Isiah Thomas

Former NBA player and coach Isiah Thomas participates in the first Celebrity Golf Outing of the new not-for-profit organization Newark Mentoring Movement at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City on Monday, July 16, 2012.

(REENA ROSE SIBAYAN/The Jersey Journal)

The worst nightmare for every Knicks fan could become reality.



Since being relieved of his duties in 2008, Isiah Thomas has lurked around the franchise. The former President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks always has had a backer in team owner James Dolan, causing angst among the fan base that Thomas could somehow find his way back into a prominent role with a franchise he played a part in taking to the bottom of the NBA.

Eight years after losing his power, rumors around Phil Jackson's future--and possible eye on Los Angeles again--have Thomas' name back and resurfacing as a possible replacement. Per Adrian Wojnarowsi of The Vertical:

One way or another, Jackson will be gone before the next Knicks coach has cycled through New York. To think the next Knicks president/GM--Steve Mills or Isiah Thomas--will stay true to the triangle is absurd, and so hiring one more triangle coach is almost guaranteeing him Fisher's fate.



That line on Thomas, almost thrown in as an afterthought, has to be disconcerting in New York. It means he's still on the radar, still has Dolan's ear, and, if a replacement was needed in a pinch, the familiarity factor could play a part in the Knicks owner's choice.

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Currently, Thomas is part owner and President of the New York Liberty, the WNBA team in New York City.

Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.