The business side of me thinks it's savvy. Isiah has a knack with the draft and recruitment. He's taken a public beating and still praised the organization. As long as he is never given a key title and is kept far away from the limelight there could be benefit

iSergio wrote:A few more pills and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Argh.

sorry, this is totally inappropriate.

If it does happened, hopefully he'll learn from his stupid mistake and the embarassing he put the organization through.

CrushAlot wrote:Publicly acknowledging this just makes no sense. The organization is actually having a rebirth and there is a lot of positive energy around the Knicks. Bringing back a guy who minimally is racially and gender insensitive, was found guilty of sexual harrassment, treated two of the best guys in the NBA, Chaney and Wilkins, horribly, attempted to scape goat his players for the losing, destroyed the future of the franchise with his trades and free agent signings based on what appeared to be a flavor of the week mentality, lost a lot of games, and was in charge of the most dysfunctional franchise in sports during his tenure doesn't make sense. Isiah might deserve a second chance in the nba but he doesn't deserve one from the Knicks.

I am amazed that the franchise ignores its former, beloved, great players from eras when the team was very succesful but continues to remain loyal to a man who ran things when the franchise was unsuccessful on the court and unprofessional off the court.

Sums it up perfectly and Dolan's actions speak volumes to how his judgment is cloudy at best and how he has not learned much from past mistakes as an owner.

PresIke wrote:

iSergio wrote:A few more pills and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Argh.

sorry, this is totally inappropriate.

CAn I agree with you and still find it mildly amusing? Probably not, right? What's up Prez?

Nalod wrote:Steinbrenner had Billy Martin, Dolan has isiah.

Championships...Billy got two for George. Zeke nearly buried the Knicks after no one thought it could get worse under Layden's tenure. Martin and George had a personality conflict, but they did some of their best work together. Thomas and Dolan like each other, but they are the worst management match up in sports.

If Dolan was assassinated tomorrow, I wouldn't cry.

That's pretty f'ed up dude. This is sports. Not fighting the Taliban.

ATrain wrote:
This is what I don't get. How does this not violate any NCAA violations?

I agree- I don't see how him having those 2 positions will be allowed by either the NBA or the NCAA- it's ridiculous, and I see the papers are already saying it's going to be looked into.

I don't really believe that IT had anything to do with Amar'e coming here- clearly Amar'e wanted to stay with the suns, but when he realised that they wouldn't give him the contract he wanted, he opted for the Knicks because a)they were the only other team willing to give him that contract, and b)he's always been interested in expanding his brand and profile- they didn't need IT to convince him of anything.

And another bit of false info that been annoying me is the claim that IT is a great recruiter. Firstly I think it's insulting to Donnie to make out he did a poor job of getting players to come here this offseason, and secondly, the only reason IT had success getting players to come here while he was gm, was because HE BLATANTLY OVERPAID THEM! It's easy to get players to come here if you give them a massive contract for more years and money than anyone else- the reason Donnie hasn't had a 100% success rate with getting his free agents to come here is because he's offering much more stringent contracts for LESS than other teams are offering, yet still he's managed to get some to sign them (Felton especially stands out)- but it does mean he some times missed out (Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Shannon Brown- all got bigger contracts with another team)- thats not a bad thing.

Finally IT would not have got LeBron- Lebron decided years ago that the plan was going to Miami, he even told Mike Miller on the first day of free agency what the plan was- IT wouldn't have made any difference. What annoys me is that this new post for IT, whilst I don't mind him having it, is undermining and insulting to Donnie Walsch- it's just very disrespectful to him.

And if him having these two posts is deemed a violation of rules, then the Knicks organisation looks incompetent for giving him the job in the first place.

Thomas slithers in as Knicks consultant
-Marc Berman

Today, part-time Knicks consultant. Tomorrow, the world.
That's at least what Isiah Thomas is thinking.

Two summers ago, three months after being fired as president and coach, Thomas boasted to a confidante he will one day resume power and run the Knicks. Thomas figured he just needed time out of the spotlight to repair his image......

But the public-relations damage of giving Thomas a position and paying him is a sickening blow to their loyal fan base still reeling from the LeBron James loss and who detest Thomas for what he did to the franchise.

Donnie not clearing out for Isiah
-NY Post (MARC BERMAN)

Watch your back, Donnie!Team president Donnie Walsh admitted he did not work on Isiah Thomas’ contract to be a part-time paid consultant.

Even now, New York Knicks owner James Dolan and Isiah Thomas deserve each other[
- MIKE LUPICA Saturday, August 7th 2010

Here is what happened the last time Isiah Thomas was an employee of Madison Square Garden: A jury decided he sexually harassed Anucha Browne Sanders in the workplace and that when Browne Sanders complained, James Dolan - owner of the Knicks and the Garden - fired her.

Thomas and Dolan still blame that on everybody except themselves. BP is more accountable than they are.

Now Thomas, the worst sports executive in Garden history, is back on the payroll as a "consultant."

Hey, Jim, Let’s Step Outside
-NY Post (MIKE VACCARO) August 7, 2010

He treated you like the worst kind of punk, because he knows he can get away with it. Because that has been the story of James Dolan’s tenure with the Knicks: There are no rules for him to play by, no sense of fair play. Fans are suckers, to be treated that way, to be scoffed at and sneered at. You think you matter?

Not to James Dolan, you don’t.

Dolan hired Isiah Thomas back into the fold yesterday. The title they give Thomas is “consultant,” but honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Thomas is staying, for now, as the basketball coach at Florida International, but don’t let that fool you, either. Dolan has been star-struck by Thomas from the moment he met him, and continued to pine for him like a love-struck teenager even after Thomas covered his team in mud for the better part of six years.

And now he’s back. Unbelievable. What other sports team operates this way?

Dolan, Isiah not fooling anyone
New York Knicks owner James Dolan should admit Isiah Thomas is officially in charge of organization
-Mitch Lawrence Saturday, August 7th 2010,

Jim Dolan should come clean and announce that Thomas is officially in charge of the Knicks again.

You read that correctly.

Dolan needs to just go ahead and do what he wants to do, anyway. The Garden chairman needs to do what will probably happen the day that Walsh packs it in for health reasons, maybe even as soon as the start of training camp in late September.

It's Dolan's team, we regret to remind everyone.

NBA could block deal
-NY Post (MARC BERMAN)

The NBA conceivably could block the move. NBA front-office personnel are not allowed to have contact with college players until they declare for the draft. Thomas’ role as consultant was specified in a Knicks release as advising on the college draft.
“We are reviewing the agreement, in consultation with the Knicks, for compliance with league rules,” NBA PR chief Tim Frank said.