Vin Baker may be have been penciled in for a $3.5M contract, however, the Knicks might still be in the market for another big man to beef up their front court giving them some extra ?Shaq-Proofing."

The Knicks still have a $1.4M exception that they may use to try and land the Keon Clark, the lanky 6?11? center.  This would give them some more height to throw at Shaq in the upcoming battle for the East.

New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas announced today that free-agent guard Jamison Brewer has been signed to a contract.

Brewer, 6-4, 180-pounds, played in 13 games last season for the Indiana Pacers, averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 assists in 12.3 minutes.

He is a three-year player who has averaged 1.6 points, 1.2 assists and 7.9 minutes over 36 career games.

?The addition of Jamison to our roster helps solidify our backcourt,? Thomas said.  ?He is a great passer and defender with outstanding speed and quickness.?

Isiah Thomas arose early to watch the U.S. Olympic team play and he felt as if he had something riding on the game.  In a way, he did.  Stephon Marbury had gotten a pep talk from Isiah earlier.  Marbury had been in a shooting slump, going 2 for 16 on 3-pointers, 6 for 30 overall.

"I told him he was a guy in the N.B.A. who averaged 20 points and 9 assists every night and to remember who he is," Thomas said. "These guys are playing him standing back, letting him shoot. It's an embarrassment and disrespectful to him and where we come from.

"He's better than all those guards. It's like he was in a recreation center and people are backing off him, essentially saying, 'You got no game.' I told him, 'You can't let anybody make you feel that way; in fact, you need to embarrass them for making you feel that way.' "

Marbury responded and had 31 points, the highest total ever for a U.S. basketball player.  He made 10 of 15 shots, 6 of 9 from 3-point range, with 4 assists and 2 steals.

With its back against the wall, the fourth team of American professionals to play in Olympic competition got down and dirty and did the job.

After the game, Marbury cited Thomas' support: "He said, 'Remember who you are: you ain't no buster, you ain't no dude that's out there running around passing and screening.' "

Knick president Isiah Thomas is trying to make the Knicks more athletic, he said after announcing the re-signing of Vin Baker.

"We'll always continue to try and upgrade our team," Thomas said.

It seems his pursuit may take him north of the border.  When asked specifically about the chances of landing Vince Carter, Thomas would not rule it out.

"We have a lot of players that are interested in playing for our team," Thomas said. "I am not in a position where I can discuss players on other teams. However, we are flattered and honored that they would want to play for our team."

Thomas would have to work a deal despite the Knicks' lack of salary cap flexibility.

"I've been known to be creative," Thomas said. "We definitely can put together creative deals here. Our owner gives us the flexibility to do that here. If we need to get creative in a package, we do have the means."

But Thomas repeated that he would not put Stephon Marbury in such a deal.

Thomas also discussed the unsuccessful bid to acquire Erick Dampier.

The New York Knicks re-signed forward Vin Baker on Wednesday.

The 11-year veteran averaged 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 54 games for the Knicks and Boston Celtics last season. He signed as a free agent in March, averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in the final 17 games for the Knicks.

"Vin gave us a solid presence off the bench at the end of last season and in the playoffs," Knicks president Isiah Thomas said. "With a fresh start at training camp with the team, we know he'll be an even more productive force."

The move all but ends New York's chances of landing Golden State Warriors free agent center Erick Dampier on the open market. Dampier is expected to go to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade shortly.

According to ESPN, the Warriors and the Mavericks have agreed in principle to a deal sending Erick Dampier to Dallas.  

Eduardo Najera, Christian Laettner, two future first-round picks and cash would go to Golden State.  In return, the Mavericks would acquire Dampier, center Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau.

The deal cannot become official until trade restrictions on Laettner and Dickau expire later this summer.  Both have recently been acquired so the deal can only be agreed upon in principle now.

Dampier is passing up the Hawks' $50 million offer over six years.  The Knicks and Pacers also pursued the big man.

Dampier averaged 12.3 points and 12.0 rebounds last season and finished third in the league in field-goal percentage at 53.5 percent.

For the last two months, Knicks' president Isiah Thomas has been trying to work a sign-and-trade with Golden State to land center Erick Dampier.  This week Thomas is expected to talk with Dampier and his agent Dan Fegan, in a last-ditch effort to make a deal.

Many sources say that Dampier will not be able to pass up on the four-year, $40-million offer that the Hawks are offering.  Thomas will be trying to convince Dampier to take a mid-level exception, starting at around $5 million per season.

If the Knicks fail to land Dampier, they may be forced to use the sluggish Baker at center, giving them few options for defending against Shaqille O'Neal in Miami.  

Baker is expected to sign within the next two days.

Allan Houston is still re-habbing and may see serious competition from Jamal Crawford for his playing time.  

But the Knicks' deadly perimeter threat is happy that Crawford has joined the club, and he short-circuited a controversy by making his pleasure with the move known.

Houston said he'll be at full strength by the start of training camp and wants to be Crawford's mentor.

"Joe Dumars and John Starks were people I consider mentors," Houston said. "Jamal is in his career where I was, coming from Detroit. Whatever he's willing to take in, I'm willing to help him. I want to do the same thing John Starks did with me. I want to help him become better than he already is, on and off the court."

"My goal has always been to do drills on the court in August," said Houston. "I still have a ways to go, but I'm right where my goal is. My goal is to play in August and I think in a couple of weeks I'll be able to go out and play.

"The key right now is the progression. I'm being very smart so I can be my strongest not now, but when I need to be. To sit out that long and be ready to play at that intensity, you have to build up to that. That's what happened last summer. I tried to come in and go all out without making progressions. That's why I had a setback."

Houston hasn't spoken to Crawford yet but he did make a recruiting call to center Erick Dampier.

Bulls GM John Paxson is still hopeful that he can meet Dikembe Mutombo's request to play for a playoff contender.

Dikembe was acquired in a six-player trade with New York last week.  Mutombo and his agent David Falk let it be known that he wishes to play elsewhere, but he did not threaten to retire.

"I have been in contact with a few teams, but nothing is definite at all," Paxson said. "There's no pressure for us to move Dikembe, and if he stays, he can be a valuable player here. Like I've said before, I won't make a trade just to make a trade. It has to be beneficial to us."

Paxson is having discussions with the Rockets and Nuggets, respectively, about shooting guards Eric Piatkowski and Jon Barry.

Antoine Walker now feels like he has his own team and it wants him.  

And as his first order of business, Walker will start recruiting free-agent center Erick Dampier to come to Atlanta.

"If that's what it takes [to get Dampier to sign with Atlanta]," Walker said Tuesday after he and Tony Delk were introduced.

"I'm going to lobby for him to come here and help us," Walker said. "I'm going to let him know that what we're doing here, he can make better. With me, him and Al Harrington, we can be one of the strongest frontlines in the league."

Walker also thinks the Hawks can make it to the post-season.

"You've got to always set the goal of making the playoffs," Walker said. "I don't want to promise anything. We're going to use this year to surprise people. We want to be competitive every night, with the playoffs as the goal. And once you make the playoffs, anything can happen."

New GM Billy Knight has almost completely remade the Hawks' roster.