James Dolan says he won't bring Thomas back to Knicks

Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan says he won't bring controversial New York Liberty president Isiah Thomas back to the Knicks, in large part out of concern for the Hall of Famer's well-being.

Both Dolan and Thomas appeared in wide-ranging interviews with HBO's Bryant Gumbel, and the much-maligned Knicks owner said there are no plans to move Thomas back down the hall to the NBA franchise - for which he served in roles as president and head coach from 2003 to 2008.

"There's 29 (other) teams out there in the NBA, any one of which would be an easier assignment than this one," Dolan said. "I don't think that the New York market would ever give (Thomas) a fair chance at this."

When Gumbel followed up by asking if such a service to Thomas would be a courtesy out of friendship, Dolan replied: "Absolutely."

There was a feeling, among many New York fans and media, that last May's stunning announcement of Thomas returning to the MSG umbrella as the Liberty's president had elements of mission creep, given his past with the Knicks and his close friendship with Dolan.

The controversy of the choice, of course, was also steeped in Thomas' contentious tenure with the MSG company off the basketball court. In 2007, MSG was forced to pay former employee Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6-million after a jury decided the company was liable for allegations that Thomas had sexually harassed her - and then fired her for complaining about it.

In the HBO interview, Dolan continued to maintain that Browne Sanders fabricated the accusations.

"I think a bunch of it she (made up), yes," he said.

The optics of Thomas returning to the organization - and running a women's basketball team, at that - haven't been lost on many observers, including other high-profile MSG employees like current Knicks president Phil Jackson. In a June interview, Jackson said he told Dolan that rehiring Thomas would have "the look of putting the fox in the hen-house."

For his part, Thomas denied having any interest in returning to the Knicks as their coach, a job in which he compiled a 56-108 record from 2006 to 2008.

"I can comfortably tell you this," Thomas told Gumbel. "I don't see myself ever coaching the New York Knicks."

A Hall of Fame player who ranks as one of the greatest point guards of all time, Thomas has managed to enjoy a substantial career as a coach and executive despite notable blunders while running the Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, and the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association.