Isiah Thomas Reportedly to Own a Piece of Pistons

Detroit Piston star Isiah Thomas will run the team and become a part-owner once he retires as a player as part of a $55-million deal, the Detroit Free Press reported today.

Thomas, 32, probably will retire after this season and assume a management position, the newspaper said. It quoted unidentified sources as saying he would be put in charge of its basketball operations.

The Pistons declined to comment on the arrangement Tuesday, saying details will be disclosed Thursday.

The Free Press did not say what share of the team Thomas would own or how the $55 million would be divided between stock and salary.

The Detroit New reported that the agreement calls for Thomas to receive a one-year contract extension with a balloon payment estimated to be somewhere between $7 to $12 million.

The balloon payment will be on Thomas’ player contract, so the money will count against the Pistons’ salary cap.

According to the News source, Thomas also will receive 10% of Piston owner William Davidson’s sports empire, which includes the Pistons, The Palace, and the Pine Knob Music Theater. The team is worth an estimated $132 million, according to Financial World magazine. Davidson could not be reached for comment Tuesday, the Free Press said.

The team announced Tuesday that Thomas will remain in a Piston uniform until he retires.

That came after reports Sunday that he was about to be traded to the New York Knicks for Tony Campbell and a draft pick.

“I’m very pleased we’ve finalized the whole controversy,” Coach Don Chaney said from Chicago after the Pistons lost, 97-91, to the Bulls.

“It was a very distracting thing. Now the decision has been made.”

Thomas did not play Tuesday, the sixth game in a row he has sat out because of foot and toe injuries.

“I take my hat off to him,” Chicago’s Scottie Pippen said. “He’s being repaid for what he did for the franchise. It would be a shame if he didn’t end his career in a Pistons uniform.”

Thomas, a 12-time All-Star, is averaging 14.3 points and nine assists a game for the struggling Pistons.