(1)  The Adrian Dantley trade, where he denied having anything to do with it.

(2)  His going public with his ownership/management position with the Pistons which Bill Davidson explicitly told him NOT to mention to anyone before he formally announced it.

(3)  His ‘whisperings’ to numerous national columnists including Peter Vecsey in the 1980′s.

(4)  The sexual harassment incident at MSG.  I believe he  might have been innocent of the worst charges but no way he was totally innocent.

(5)  The Suicide Incident:  it wasn’t him, it was his daughter ????????

Too many weird things happen around Isiah, even if he is blameless and/or they aren’t lies.  He was a great player and I give him credit for playing 2 years with Bobby Knight and not once coming to blows with him.  But the guy really ticked off alot of players other than MJ — Pippen, Barkley, Ewing, Bird, etc — and I just think that neither McCloskey nor Daly wanted to expend the amount of capital it would have taken to smooth over ruffled feathers by including him.

And while he was still a decent PG, his shooting percentage had fallen by 1992.  If this Dream Team was chosen in 1988 or 1990 no way he could have been left off.   But I remember the Knicks beating the Pistons in 1992 and how far Isiah had slipped.  I also remember Bill Laimbeer telling the Knicks after they won Game 5 to “Beat Chicago !!!” — LOL.  I’m sure that didn’t help Isiah, either.

Hubbard doesn’t blame McCloskey and he doesn’t blame Daly.  If you read the entire piece — and the comments from some of us at his blog and his responses to us — you’ll see that there were a number of variables that went into the decision. For instance, and I think Jan disagrees with me somewhat, but I posted a CHICAGO TRIBUNE story from 1985 on the alleged ‘freeze out’ and in the story Jordan and Isiah basically say everything is hunky-dory.  I tend to think this was minor because nobody ever confirmed that there was a ‘freeze-out’ and if Isiah was so hated, who would protect him ?

I think sometimes the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line.  And that straight line is what Scottie Pippen said:  Isiah was The General of those late 1980′s/early 1990′s Pistons teams that Jordan and Pippen HATED with a passion. Isiah was that symbol, along with Laimbeer and Mahorn.  Not Joe Dumars…not even Dennis Rodman (later played with Jordan/Pippen), and not Chuck Daly.

That 1991 walk-off probably sealed the deal.  Had Isiah shook hands with Pippen and Jordan and wished them the best, maybe — MAYBE !!!! — they don’t diss him during the selection process.  Or maybe not.  I am guessing there, I freely admit it.   You and Jan both say that if Daly had asked for Isiah he probably would have gotten him.  You both may be right — and if not, if Daly had made personal appeals to Jordan/Magic/Pippen/Bird then it probably would have happened.  It never got that far.  Isiah had burned alot of bridges (the rumor of 1985, the Dantley trade, spreading rumors via favorite reporters, etc).

One last thing:  Isiah went downhill very fast at the end.  By 1992 he was a shell of the player he was 3-4 years earlier.  Bird was too, but he was injured and could still hit 3-point and long-distance shots even though he couldn’t move/rebound like 10 years earlier.

I’m certain that he didn’t forget the freeze out, and I’m sure being the most powerful player in the NBA at that point (instead of just a second year player with no clout like in 85) and leader of ’92 Dream Team afforded him the ability to finally exact his revenge on Zeke, seeing as the tables had turned, and he took it and ran with it.

Had he not led the “Jordan freeze out” during the 1985 All-Star game, Jordan probably wouldn’t have lobbied to “freeze” him out of the 1992 Dream Team.