Isiah Thomas returning to Knicks on newly formed board of directors despite his past failures with franchise

Isiah Thomas is returning to the New York Knicks, whether Knicks fans like it or not.

The Hall of Fame Pistons point guard who's worked for the Knicks in various post-playing capacities is rejoining the franchise as a member of its newly formed board of directors.

The board is being formed as part of a business split between the Knicks and New York Rangers. The two franchise are currently managed by MSG Sports, which is helmed by CEO and Knicks governor James Dolan.

Per The Athletic, MSG Sports announced on Wednesday that the Knicks and Rangers are being split up into to separate publicly traded companies following approval this week from its own board of directors.

The Rangers and their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, will now be managed under MSG Rangers Corp. MSG Sports will be become MSG Knickerbockers Corp. and oversee the Knicks and their G League affiliate, Westchester Knicks. Dolan will serve as chairman and CEO of both companies.

And Thomas, a longtime confidante of Dolan's, will serve on the board of MSG Knickerbockers Corp.

Isiah Thomas has remained entrusted by James Dolan despite his past failures with the Knicks.ASSOCIATED PRESSThomas' less-than-stellar history with Knicks

Thomas played the entirety of his 13-season NBA career with the Pistons, whom he led to two NBA championships. But he's been closely affiliated with the Knicks in various capacities since, none of them successfully.

The Knicks first hired Thomas in 2003 as president of basketball operations. He oversaw a franchise that lost in the first round of the playoffs in his first season and missed the postseason in his four subsequent years as president.

The Knicks under Thomas' watch never won more than 33 games. They finished with the second-worst record in the NBA in 2005-06 at 23-59, tying a then-franchise record for losses.

In 2006, an MSG executive accused Thomas of sexual harassment in a lawsuit that was later settled by MSG for $11.5 million. That same year, the Knicks fired head coach Larry Brown, and Thomas took over on the sideline. He served as president and head coach of the Knicks at the same time.

In two seasons with Thomas in both roles, the Knicks went 33-49 and 23-59, again tying the franchise record for losses in 2007-08.

The Knicks fired Thomas as head coach in 2008. Even then, he was invited to remain with the franchise in an advisory capacity, reporting to his replacement as president, Donnie Walsh. In 2009, Thomas took the head coaching job at Florida International.

James Dolan has kept Thomas close

Thomas remained trusted by Dolan throughout, and Dolan hired him again in 2015 to coach the WNBA's New York Liberty, whom he owned at the time. When Dolan sold the Liberty to Joseph Tsai in 2019, Thomas was dismissed from his duties as head coach.

Thomas has since worked on the board of directors for The Sphere, the high-tech entertainment venue in Las Vegas that is also run by Dolan.

And now Thomas is back in an official capacity with the Knicks, fresh off their first NBA title since 1973. It's not clear how much influence Thomas will yield over the team on the floor in his role as a board member.