Last week’s Daily News report that Jim Dolan had gotten involved in talks with the Nuggets included a suggestion that Isiah Thomas may unofficially be advising the Knicks owner, since the two remain close despite, you know, the last decade or so. And yesterday — the same day another News article suggested Dolan may ultimately overrule his current coach and GM to acquire Carmelo Anthony — Thomas didn’t deny that he’s been advising Dolan during a radio interview with Sid Rosenberg. Fan-freaking-tastic.
Now, some things to remember: Not denying something isn’t the same as doing something. So perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into any of this. And even if Dolan does ultimately overrule Donnie Walsh and pull the trigger on a misguided trade, it’s not necessarily because of Isiah Thomas. So make of this what you will. But Rosenberg asked Thomas point-blank yesterday if he is advising Dolan. His answer?
“The conversations I have with any of my friends are always private and confidential,” Thomas said. “The conversations I have with friends and people that I know, those are private conversations.”
There’s more from the interview in that Marc Berman blog post. (On why he won’t speculate on Carmelo: “I just don’t think it would be proper to insert myself in such a public way knowing what I know.” And on building a winner: “In order to get to a championship level, which every team aspires to get to, you try to get the best players and try to get as many as you possibly can and see if you can win it.”) But we found this of particular note. Rosenberg also asked Thomas, who’s made it no secret that he’d like to return to the Knicks, if he’d be employed by the organization in the next five years. His answer?
“The conversations I have with any of my friends are always private and confidential,” Thomas said. “The conversations I have with friends and people that I know, those are private conversations.”
And while “I don’t think anyone will say where they will be five years from now” isn’t exactly “yes,” it isn’t exactly “no” either.
Related: Ball Hog [NYM]