CLEVELAND—New York Knicks coach and president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas, distraught over his team's failure to make the playoffs and desperate to show that he could be a successful leader in the postseason, approached Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown Monday concerning the possibility of coaching at least one Finals game. "Tell you what—if you win the first two games, how about letting me do the third?" Thomas asked a mostly silent Brown during the 45-minute conference call. "C'mon, what could it hurt? At least let me coach Game 4. Half of Game 4. I could do great things with those guards you got." Although the call concluded without Thomas or Brown coming to an agreement, Brown admitted he was surprised that Thomas also fully expected to act as the Cavaliers' president of basketball operations for the duration of the deal.