Isiah Thomas feels like a man who planted and nurtured the tree, only to watch someone else come along and pick the fruit.

That's why, when Rick Carlisle is officially named coach of the Indiana Pacers, Thomas will feel a mixture of regret and jealousy.

"Rick's walking into a situation where the foundation has been laid," Thomas said. "The hard work has been done.

"I just wish I was given the opportunity to complete what we had started."

Thomas, dismissed by Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird last Wednesday, has had nearly a week to digest his fate. He continues to accept it as part of the business of professional basketball, and refuses to speak poorly of anyone connected with the decision.

However, he's infuriated by suggestions that he did not work hard at the job.

"Nothing (makes him angrier) than someone who questions my work ethic," he said.

"You can say a lot of things about me, but I never have been accused of not working hard. Everything I have, I've earned. Nobody has ever given me anything in my life. You don't win 48 games in this league without working hard. If you're saying I didn't work hard, then you're saying I must be really talented, to be able to win 48 games."

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh defended Thomas on that count.

"I had no problem with his work ethic or his intensity to succeed," Walsh said.

Walsh added that it was his understanding Thomas sleeps only a few hours most nights, and that he used the late-night hours during the season reviewing videotape or working on game plans.

"A lot of what he did, he did away from people," Walsh said.