Isiah Horror Avoided, but James Dolan Still Lurks

It isn't David Stern's job, I suppose, to save James Dolan from himself. But it is the commissioner's duty to remove toxic waste from the otherwise plush landscape of the NBA. Fans of the New York Knicks, assuming any remain, should be thrilled today that Stern has rid Madison Square Garden of a stench worse than the circus elephants.

Seems Isiah Thomas isn't returning, after all.

Tra la, tra la.

Fully understanding the distinction between pro and college basketball -- and why integrity demands that a college coach not be employed as a consultant by an NBA franchise -- Stern sniffed out a glaring conflict of interest Wednesday and advised Thomas to scram. Thus, the Knicks are rescued from a horror so mind-boggling that you wonder if Dolan, their airhead owner, is living on the same planet as the rest of us. He wanted to bring back Thomas to, ahem, "assist the team's senior management in various capacities, including player recruitment,'' which is the local equivalent of resurrecting Son of Sam to assist the police chief. Never mind that Thomas symbolizes the most disastrous era in Knicks history, a 4 1/2-year migraine in which he spent recklessly and buried the front office in salary-cap hell, then cost the team an $11.6-million settlement and considerable shame when he was targeted by a sexual harassment lawsuit. Dolan still wanted to rehire his self-described friend to recruit talent -- including college players, despite the blatant discrepancy of Thomas being the coach at Florida International.

A shocked city reacted with outrage and ridicule, mortified again that a legendary franchise could be so mismanaged. It's possible Dolan is the worst owner in American sports, seeing how we've dismissed Al Davis as senile and Donald Sterling as hapless and hopeless, and it makes perfect sense in his world to excuse Thomas of his professional sins, ignore the civic anger and put him back on the payroll. There is no evidence of Thomas having compromising pictures of Dolan, so the more likely deal here is that Dolan has been hoodwinked by Isiah's charm. In all probability, Thomas would have re-ascended in the hierarchy to the president of basketball operations seat, where a tired Donnie Walsh isn't far from retirement. And I guess the ultimate nightmare still could happen after Walsh is gone. For now, Stern has put a crimp in the diabolical plot, allowing Knicks fans to anticipate a rare burst of optimism with the Amar'e Stoudemire signing and long-term possibilities of Carmelo Anthony and/or Chris Paul.