Knicks Rumors: Isiah, Camby, Giddens

Knicks owner James Dolan would like to have former coach and executive Isiah Thomas formally rejoin the organization in some capacity, but Thomas is reluctant come back, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Thomas might fear media backlash if he is rehired, and he has lingering resentment of some MSG executives from his previous tenure with the team, Isola writes. Thomas, who was college teammates with GM Glen Grunwald and coach Mike Woodson, is serving as an unofficial adviser to the team, according to Isola's report, and an eventual return in a official capacity seems likely. Here's more from the Big Apple: 

• We passed along an item about Marcus Camby's enthusiasm for the Knicks roster last night, and in the piece Keldy Ortiz wrote for Newsday, Camby also talked about how close he came to signing with the Heat. Camby said it was a phone call from former teammate and current Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston that persuaded him to come to New York. "I knew that it would have been very hard for me to put on that Miami Heat uniform, especially all the battles we used to have back in the days with Houston and those guys," Camby said. "I'm happy things worked out."
• Camby also spoke about reuniting with some of his old Nuggets and Blazers teammates who are now with him on the Knicks, and adjusting to a bench role after starting for so long, as Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Post writes.
• Former Knicks guard J.R. Giddens, who the Celtics took with the final pick of the first round in the 2008 draft, could be headed to the Italian league to play for Centrale del Latte Brescia, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.