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Regardless of what lies ahead for the Knicks in 2006-07, it can't be worse than last year.

A 2005-06 season that began with the optimism of the Eddy Curry deal and the arrival of Larry Brown as head coach ended with 23 wins (only Portland had fewer), a very public harassment lawsuit against Isiah Thomas, Brown's dismissal and the realization that the Curry trade cost the Knicks the second overall pick in the 2006 Draft. Did we mention the ungodly payroll and unbalanced roster?

Now Thomas, the man who assembled this team, will be saddled with the task of coaching it. If he fares no better than Brown, he'll join him in unemployment.

Thomas certainly has talent at his disposal. Unfortunately, his three best offensive players – Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Steve Francis – are all flawed ‘point' guards, each of whom prefers scoring to passing. Amazingly, the Knicks had only 19 more assists (1468) than they had turnovers (1449) last season.

Finding minutes for all three, as well as Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson, will be impossible without a trade, some serious discontent or some very small lineups. Expect trade rumors to heat up prior to the start of the season, as the Knicks would be well-suited to parlay one or more of their perimeter players into some frontcourt depth.

Until then, the frontline is anchored by Curry and Channing Frye, with David Lee and free-agent pickup Jared Jeffries (Washington) also in the rotation. Frye was probably the closest thing to a bright spot for the Knicks last season, averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds en route to All-Rookie First Team recognition. He nearly equaled the production of Curry (13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg) at a much lower cost.

Reserve forwards Jalen Rose and Maurice Taylor might be more valuable as trade bait than as reserves; both are in the final year of bloated contracts. A team once full of undersized power forwards is down to just Taylor and Malik Rose.

New York did add two first round picks. Though the selection of forward Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins weren't popular picks with the fans, neither will demand the ball, they'll play defense and they'll both hustle, all traits sorely missed by Knicks fans last season.

Expect the biggest change to be the team's environment, which turned very negative under Brown. Thomas will be a little more patient with his young players, and allow them to have more freedom – and more fun – than they had rotating in and out of Brown's doghouse.

It will take more than a year to turn this team into a playoff contender, but the Knicks should take some solace in being one of the NBA's most improved teams.
-- Bill Evans

2006-07 Knicks Mini-Plans

Marbury

Stephon Marbury has endured a decade of criticism for a career comprised of gaudy personal numbers but only 18 career playoff games, and no series wins.

Statistically, Marbury (career 20.2 ppg, 8.1 apg) has nothing left to prove, but in order to leave a winning legacy he must listen to his new coach, himself a Hall of Fame point guard.

"They couldn't surgically take the smile off my face," said Marbury to reporters, describing his reaction to the news that Thomas was assuming the coaching duties.

Marbury stands to get the lion's share of the blame if things don't improve, but if they do, he'll be a even bigger hero in his hometown.
-- Bill Evans

X&O STRENGTH

Thomas

I think the players are gonna have an awful lot to prove.

X&O WEAKNESS
They really don't have talent that meshes really well. I think it's a very difficult situation ... The first thing that Isiah Thomas is going to have to do is create harmony amongst the club.

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHY
I think he'll try to get his team to run, be aggressive offensively and get the ball up and down the floor. Larry Brown had a tendency to be more conservative and control the offense. I think Isiah is going to give Marbury, because they seem to have a pretty good relationship, a little more control to run the offense. Whether Marbury can do that is another question.
-- Kevin Loughery (courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association)

They have a ton of individual talent, but all of their guys have come from backgrounds where they were the guy and everybody got out of the way.
They have to move the ball. If they get the defense moving, they will be much more effective in one-on-one situations.
Because they play so much one-on-one, you can put your defenders in position to help early, because you're not as concerned about ball movement.
It's too easy for their oppenents to get into the set that they want because they're not putting enough pressure on the ball. They don't have any shut-down defenders. They have guys with the athletic ability, but not the mentality to do it.
-- Eastern Conference Scout

Eddy Curry: Curry is looking to be the focal point of the Knicks offense with Isiah Thomas now at the helm.

Steve Francis: The Knicks backcourt is extremely crowded, which means if Francis doesn't produce, others will take his playing time.

More fantasy news

With such a boatload of talent on the roster, it's tempting to put a Knicks player or two - or five - on your roster. But that's a problem within itself: That much talent with only so much playing time to go around. Also throw in that Isiah Thomas now runs the show. Let's make it simple. Players to take: Stephon Marbury, Channing Frye, and Eddy Curry. Outside of that, you're looking at backup material due to the crowded situation. Jamal Crawford, Jared Jeffries, Nate Robinson and Steve Francis will be servicable from your bench and could flourish if given the time to do so.

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