Coach Laimbeer: Isiah Thomas can make Liberty WNBA's Bad Boys

Bill Laimbeer is hoping that history repeats itself.

The New York Liberty head coach was a member of the Detroit Pistons during the "Bad Boys" era in the early 1980s to late '90s with Isiah Thomas, the team's new president. Now, with the controversy surrounding the Thomas hire reflecting back on the Liberty team, Laimbeer told the New York Post's Marc Berman that his squad is now the "Bad Girls."

But even negative attention is still attention.

"The spotlight is on the Liberty – that’s OK by me," said Laimbeer. "People are talking about the Liberty – now it's detrimental. But people will pay attention – how are they doing, getting better, getting worse. I'm sure some people will want us to get worse. I never ran from that stuff."

Thomas was accused of making unwanted advances towards former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders during his disastrous two-season tenure as head coach of the New York Knicks, leading her to file a lawsuit against Madison Square Garden. The jury ruled in favor of Browne Sanders after finding that MSG improperly fired her for complaining about Thomas's behavior, and she settled with MSG and chairman James Dolan for $11.5 million.

Laimbeer says that his players are not worried about the allegations in Thomas's past, though. He maintains that they are more excited than he thought they would be.

"It was unanimous that it was a great thing – I spoke with every player," explained Laimbeer. "There were a lot of 'wows' and 'that's so great.' It was positive feedback across the board. I was wondering what everyone was going to say. I expected a good reaction, but the level of excitement exceeded what I thought."

WNBA president Laurel J. Richie told The Associated Press that the hiring hiring will be reviewed by the league.

Meanwhile, the Liberty head coach is lapping up the attention that is finally on his squad, particularly, chairman Dolan's.

"James Dolan is involved, talking about us," said Laimbeer. "That's a great thing for the Liberty."