Over the final two days in South Carolina, Isiah Thomas acted like a dead man walking. He wasn’t just subdued in his meetings with beat writers, he was downright comatose.
The weight of the world had come down on his shoulders over the past week. After Monday’s impressive, preseason-opening victory over the Sixers at the University of South Carolina, Thomas acted joyless. He also seemed completely worn out.
Nobody probably enjoyed yesterday’s day off more than the Knicks’ coach/president.
One week ago, Thomas rushed from federal court in Manhattan to a helicopter, to a plane, to Charleston, S.C., never catching his breath. The Knicks returned to New York from their extended training camp early yesterday morning.
“We had a good camp,” Thomas said softly before boarding the team flight. “All the guys are looking forward to going back home.”
Tomorrow night in their preseason home opener against Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Thomas could be the subject of boos and taunts as he stands by the Knicks bench for the first time since his and James Dolan’s massive setback in federal court on sexual-harassment charges.
As Thomas spoke late Monday night, a Page Six gossip item, citing a Garden source, had just appeared, claiming Cablevision boss Charles Dolan would make major changes within management, possibly removing his son James from power. It was one more headache Thomas had to deal with.
For the immediate future, Thomas’ job is safe, according to multiple sources.
Charles and James Dolan released a statement, saying, “The management and leadership of the company is and will continue to be firmly in place.”
The Dolans must stand behind Thomas now, if for no other reason than they are still united in court for the next couple of months, appealing the shocking $11.6 million guilty verdict.
Once the appeal is over, if the Knicks start out slow and if the public-relations damage appears irreversible, Thomas could well be out.
The Charleston camp was bizarre from the beginning, with Thomas missing the first practice. James Dolan did not make the annual trip to hang out with Thomas and the coaches, choosing to remain low key, not wanting to draw attention to himself. But Thomas and Dolan remained in contact over the phone.
On day five of camp, Thomas was still dealing with the fallout, with he and his wife phoning the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was calling for a Knick boycott. The next morning Eddy Curry could not practice. The organization feared its franchise player may have a season-ending shoulder tear, though he did not.
Even the newspaper-clip packets distributed to players omitted articles related to the trial to keep them focused on basketball. On one morning, the clip packet contained one page.
Today, Thomas holds his first practice at the team’s Westchester headquarters, trying to return to normalcy. That is, unless Allan Houston finally shows up.
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Knicks orthopedist Allen Answorth confirmed original diagnoses Curry has a torn labrum, doesn’t need surgery, will be reevaluated in one week and should be back in two weeks.
The Post has learned a major reason rookie Demetris Nichols’ draft stock fell from a first-round bubble pick to a late second-rounder (53) was a false medical test he took at Orlando’s pre-draft camp in which he tested positive for hepatitis C.
After the Knicks traded for his rights, the test came back clean. However, Nichols’ chances of making the club over Fred Jones are slim.
The Knicks consider Jones a much better defender and he has a guaranteed pact.
There’s also belief Thomas wants to keep Jones, whom he drafted in Indiana, for support in the locker room.