, what nobody else ever points out, is that even though Isiah Thomas was blackballed from the 1992 Dream Team, he really didn't deserve to be on the team anyway.

Don't get me wrong, Isiah is one of the greatest point guards of all-time, but by 1992, his numbers weren't so strong anymore. They were still great, but not Magic and Stockton great. He was coming off one of his worst seasons to date, averaging just 7.2 assists, down from 9.3 the year before. And those numbers can't compete with Stockton. John was a better facilitator, which on the Dream Team, is exactly the type of Point guard they needed.

Granted, Magic hadn't played professional ball in over a year leading up to the Olympic games, but in his last season before the HIV retirement 1991, he was putting up 19.4, 7.0, and 12.5 dimes. Also, when Magic returned in '96 at the age of 36, he was averaging numbers comparable to what Thomas was averaging at the age of 32.

And there just wasn't a need for a third point guard on a team that also included Jordan, Pippen and Drexler- all great ball handlers in their own right. Some people try to make the argument that Larry BirdLarry Bird shouldn't have even been considered for a spot on the roster, given the back injury that had sidelined him for half the year. His final season was in 1992, just before the Olympics began, and even at 36, he was still averaging close to a triple-double a night. You can't pas up that kind of talent for a guy in Isiah who has always been a below average rebounder.

Any way you look at it, if Isiah Thomas was on that squad, he would have been the weak link. He was great, but just not great enough. So who cares if he was blackballed from the team? One, the dude had it coming; if Magic doesn't like you, then you must be a huge ass-hole. Two, It is insignificant. Olympic team head coach, Chuck Daly could've put Thomas on that team if he wanted to, and he chose not to. And there's no way he would let the players on that team make roster decisions for him. So who cares if he was blackballed? If he was leading the league in assists, do you think they still would have blocked him? No fucking way. Isiah Thomas prevented Isiah Thomas from making the Dream Team.

You know what this is? ESPN instigating shit. They love conroversy. They love it so much, they fabricate it. Remember when NBA highlights used to be longer than a 10 second clip of Gerald WallaceGerald Wallace posterizing Beno UdrihBeno Udrih? Back before the horribe reign of terror Skip Bayless has over my morning breakfast. All I want is a sports station that doesn't question whether or not Tony RomoTony Romo's breakup with Jessica SimpsonJessica Simpson will affect his performance.

Maybe I'm asking for too much.