Posted by Ken Berger on February 2

Atlanta – The inevitable showdown between Isiah Thomas and James Dolan is officially on.

After a rare day out of the media spotlight, Thomas met with reporters this morning at Philips Arena before the Knicks’ shootaround and boldly explained why he stated recently that he expects to be around this summer to answer questions about the team’s future.

Asked if he knows what will happen at the end of the regular season and beyond, Thomas said, “Yeah, I’ll be here.” Asked if he has any assurances to that effect, Thomas said, “I have a contract that states that.”

Drumroll please: The staring contest over whether Thomas will quit (thus walking away from the remaining money on his contract) or whether Dolan will fire him (thus having to pay him to go away) has begun.

Earlier in the brief session with four reporters, Thomas deflected similar questions about whether he has been assured that he won’t be fired or asked to take on a diminished role.

“No, actually, all we do is we come to prepare every day and we just try to win every game,” he said. “And that’s our focus, just to try to play as good as we’ve been playing – with the exception of the Philly game – and just keep moving on from here.”

Asked if he understands the intense speculation about his job, Thomas said, “That’s the profession and that comes with the territory.”

After a recent report proposed a farfetched scenario in which Thomas would remain as coach and Nets assistant Kiki Vandeweghe would be brought in to run the basketball operations, Thomas wouldn’t answer a question about whether he would accept such a move.

When it was announced last summer that Jerry West was leaving his post as president of the Memphis Grizzlies, Dolan said in a radio interview that he would never bring in someone to oversee Thomas unless Thomas agreed to it. Dolan hasn’t addressed the reporters who cover the Knicks since Thomas received what is believed to be a four-year contract extension as president and coach last March.

The key question is whether Thomas’ contract – details of which have never been made public – explicitly states whether he must have both jobs or whether he could be moved to one or the other if a replacement were brought in. So I asked Thomas that question, four minutes and 40 seconds into this morning’s media briefing.

“Thank you,” Thomas said as he turned and walked into the locker room with a smile on his face.

I don't get it. Why wouldn't Isiah be back next season?

I look forward to some roadside interviews come draft time.

Posted by tkf:

Can someone please talk me out of walking in front of moving traffic? please.. because I give the **** up!!!!

That's why the Lord made NBA League Pass, tkf. Watch some Laker or Piston games. :)

Dolan you moron, don't u see that Isiah could give a rat's ass about the Knicks at this point? he's no different than Marbury or Big Turd at this point... they just happy collecting their millions, regardless if they win or not.

why doesn't this moron just cut bait w/Isiah & be done with it? yeah, he made a monumental mistake extending his contract... nothing he can do about that now... for God's sake, do it & save whatever dignity you have left (which is probably like telling a 20 dollar crack hooker to be concerned about her public image), but in anycase...

Didn't they once find a dead body floating around near James Dolan's mantion? Can't he get rid of Isiah Thomas the same way without anyone finding out?

Posted by kam77:

Thanks.

Don't mantion it.


Klytus you slack-jawed yokel.
Are you arkud in sheeps clothing?
Are these tru rumars i'm hearing?

[Edited by - kam77 on 02-29-2008 9:05 PM]

Looks like I am the wolf...
Thank you man.
I like this type of recognition...

I don't believe Klytus is a name you can reference as the "slack-jawed yokel." Cletus is the guy from the Simpsons. Unless Klytus misspelled it...

Posted by kam77:

Thanks.

Don't mantion it.


Klytus you slack-jawed yokel.
Are you arkud in sheeps clothing?
Are these tru rumars i'm hearing?

[Edited by - kam77 on 02-29-2008 9:05 PM]

Not exactly. It was a severed leg, found just about a year ago:

Severed leg on Dolan property could match torso

Associated Press

Updated: March 29, 2007, 1:01 AM ET

COVE NECK, N.Y. -- A severed human leg that washed up Wednesday on the Long Island Sound estate of billionaire James Dolan was possibly linked to a tattooed torso discovered inside a suitcase three weeks ago on a Westchester County beach, authorities said.

Dolan is the CEO of Cablevision Systems Corp. and the chairman of Madison Square Garden, owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Police were investigating whether another leg bone and human foot discovered Tuesday night in Suffolk County were related to the other body parts surfacing on either side of the sound, authorities said.

"Based on some similarities that I can't really comment on, we're treating it as a very good possibility that the two legs belong to our victim," said Detective Sgt. Robert Holland of the Village of Mamaroneck police department.

On Wednesday morning, a landscaper working on the Dolan property found the limb near the shoreline, where it apparently washed in from the sound and remained after low tide, said Nassau County police Lt. Kevin Smith. The employee opened the bag and made the grisly discovery.

The leg "could have floated for miles before it got to where it did," said Smith.

Its final stop was the waterfront property of Dolan.

The small, exclusive village where the leg appeared is also home to the former so-called summer White House of President Teddy Roosevelt.

On Tuesday night, a fisherman found a right foot and a leg bone -- possibly female -- among the rocks in Cold Spring Harbor, said Lt. Dennis Dooley of the Lloyd Harbor police. The remains were turned over to the Suffolk County medical examiner for identification.

The two legs appeared a little more than three weeks after the stabbed torso, stuffed inside a suitcase with a shirt and a pair of pants, floated onto a beach in suburban Mamaroneck on March 3. Authorities said at the time that the victim was a Hispanic or black woman, no taller than 5-foot-6, weighing 180 to 200 pounds.

The victim had a tattoo of two red cherries on a green stem above her right breast. Police had yet to identify the body when the two legs were discovered on Long Island.

Homicide investigators were at the Dolan property, and a police dive team was in the water searching for further remains or evidence, Smith said. It was unclear how long the leg had been in the water, and the remains were turned over to the Nassau County medical examiner for identification, the lieutenant said.

According to Holland, the various jurisdictions were working out the details on handling forensics and other aspects of the investigation.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2816773

For more info, just google on: jim dolan severed leg



[Edited by - basketballjones on 03-01-2008 10:24]

Posted by nysportsfan11:

The media has convinced themselves that Dolan is definitely getting rid of Isiah, which is news to Dolan.

Uh oh. I remember you. You're actually reliable.

Is it news to Dolan that he is getting rid of Isiah or is it news to him that he is thinking about it?