3 Reasons why Isiah Thomas may return next season

Isiah Thomas' Knicks are the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. AP

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No, I am not campaigning on behalf of Thomas. But I don't believe it's guaranteed that he'll be fired either. The Knicks' James Dolan is at the opposite end of a spectrum he shares with the Clippers' Donald Sterling: Dolan spends outrageously while Sterling has tended to be an outrageous miser, but both owners have stubbornly refused to conform to pressure from the public or the league office. How many years did we hear that Elgin Baylor (the 2006 NBA Executive of the Year) must be fired by the Clippers? Yet he is now in his 22nd year as VP of basketball operations for Sterling.

Thomas is finishing his fifth year with the Knicks, and it would not surprise me to see him return next season. Nor would anyone be surprised if he were to be fired this summer. But don't assume that he has no future with Dolan, because the normal rules don't apply to this franchise.

3. Dolan wants Thomas to succeed. Let's say that Dolan replaces him with Bryan Colangelo (after paying a lot of money to Toronto to buy him out), Donnie Walsh, Jerry West, Jerry Colangelo or Kiki Vandeweghe, and any of them turns the Knicks into a winner. How is Dolan going to feel about that? On the one hand, he'll be happy, of course; but on the other hand, the success of a new team president will be held up as proof that Dolan should have fired Isiah long ago.

Now look at it the other way. What if Dolan believes that Thomas can still rescue the Knicks? If so, then the owner is looking ahead to the day he gets to say "I told you so'' to everybody. He has already invested heavily in Thomas, absorbing a ton of losses on the court and in the ledgers. If Dolan still believes in Thomas -- and I don't know if he does or doesn't -- then I think he'll bring him back. That's because, ultimately, it will be much more satisfying for Dolan to win with Isiah than with any other executive who might replace him.

It would drive a lot of Knicks fans crazy to see Thomas returning next season, but the Knicks don't belong to New York. They belong to Dolan, and he has the only vote on Thomas' future.

2. Dolan trusts Thomas with the Knicks' draft pick. One of Isiah's least assailable qualities is his ability to find talent in the draft. I'm guessing that Dolan will like Thomas' chances of discovering an All-Star with the Knicks' high lottery pick this June. The alternative is to fire Thomas and give the new scouting staff a short two-month window to figure out the draft.

1. Thomas wants to stay. There has been a lot of speculation that Thomas is looking to get himself fired, that he has given up and wants to leave with a huge buyout. I don't believe it. Everything I heard during the trade deadline was that he was seeking trades that were financially advantageous to his owner. It was not the work of a saboteur.

One more thing, for whatever it's worth. The Knicks won't hold the rights to their first-round pick in 2010. They dealt it to Phoenix in 2005 as part of the Marbury trade, and the Suns moved it onto Utah in a financial trade involving Tom Gugliotta. The pick is protected through No. 25 this year and No. 24 next year, but in 2010 the Jazz will claim it with zero protection. Therefore, the Knicks must return to the playoffs by 2009-10 or else risk losing the potential No. 1 pick in the draft. Does this influence any decision on Thomas? As in all cases with Dolan, it's impossible to say.

2 Timeless answers from Joe Johnson

2. Can he be a leader? The recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that Hawks ownership prevented GM Billy Knight from firing coach Mike Woodson has put more pressure on the All-Star guard to provide leadership, and to salvage something for an organization that appears to be on the verge of wholesale changes this offseason. Johnson is a quiet personality, but during All-Star weekend I asked if he's raised his voice more often this season.

"I have to be built up to a certain level,'' he said. "I've had a few times where I've lost my cool a little bit, but other than that I'm pretty much mellow. I say how things should be, and I give guys insight here and there by telling them some of the things they're doing wrong and doing right. Little things.''

1. Can the Hawks be led? They've gone 3-7 since trading for Mike Bibby, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 assists while trying to elevate his young teammates. Johnson, too, has tried to be more of a playmaker this season. The question is whether the Hawks are mature enough to seize their opportunities. Johnson isn't sure they realize the importance of extending their season.

"A lot of times, young guys may not know the significance of making the playoffs,'' he said, "and if you've never been to the playoffs, then you may not even care.

"You really can't explain it to them. But you try to give them a little insight and let them know how it is, how the crowds are. We haven't had a lot of big crowds. But if we made the playoffs, it would probably be a packed house every night.''

In which case the entire franchise might earn respect. "And that would help everybody out,'' Johnson said. "Winning cures a lot of things.''

1 Underrated player

1. Derek Fisher, L.A. Lakers. As talented as the Lakers have become with the acquisition of Pau Gasol and the improvement of Andrew Bynum (who should be back in time for the playoffs), they might not be contenders without their 33-year-old point guard.

"How many guys are capable of running your team, defending and making shots?'' an Eastern Conference executive said.

"He's a calming presence to those guys,'' a West executive said. "In some ways, he's an afterthought -- until he kicks your ass. You look at their starting lineup and he's their fifth-best guy. If Derek Fisher is your fifth-best player, that's a pretty good team. He and Kobe are two of the great clutch shooters in the game. When I look at Fisher, I also think he could be a hell of a coach someday.''