Losing Isiah

Isiah Thomas should've been named to the 1992 Olympic basketball squad, the first Dream Team. That snub, which Thomas never forgot, seemed to initiate the downward spiral of a career that by then had included two NBA championships, 11 All-Star appearances and ample proof that he was the best small guard in the history of the game.

Thomas 's Pistons weren't tide contenders in the two seasons he played after those Barcelona Olympics. He retired at 33, and in the three years (1994-97) that he ran the basketball operations of the Raptors, he feuded with ownership and failed in his efforts to buy the franchise. Instead-after a lackluster stint as a network analyst—he bought the CBA for $9 million and, through some comically bad business maneuvers, guided it into bankruptcy (SI, April 9, 2001). Last week, while at the world championships in Puerto Rico filing game analysis for coaches of the Olympic team, he was fired as the Pacers' coach after three seasons. As of Monday no successor had been named, but Indiana had contacted recently fired Detroit coach Rick Carlisle , a Pacers assistant ('97-00) under then coach Bird.

Thomas was axed by one of his nemeses, Larry Bird , who took over as Indiana 's president of basketball operations on July 11. Over the years Thomas has alienated himself from the game's holy trinity, which is not a wise thing to do. His fallout with Michael Jordan stemmed from an All-Star Game freeze-out that Thomas either led or didn't lead in Jordan 's rookie year. (Reliable sources say it was Jordan 's behind-the-scenes intervention that kept Thomas off the '92 team.) He fell out with onetime best bud Magic Johnson over comments he either made or didn't make about Johnson 's HIV-positive status. And he fell out with Bird over a comment he made—he says jokingly—that the Celtic immortal would be "just another good guy" if he were black. In the cases of Bird and Jordan ferocious rivalries exacerbated the animosities. As good as he was, Thomas is not a member of the in crowd of NBA immortals.

Thomas inherited a Pacers team that had been reconstituted with young players. He made the playoffs three straight years, went 131-115 and earned the backing of many players, particularly superstar-to-be Jermaine O'Neal , who strongly criticized the firing. That history would warrant most coaches another chance. But there's no guarantee that Thomas , the outsider who should be an insider, will get one.