Official NYK 2013 offseason thread, get your fitted caps and Melo shorts - Page 2

dude, you're at number 46

"@JoeyKiNGz: @SpikeLee How do you feel about the business meeting btw Dolan and Isiah? #FDOLAN"Not Hip.When Was This?

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you don't like 64?

"IMAJERK", done

REd SPYDER, if hueyp doesn't respond by opening night, i'll change it...

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Knicks owner James Dolan called Friday morning’s meeting with Isiah Thomas at the Mandarin Hotel in Midtown, though Thomas already was headed up to Springfield, Mass., for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, according to a person close to Thomas.
Though Dolan has no desire to have Thomas fill Scott O’Neil’s job as Madison Square Garden sports president because it is a marketing position, the Knicks owner summoned Thomas on short notice. O’Neil was a staunch opponent of rehiring Thomas, feeling it was not good for the Knicks brand.
The Knicks declined comment on the meeting other than to offer it should not be construed as significant that Dolan and Thomas, who have maintained a friendship, had a business meeting. With an eventful summer filled with a series of roster additions, Dolan may well have wanted to pick Thomas’ brain on his new team. Certainly they weren’t discussing opening a new sports bar “Isiah & Jimmy’s.’’
Whether Dolan will rehire Thomas for the third time in an official and visible consultant capacity is unclear. Dolan hired Thomas as a part-time consultant two years ago when he was coaching Florida International before commissioner David Stern blocked the move, citing a conflict of interest.
Thomas was fired by FIU last spring after three losing seasons. Though he has reached out to Dolan relentlessly to offer assistance and advice, this time, according to a source, Dolan reached out to Thomas for the meeting.
Coach Mike Woodson is down an assistant coach after Kenny Atkinson resigned, and a source said plans are in the works to fill the position. It is doubtful Thomas would come on as an assistant, but serving as a training-camp instructor for Woodson, his former Indiana University teammate, isn’t unfathomable.
Dolan already did the unthinkable in allowing cash cow Jeremy Lin to sign with Houston by not matching the Rockets offer. So with the Knicks’ eccentric owner, everything is possible.

Source: Isiah Thomas hesitant to take job with NY Knicks after conversations with James Dolan



The one person standing in the way of Isiah Thomas officially returning to the Knicks is Isiah Thomas.
According to a source close to the former Knicks president, Thomas and Garden chairman James Dolan have had numerous discussions about a position in the organization, but Thomas has been reluctant to accept the job offer.
“Isiah is very close with Jim Dolan but he’s told me that he’s not ready to jump back into the NBA just yet,” said the source, who was with Thomas on Friday at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield, Mass. “There’s this perception out there that Isiah is desperate to get back, but that’s false. I think it will eventually happen but just not now.”
Thomas, who presented inductee Chet Walker at the ceremony, did not return phone calls on Saturday. One day earlier, he was spotted in a Manhattan hotel having breakfast with Dolan, which according to the source is not uncommon.
“They’re friends. They talk all the time,” the source added.
Two years ago, Dolan wanted to rehire Thomas as a consultant, but the NBA vetoed the move because Thomas was coaching Florida International University at the time. Once the league nixed the hiring, Dolan famously said that he could continue to solicit Thomas’ views on basketball-related matters.
It is clear that Thomas is serving as an unofficial adviser, considering that his two former college teammates and longtime friends, Mike Woodson and Glen Grunwald, are the Knicks’ head coach and general manager, respectively.
There is a theory that Thomas isn’t ready to accept an official position because he is concerned about the potential media backlash. Plus, there is some bad blood between Thomas and other top MSG executives in the aftermath of the highly publicized MSG sexual harassment trial in 2007.
Thomas, who was fired by FIU last spring, is said to be content working on earning a master’s degree in education from UC-Berkeley and reconnecting with his Chicago roots.

Thomas seems to be taking on the role of activist in his hometown. He recently participated in a “Stop the Violence” march in Chicago, where he told gang members, “This is genocide. You have to stop the killing.”
Thomas, along with Bulls center Joakim Noah and former Knick Quentin Richardson, is scheduled to attend a basketball tournament on Sept. 22 to promote peace in Chicago.
Last month, Thomas returned to the West Side of Chicago to honor his late mother at a ceremony in which Homan St. was changed to Mary Thomas Way.
There are two basketball positions available in the Knicks organization. The club is looking to hire a D-League head coach, and Woodson is looking to add an assistant. Thomas is not under consideration for the latter. In fact, LaSalle Thompson, Woodson’s former teammate with the Kings, is a leading candidate to replace Kenny Atkinson, who was recently hired by the Atlanta Hawks.
Thomas is not a candidate to replace Scott O’Neil, who was removed from his position as Garden president on Wednesday.
Instead, Thomas will remain as the unpaid — but very visible — friend and adviser to Dolan, the Garden’s most powerful man. And no doubt one day they’ll officially be co-workers again.