Coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim say they disagree with the arrangement that would have Isiah Thomas consult with the Knicks while remaining as head coach at Florida International University.

"It just seems to me that it should be separate, college and pro," Krzyzewski said Tuesday in Manhattan. "I?m not going to call anybody and I?m not going to look into it anymore, but if a call comes to me, you can be sure I won?t accept anything like that."

Boeheim concurs with Krzyzewski?s assessment.

The opinions of these two longtime, highly respected coaches could influence the league's decision on whether to permit the arrangement between the Knicks and Thomas to go forward.

Sources tell Ken Berger of CBS Sports that the Knicks will have a very difficult time being able to get the NBA league office to approve an arrangement that allows Isiah Thomas to formally consult with the Knicks while retaining his position as head coach at Florida International University.

NBA team officials are not allowed to have the level of pre-draft contact and regular interaction with college players that a college coach like Thomas is required to as part of his job.

It will likely be found to violate the NBA's rules for team personnel to hold this type of dual occupation.

If the Knicks are permitted to retain Thomas' services in such a manner, it could open the floodgates on NBA teams hiring members of college teams in order to give those NBA teams an inside track on college players.

"I think it's going to blur the line to such a degree that teams are going to say, 'OK it's a competitive disadvantage if we don't have a guy,'" a team basketball operations official said. "So they're going to go get guys, whether they're low-level coaches or whatever. All these teams and executives are going to say, 'Hold on, this is a different message you're sending us.'"

Berger also refutes reports that Donnie Walsh threatened to quit when Thomas was hired.  Berger calls these reports "not entirely true."

Sources say that Dolan first discussed bringing Thomas back with Walsh, who indicated he wouldn't object to Thomas returning in the consulting role he held before accepting the offer from FIU.  But Walsh made it known that he did not want Thomas having a full-time position in the daily operations of the Knicks.

At least two NBA owners have complained to the league about the new agreement between the Knicks and Isiah Thomas, according to a source.

Thomas will be a consultant for New York while also serving as head coach for Florida International.

According to the league's rulebook, NBA personnel can't have contact with college players until they declare for the draft.

NBA commissioner David Stern may allow Isiah Thomas to continue coaching at Florida International despite joining the Knicks last week as a consultant.

The league announced soon after New York's agreement with Thomas that they would determine whether or not a conflict of interest was involved.

"I'm hearing that David Stern will not prevent Isiah from working for the Knicks while coaching at FIU," Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote on his Twitter page.

Isiah Thomas will continue to serve as the head coach at Florida International for now.

The Knicks hired Thomas as a consultant on Friday.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league is "reviewing the agreement, in consultation with the Knicks, for compliance with league rules."

In a Friday telephone interview, Donnie Walsh said there were no plans for Isiah Thomas to resume a full-time position with the Knicks.  Walsh said Thomas had initiated the discussions on returning to the team in some formal capacity.

"Isiah can help us in the areas that he?ll consult with us in," Walsh said.

"He?s a good basketball man," continued Walsh. "He will not be full time with us up at the training center. I think he wanted to be involved with us, and I think it came from Isiah to begin with."

A source with knowledge of the Knicks? strategy who was not authorized to speak said that some in the organization believe that Thomas might be able to relate to the present generation of franchise players in a way that Walsh and Mike D?Antoni cannot.

Thomas is expected to be actively involved in recruiting Carmelo Anthony to join the Knicks if he becomes a free agent next summer.

Insiders with the Knicks also told the New York Times that Thomas is not in the running to re-take control over the team's basketball operations.

"Speculative nonsense, organizational insiders are saying," writes Harvey Araton about the chatter that Thomas could eventually replace Walsh as the team's chief decision-maker.

Isiah Thomas has been hired as a consultant by the Knicks, giving the team's former president and head coach an official role with the organization.

Thomas' position will be in a part-time capacity and he will remain head coach at Florida International.

Thomas played a role in helping the Knicks with free-agent recruitment this summer.

"I?m excited to once again be a part of the New York Knicks organization. I was honored to have been asked to help during the recent free-agent recruiting process, and believe that this new role takes full advantage of my skill set as an evaluator of basketball talent," Thomas said in a statement released by the Knicks.

"While I will of course continue in my role as FIU?s coach," continued the statement, "I look forward to working with Donnie (Walsh), Coach (Mike) D?Antoni and all of the Knicks staff to help bring a championship back to New York."

The Knicks' statement indicates that Thomas "will assist the team?s senior management in various capacities, including player recruitment."