http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/sports/basketball/30knicks.html
By HOWARD BECK
Published: September 30, 2005
Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas sat elbow to elbow, Brown's starched white shirt
contrasting with Thomas's royal blue, Brown's monotone delivery offsetting
Thomas's expressive charm.


Nearly two years ago, the Knicks hired Thomas as their president, their new
face and their presumed savior. Two months ago, Thomas hired Brown as his new
coach, and the savior title was passed like a baton.

With training camp on the horizon, the two men charged with restoring the
Knicks' faded glory sat side by side at Madison Square Garden yesterday and
presented a united front of vague expectations and unspecific goals.

In a sweeping, 40-minute discussion with a room full of reporters, Thomas and
Brown took turns vowing steady improvement and a result better than last
season's 33 victories.

But they offered no predictions or quantifiable goals. Neither man mentioned
the words "playoffs" or "postseason," and Thomas - who freely forecast a .500
record before last season - offered no sense of what his reconfigured team
should achieve.

For now, the franchise's talking points are basic and modest.

"As I sit here right now, I can't say how many games we'll win or what
position we'll end up in," Thomas said. "We just want to be better than we
were last year."

Over the course of the afternoon, Brown and Thomas repeated that notion in
various forms, never straying far from the script. The Knicks generated a lot
of buzz with a strong draft - Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee were
first-round picks - and bolstered the roster with guard Quentin Richardson and
 center Jerome James.

Yet the Knicks did not acquire a single marquee player, just a marquee coach.
Brown is widely viewed as the their best hope for a quick turnaround after
four straight losing seasons. But he wants no part of the savior title.

"I don't know if that's the case," Brown said. "I think coaches can make a
difference, but at the end of the day, players win games. But I hope I can
help make a difference. I'm going to try my hardest to make this franchise
proud of the team we put out there."

The look and identity of that team will begin taking shape Tuesday morning,
when the Knicks start two-a-day practices at the College of Charleston. They
 will train in South Carolina for at least seven days and possibly nine,
depending on their progress. Their first preseason game is Oct. 15, against
the Nets.

Allan Houston, who has not played in eight months, is expected to be on the
court when camp opens, Brown said. Houston has been training at the team's
practice facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., and is running, Brown said. But he has
not joined teammates for informal scrimmages.

"He told me that he'll be ready on Tuesday," Brown said. "And I'm hopeful
that'll happen."

This could be Houston's last training camp with the Knicks if his balky knees
continue to bother him. He has played only 70 games over the past two seasons
and has said he would consider retirement if he cannot regain his form.

It was not clear what activities Houston would participate in Tuesday, or
whether he would be able to withstand twice-daily practices.

"That's what we're hoping and that's his goal," Thomas said.

If Houston can play, Brown might have to spend the next seven months
 massaging egos. The Knicks return both starting guards from last season -
Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford - and have added Richardson, the veteran
shooter, and Robinson, the rookie point guard. Penny Hardaway is also in the
mix, giving the Knicks six guards.

Among the topics Thomas and Brown demurred on were the starting lineup and
the rotation ("They're going to determine who starts," Brown said of the
players, echoing a Thomas mantra). But there could conceivably be hard
feelings if Crawford is displaced by Richardson, or if Hardaway is squeezed
out of the rotation, or if Houston's comeback prevents the development of
Robinson.

"Well, there's always a danger of whether guys accept roles or not," Brown
said, adding, "To have competition for positions I think is always a good
thing."

Brown preaches sturdy defense and selflessness with the ball but he could not
say whether the Knicks, as composed, can meet his demands. He declined to
offer any analysis of their collapse last season. He would not say what their
present strengths and weaknesses might be.

Brown did say the Knicks' three first-round picks would get a chance to make
the rotation. Even if they do not, Thomas said he will not send his rookies
to the Knicks' new developmental-league affiliate in Fayetteville, N.C.

"None of our guys right now will be in the development league," Thomas said.


Although Brown and Thomas are willful leaders, Thomas dismissed any notion
of potential friction among Knicks leadership. He quoted a philosophy
espoused by his father.

"He said, 'If you and I think alike, then one of us is useless,' " Thomas said.
 "You need different opinions, you need different ideas, you need different
thoughts. We both come from great coaches who taught the game in a certain way.
 I think we both want to see our teams play a certain way and have the type
of people that can play that way, and if we disagree, I think that's healthy."