James Dolan Can’t Quit Isiah Thomas

At some point, we all have to settle with the notion that New York Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas is one of two things to Knicks owner James Dolan:

1. The cowboy he just can’t quit
2. A man with a powerful and liberal camera lens

It has to be one of those things, because it’s incomprehensible to imagine why you would retain Thomas as anything more than a parking attendant at Madison Square Garden. Thomas has cost the once proud franchise millions of dollars in sexual harassment suits, bloated contracts and decreased ticket and memorabilia sales. In the hood, Isiah Thomas is the kind of guy that can steal your car and wreck it up real good if you need to get the insurance money on it to put towards a new vehicle.

While intentionally ruining a sports franchise may be good for cinematic value, movies usually have a happy or ironic ending. Sure, it’s ironic that Thomas is still the coach of the Knicks, and even more ironic that Dolan is doing everything he can to ensure that it stays that way. But this ain’t a movie, dog. Spike Lee is the closest thing they have to that, and even he is at games preoccupied with the notion of making "Do The Right Thing II."

It might not be such a bad move if these latest developments didn’t totally defy logic. If the Knicks were close to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, this probably wouldn’t be a discussion. We would probably be talking about the emergence of Zach Randolph, or the reliability of Jamal Crawford instead. But they are closer to the play-in game of the NCAA tournament than they are any current or future success in the league. So much so, they are courting former Indiana Pacers exec Donnie Walsh to try and moves contracts no one wants. And Dolan insists that if Walsh were to fire Isiah, that he keep him with the franchise in some capacity.

At some point, the NBA should launch a credible investigation of tampering against the Knicks. The New York Knicks have exceeded laughing stock territory, now it’s time to check up on Isiah’s stock photos and see if there’s a real explanation to this Big Apple fiasco.