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Sergio Andres: How much did it bother you personally when they called you soft in your first years in the NBA? Pau Gasol: I don't think it bothered me too much because I knew that if I were a soft player I wouldn't have made it to the NBA. If I had been soft, I wouldn't have been Rookie of the Year, All-Star… So, of course, it surprised me a little. Having gone through everything we did in the 2008 playoffs, for example, where we played against the Denver Nuggets, with Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, Nene, a physical and tough team; then we went through the Utah Jazz, where Mehmet Okur… And then there were the Spurs with Fabricio Oberto was there, Duncan was there, Kurt Thomas… Then, suddenly, well, it's true that the final was a physical final and maybe I wasn't up to par physically speaking, but from there to the issue of not... I don't know if I should call myself soft or point out my own shortcomings, right? At that moment, because of the defeat, it seemed a bit excessive. So, I knew, I was aware that I could be more physical, and I made an effort and a commitment for the following year, to even get a little stronger and dominate more, and so on.
K.C. Johnson: There are sooooo many teammates back for Derrick Rose. Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordon, Kyle Korver, Kurt Thomas, Brad Miller, Thabo Sefolosha, Tyrus Thomas, Richard Hamilton, Aaron Gray and more. And Tom Thibodeau is in the house as well. Kirk Hinrich, James Johnson, Drew Gooden too. Also saw Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner here
Damian Lillard: “When I came in the league, like Jason Kidd was starting for the Knicks and Grant Hill and Kurt Thomas and Kenyon Martin…it was real older dudes in the league,” Lillard said. “I played with Jared Jeffries, he was 40, 41 or something. Earl Watson was 40 when I played with him. I played with real vets, and it was a lot of stuff I learned, like being a point guard or how to lead from Mo Williams and Earl Watson and Jared Jeffries. And they didn’t even play, it was just the way they showed me how stuff had to be done, I had no choice but to respect the game. I didn’t have – the word I was looking for is entitlement. “
When touching on how older players helped in their player development as young athletes in the league, Barkley praised Karl Malone and Julius Erving for setting him on the right path both on and off the court. For the Nets star, not only did he praise many of his former Sonics teammates, but he also credited them for being responsible for his work ethic. “Kurt Thomas, Donyell Marshall, Andra Griffin … my rookie year. Francisco Elson … Got Wally Szczerbiak. They kind of introduced me to what it means to work as an NBA player. You have an idea in college and high school what it means to work after practice and how to practice hard, but once you get into the league and you got six months of this everyday (for) 82 games, you got to condition your mind and your body and have older dudes that have been through the grind. That definitely helps.”
O’Neal, who had a short-lived rap career in the early 1990s, will perform during the free event. He’ll also be involved on the court throughout the night, including judging the dunk contest along with TCU Hall of Famers Sandora Irvin and Kurt Thomas.
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KC Johnson: Tom Thibodeau said Luol Deng is in the Kurt Thomas role from the 2010-11 Bulls. He's always ready to fill in if Thibodeau needs him.
Ian Begley: NYK will honor the 1999 NBA Finals team Sunday at MSG. L.J., A. Houston, JVG, Spree, Camby, K. Thomas, H. Williams, C. Ward are expected.
Kurt Thomas believes the J.R. Smith shoelace saga never would have happened last season if he and other veterans were on the roster. “I don’t think so, I don’t think that’s something that would happen,” Thomas said Monday night on Anthony Donahue’s Internet radio show on The Knicks Blog. “Especially if you have a veteran guy to pull him to the side, to get in his ear, to let him know the importance of him staying focused on the task at hand and that’s his job to go out there and to perform on the highest level.”
“When you have a bunch of young guys you don’t really see that much looking out for one another so it’s important to have veteran guys,” Thomas told Donahue. “... When you have someone like Jason, Rasheed, Marcus -- these are great guys that have a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge of the game and are willing to share it.”
The Chicago Bulls made a determined attempt to lure veteran big man Kurt Thomas out of retirement this month before the recent signings of Lou Amundson and Greg Smith, according to sources with knowledge of Chicago's plans.
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Sources told ESPN.com that the Bulls have been trying to convince Thomas, who's now 41 and ranked as the NBA's oldest player last season with the Knicks, to join them for the playoffs to lend some added know-how and toughness to their frontcourt rotation. But Thomas has not played since last season and, according to sources, considers himself retired. The Dallas native and former TCU star was spotted last week at the American Airlines Center in his hometown to watch the Spurs and Mavs, two of his former teams, as a fan.
Kurt Thomas is considering a comeback, but it won’t be with the Knicks, his longtime agent Jerry Hicks said. Thomas, the 41-year-old power forward who lives in Dallas, has not officially retired after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot last March in his heroic Knicks performance in Salt Lake City against the Jazz. “If the right call comes, he’d come back,’’ Hicks told The Post. “He’d only play for a club that has a legitimate chance at winning a championship. Not the Knicks, I can tell you that.’’
Asked why not the Knicks, who utilized his leadership last season, Hicks said bluntly, “Not the right situation. “He’s working out five days a week, keeping in excellent shape. His foot is 100 percent healed, has been for months. He hasn’t announced his retirement.’’
Kurt Thomas is considering a comeback, but it won’t be with the Knicks, his longtime agent Jerry Hicks said. Thomas, the 41-year-old power forward who lives in Dallas, has not officially retired after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot last March in his heroic Knicks performance in Salt Lake City against the Jazz. “If the right call comes, he’d come back,’’ Hicks told The Post. “He’d only play for a club that has a legitimate chance at winning a championship. Not the Knicks, I can tell you that.’’