Not bad. In fact, it's safe to say that Marbury would have gone, oh, about 16 spots higher were he IN the draft.

Thus by the time the Knicks turn came up on Thursday night, the "Next Magic Johnson" (6-7 high-school disher Shaun Livingston) and the "Next Patrick Ewing" (6-10 defensive devastator Emeka Okafor) were naturally gone. Still, President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas was elated to find UCLA's freshman small forward Trevor Ariza at No. 43.

"He's 6-8, has a seven-foot wingspan, and has a potential to be a very good defender, ball mover and distributor," said Thomas. "He can handle the ball. He can play three positions for us. And he is the same age as all these high school players you've seen. This kid has a potential for a great upside. We didn't think we'd get a player such as him at 43."

Indeed, Ariza didn't participate in a workout for the Knicks because "his agent thought he'd go in the first round," according to Thomas. "But we saw him in Chicago (NBA Pre-Draft Camp) -- and we were very impressed. We didn't think we'd get a player with his size and strength. There's no telling what his body and game might grow into with some NBA coaching."

Ariza's asthma -- he suffers from the illness -- played no factor in Thomas' thinking. "A lot of great athletes play with asthma," he said. "Including one I've played with myself, Dennis Rodman. And he turned out to be a pretty good player." In addition, in the immediate hour following the draft, Thomas was already on the phone contacting undrafted free agents. "We've signed (Seton Hall point guard) Andre Barrett for our Summer League team," he said. "And I've talked to some others as well. But, for now, we'll just mention Barrett."

As happy as Thomas was with the Ariza pick, it's far from the end of the line as far his off-season efforts go. "Whether it's through a trade or free agency, we'll be actively trying to improve our team," he said. "We'll be most active. I don't think it'll be a lot of the bigger names in the market, but there are pieces floating around that we can acquire. And they will make our team better."

That'll be necessary because, according to Thomas, things aren't about to get any easier in the turned-out-to-be-underrated East. "I thought Chicago did a nice job tonight to continue to add talent to what they already have," he said. "Cleveland got better -- and they were already a handful. Everyone got better. It's going to be difficult to win games in the East. The conference was very tough -- and it just got much tougher."