Former Knicks executive Brendan Suhr, Isiah Thomas’ right-hand man in New York, said team owner James Dolan has every right to bring Thomas in as a consultant even against president Donnie Walsh’s wishes and in the face of negative fan reaction.
“When you have an owner, he has the right to decide when it is time to be around and when it is time not to be around,” Suhr told The Post. “You have to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. And Mr. Dolan thinks Isiah can help him. He has the right to surround himself with people he feels comfortable with.”
Suhr was on Chuck Daly’s coaching staff with the Pistons when Thomas starred in Detroit. Suhr had several roles with the Knicks during the Thomas era, including assistant coach and director of the draft. Walsh let Suhr go in September 2008, four months after he took control. Suhr and Thomas had successful Knicks drafts — their only triumph.
Last week, Suhr was named an assistant coach at Central Florida.
“If Chuck Daly was alive, he would tell you Isiah always recognized talent better than he did,” Suhr said. “He has that knack. His second-best talent is he always could connect to players and all kinds of people in building relationships because of his charisma.”
So why did Thomas fail famously?
“He’s very bright, but had a very big plate, in charge of too many things,” Suhr said.
As far as the vicious media and fan reaction, Suhr said: “He can’t worry about it. He has to perform his role. The president of the U.S. usually has an approval rating below 50 percent.”