General Manager Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D'Antoni are excited to get their first season with the Knicks underway.

"The thing that excites me is that there is a nucleus of good stuff that we have," D'Antoni said on Friday. "There's enough stuff there where we can win some basketball games. We don't have to go get somebody. It's up to me to figure out how to do it... I would not be excited if I thought there was no way that we can do this. I really think that the talent (here) surprised me. There's a lot of young guys that are very good, and we can do well with what we have. I don't know all who's included, but I do know that I am excited about certain elements of our team and we'll build on that."

Walsh agrees with D'Antoni, and believes that he's the right man to coach New York back into contention.

"We need to show the city that this franchise is for real," said Walsh. "I'm out there, and I've got people talking to me all the time. I'm not sure they were convinced we were (for real). This city has had a great history of basketball, and I grew up in it... This history of the Knicks, when people look at the city, they want the team to play for real. And we've got to do that. The best way to do that is to win the games. I think that they'll embrace a team that does that if they see there's a future, a direction and hope down the line."

With Eddy Curry reporting to the Knicks in poor shape once again, questions are being posed by the New York Post about how effective he'll be in Mike D'Antoni's high octane offense.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade has refuted a report that he is interested in playing for the Knicks in the summer of 2010 when he can opt out of his contract.

The story "was reported wrong," Wade said Friday.

"When they asked me about [Knicks coach] Mike D'Antoni, I said when I played with him in the Olympics, if it was between him and Nate McMillan, I love being on the court with him. Miami is where I want to be," he added. "If I say I like a city, people will say I want to be playing in that city. And that doesn't mean that at all."

Knick president Donnie Walsh had surgery to remove cancer from his tongue only four days after the NBA Draft in June, Peter Vecsey of the New York Post is reporting.

"My doctor says he got it all," Walsh said. "Luckily, it was caught quickly before it could spread. Numerous pre- and post-op scans of his head and neck concurred it had been contained."

Physically, Walsh is almost back to normal.

"It's like I have marbles in my mouth. But you can't really tell there's something missing unless I stick out my tongue."

New York got more bad news on Friday with the news that rookie Danilo Gallinari could miss the entire preseason schedule because of his sore back, the New York Post is reporting.

Gallinari will not be participating in training camp, and while he may be okay by the end of training camp, coach Mike D'Antoni does not think it'd be wise to throw his rookie straight into running after so long off.

"The way we play, a guy sitting for two months without running, I don't want to do that to him," D'Antoni said.

Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni confirmed on Friday that Stephon Marbury is in great shape, the New York Daily News is reporting.

While Marbury is definitely available for trade, the likelihood of a buyout somewhat took a hit with Walsh proclaiming that buyouts are bad management.

"I can only tell you this," Walsh said. "I was doing this in Indiana for a long time and I can't ever remember buying out a contract. I did it through trades. (Buying players out) just isn't good management."

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni is fine with the team's current roster and isn't worried about any moves that may, or may not, be made before the season starts.

"Sometimes the best trades you make are the ones you didn't make, so I'm going with that one," D'Antoni said. "This is who we have. I'm not worried about what if. And again, I would not be excited if I thought there's no way we can do this. I really think that the talent surprised me, there's a lot of young guys that are very good and we can do well with what we have."

Stephon Marbury is one of the most violate players on the team, and as of Friday was still under contract with the Knicks.

"I had Steph, I like Steph. We got along well in Phoenix," D'Antoni said. "I've got no problems with him and he's coming in shape, he wants to play. Why shouldn't I like him? In 30 days if he's in that group and he's rolling, we roll."

According to the New York Post, Stephon Marbury has said that if the Knicks have decided they are going to cut him they should do it now rather than prolong the process.

However, according to the report, with Garden chairman Glen Dolan unwilling to eat the entire amount owing on Marbury's contract, GM Donnie Walsh is giving Marbury a legitimate chance to stick with the team.

"If I'm a distraction and I'm all these different things, why would you want to keep somebody like that?" Marbury asked. "It can't be about the money. If you feel you're better without me, just let me go. If not, let's get down to the business of playing basketball. We shouldn't be talking about me getting waived or not. We should be talking about bringing playoff life back to the Garden like when I got here (in 2004-2005)."

Marbury said he is concerned about becoming a distraction during training camp.

"We need to concentrate on how we're going to win, not whether I'm getting waived or if I'm getting all my money," Marbury said.

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Allan Houston has been re-signed as a free agent.

They also signed Dan Grunfeld, who played for Stanford.

Originally retiring on Oct. 17, 2005 following training camp three seasons ago, Houston is the team?s fourth leading scorer in franchise history during the regular season (11,165) and eighth leading scorer during the playoffs (1,139).

Guard Stephon Marbury is reportedly refusing to accept a buyout from the Knicks, saying that if the team wants him gone they're going to have to pay everything owing on his contract, which is something Garden chairman James Dolan does not want to do, according to a report by Newsday.

Marbury was quoted in Wednesday's New York Post saying, "There won't be no negotiation . . . They're going to give me all my money."  This caused the Knicks to step back from their initial plans to release Marbury by the end of the week, as reported by Newsday.