Adrian Dantley calls Isiah Thomas a ‘con man’

Just before the NBA playoffs began, ESPN’s 30-for-30 series released one of it’s better documentaries, profiling the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980’s, a team that won two titles and was labeled the “Bad Boys” for their style on the court.

One of the most controversial portions of the documentary was the trade of Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre during the 1988-89 season. Dantley believes it was point guard Isiah Thomas that forced him out of Detroit.

In a radio interview with Matt Dery of FM 105.1 in Detroit (via The Detroit News), Dantley admitted he is still upset about the deal and told the audience what he really thinks of Thomas.

"Dery asked Dantley if, 25 years later, he’s still as angry about the trade.“Oh yeah,” Dantley replied, later saying, “I’ll bet you one thing: If I was running around there kissing Isiah’s (expletive), I’d still be there.”When asked if Thomas should be the Pistons’ new general manager, Dantley had a two-word reply.“Con man,” he said. “He has a way of tricking people, and he tricked a lot of people.”Dantley said he got along “great” with the rest of the Pistons, including Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and Joe Dumars.“All those guys liked me, and I liked them,” Dantley said."

Dantley was a two-time NBA scoring champion and made six appearances in the All-Star Game.