It is unclear if the new Knick regime will try to trade Stephon Marbury this off-season.  And if the team does move Marbury, it is not certain how much (i.e., how long) of a salary burden they would take back in such a deal.  Marbury has big dollars remaining on the final year of his monstrous contract.

But it does seem clear that Donnie Walsh will not tolerate another year of distractions.  

"Well, I know one thing," Walsh said. "Mike's not going to be the problem. Let's put it that way."

The personality of Marbury, the Brooklyn-born point guard, has dominated the organization since he arrived.  And that has not always been a good thing.  The on-court results have been disastrous since Marbury returned to play for his hometown Knicks.

Walsh wants to see leaders emerge who can help the Knicks progress, a presence the team has sorely lacked in recent years.

"The players should be policing their own team," Walsh said. "And if they can't do it, then Mike will do it or I'll do it with him."

Marbury says he is working hard to prepare for next season.

Newsday reported that once Donnie Walsh arrived in Orlando for the NBA Pre-Draft Camp, he would "be studying prospective general managers more than he'll be viewing his potential draft choice."

Billy King, Mark Warkentien, and Tommy Sheppard were mentioned as candidates.  And Newsday says Walsh promised Bernie Bickerstaff a position in the Knick front office.  

But Walsh denied that he's looking to make a GM hire before the draft.  The New York Post reports that the draft process will unfold with Glen Grunwald heading a team of more than a dozen scouts.

"I haven't said I needed a new GM," Walsh said. "I know there's a lot of interest because I get phone calls. I got people in place. I'm happy with what Glen is doing."

According to a report in the New York Post, the more Knick President Donnie Walsh spoke at the NBA's pre-draft camp, the more it appeared that Walsh would rather trade than use his draft selection, which stands at sixth overall.

"We're going to look at every option," Walsh said. "Trade it outright for a very good NBA player. Trade back for multiple picks. Trade up. There's a lot of different things you do. You explore everything."

The first thing Knicks' President Donnie Walsh did when he arrived at the NBA pre-draft camp was seek out Patrick Ewing, who was disappointed he didn't receive a call about the coaching vacancy in New York, the New York Daily News is reporting.

Walsh wanted to explain the situation and let the former Knick great know that he meant no disrespect.

"That was not any sign of disrespect," Walsh said. "When we were interviewing, we didn't speak to anyone whose team was still in the playoffs.

Ewing is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic.

"Then when Mike D'Antoni and Avery Johnson became available, we zeroed in on them," Walsh said. "They were on our primary list. Then we had another list, but we never got around to that. He would have been somebody we might have been interested in speaking with if it reached that point."

Former Orlando President John Gabriel will interview for the general manager position of the Knicks, according to a report in The New York Post.

Gabriel is currently working for the Blazers.

Billy King, also believed to be a candidate, left New York on Thursday morning for a gig with NBA TV and didn't speak with Walsh about the position.

Some within the Heat organization are worried that Knicks' Coach Mike D'Antoni will try to integrate himself to Dwyane Wade as an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team this summer, according to The Miami Herald.

New York General Manager Donnie Walsh has made it known that he would like to clear up cap space for the summer of 2010, during which players like Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh will all become free agents.

Patrick Ewing is upset at Knicks' President Donnie Walsh after he did not receive a call to interview for the team's new head coach, which went to Mike D'Antoni, the New York Post is reporting.

"There's nobody who is an assistant coach who doesn't want to be a head coach," said Ewing, "unless you've already been a head coach and you're older and you're just putting in hours until you retire. I'm young. I'd definitely want to be a head coach one day. And I'm disappointed I didn't get a call, yeah."

"I think I'm an up and coming coach. I think I'm going to be a good head coach one day. Even if I don't get the job, I felt I deserved at least to get an interview."

The Knicks, Nuggets, Clippers, Supersonics, Suns, and Magic are expected to make a run at Chicago point guard Kirk Hinrich, according to The New York Daily News.

Because the Bulls are expected to take Derrick Rose with the first pick in June's NBA Draft, they'll need to move Hinrich in order to make room for the talented rookie-to-be.

Hinrich shouldn't be too difficult to move especially based on his level of play and moderate contract that runs through the 2011-12 season.

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf believes that one of the reasons coach Mike D'Antoni decided against joining the team was the team's focus on defense, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

"The Knicks told him they loved him, and they rushed him like you rush for a fraternity, and we hadn't made up our minds," Reinsdorf told WMVP-AM (1000) in Chicago. "Is that indecisive? It may be, but this is a pretty important hire. This is a very important hire, particularly the way the Lottery worked out [with the Bulls getting the first draft pick]. I think it's only appropriate that we take our time. He said there was no rush, by the way. Then the next morning he went to the Knicks."

Reinsdorf recounted the conversation during the interview.

"The third thing [during the conversation] was the one knock on you is your teams don't play defense," Reinsdorf explained, recounting his interview with D'Antoni. "He said  'We haven't played much defense with the Suns because of the personnel we had. I did not think this team could defend.' "

" 'If you come to Chicago, the only way I see this wouldn't work out would be if we didn't play defense the way you say we're going to play defense,' " Reinsdorf told D'Antoni. "And then I think that scared him. I think that was the closer for the Knicks."

It has been rumored that Golden State point guard Baron Davis is interested in playing for the Knicks. On Friday there was a report that guard Monta Ellis feels the same way, according to Newsday.

Ellis, 22, could look to explore other options when he becomes a restricted free-agent in July, and a league source told Newsday that the combo guard is intrigued by Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo system.

The only thing New York could offer Ellis is the mid-level exception, that is, if they want to jeopardize getting under the cap before the 2010 season.

If a midlevel offer doesn't work, Donnie Walsh could try to orchestrate a sign-and-trade with the Warriors in order to acquire Ellis.