If the goal was to return to the NBA playoffs, the Knicks were doomed from the start last season. Latrell Sprewell showed up for training camp with a fractured shooting hand that would cost him eight games and Antonio McDyess suffered a fractured left kneecap that cost him the entire season.

Even though the Knicks improved by seven wins to 37-45, there's little point in simply bringing back the same lineup and hoping for a healthy McDyess. Everyone in the organization knows the Knicks have to take dramatic steps to get better, and coach Don Chaney isn't pulling any punches when he says changes are in the works this summer. After drafting three players last week, the Knicks expect to be very active during the free-agent negotiating period, which opens tomorrow and often acts as a catalyst for trades.

"I think we have to do more," Chaney said. "I think you have to take everything in stages. Right now, we have to work out the European guys and find out if they will be available. If we can get that done, we can go from there to trades and the free-agency market."

First-round power forward Mike Sweetney definitely will be on the roster this season, but the contractual status of second-round big men Maciej Lampe and Slavko Vranes with their European teams is uncertain. General manager Scott Layden expects to talk to Real Madrid today about Lampe's buyout clause, and he's trying to arrange for both to play with the Knicks' rookie league team starting July 14 in Boston.

Regardless of whether there is a need to clear roster space for Lampe or Vranes, the Knicks are expected to be in the market for a free-agent center. They also are bound to consider point guards, as they can buy out Charlie Ward's contract for $2 million.

Scott Layden's plan to revamp the Knicks roster could include Celtics All-Star power forward Antoine Walker.

The Knicks and Celtics have had serious discussions in recent days concerning a deal for Walker, according to a league source.

A potential deal could include Latrell Sprewell, whose contract matches Walker's. Or Boston could be looking to cut payroll by adding several lower-salaried players, including Kurt Thomas. A third team may have to be involved in order to complete the deal.

Walker, who will turn 27 in August, has averaged 20.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in seven NBA seasons. But the 6-9 forward was severely outplayed by Kenyon Martin in the Nets' four-game second-round sweep of Boston. Walker averaged just 14 points and shot 34% in the series.

Since the Celtics' playoff exit, Walker has been the subject of several trade rumors, including one to his hometown Chicago Bulls. While Walker is a talented albeit moody player, many teams have been turned off by his contract, which calls for him to make $28 million over the next two seasons.

Sprewell is also scheduled to earn $28 million over the next two seasons, although his contract includes an opt out clause for July 2004. The Knicks have been looking to move Sprewell since last summer but have found few willing partners.

Beware, Kurt Thomas, Latrell Sprewell and Charlie Ward. The Knicks plan to carry momentum from Thursday night's draft and make some July splashes as free agency begins tomorrow.

In a 2003 free-agent class much deeper than last summer's, the Knicks prefer to execute a sign-and-trade rather than use their $4.9 million mid-level exception. (They may have to use some of that exception for 7-foot rookie small forward Maciej Lampe).

"We have to do more," Don Chaney said. "To be honest with you, we probably will make some trades and that will determine where we are. I'm very positive we will make some trades."

The Knicks' immediate needs haven't changed much since the draft, though it would be absurd to land another power forward. The drafting of Mike Sweetney at No. 9 is enough Antonio McDyess insurance, but it still left the club undersized at the three frontcourt positions.

So Sprewell and Thomas are not safe. The Knicks would love to get longer at small forward and center and maybe add quickness at point guard. Ward will have immense trade value for a payroll-trimming club because of a buyout clause in his contract.

The Knicks are intrigued by restricted free agent Lamar Odom, a 6-9 small forward who would provide much-needed athleticism. It would take a sign-and-trade to make it happen because the Clippers will probably match a mid-level exception offer.

He was supposed to be a top 10 lock, perhaps going as high as No. 5 to the Heat.

He was supposed to be the next coming of Dirk Nowitzki, and surely no general manager in his right mind would let that slip through his hands.

He was supposed to shake David Stern's hand on the stage at Madison Square Garden.

Instead, Polish forward Maciej Lampe wound up shaking Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik's hand Thursday night after the Knicks picked him with the first pick in the second round on the NBA draft.

Now, the player many believed the Heat would select is going to find it difficult just to play in the NBA next season.

Lampe, a 7-0 forward with unlimited shooting range, fell in the draft in part because teams were afraid it would be difficult for him to get out of his contract with Real Madrid, which runs through 2008.

If it makes Scott Layden feel any better, the Knicks president should know that some of the same folks calling for his firing during Thursday's NBA Draft were also chanting for him to select St. John's guard Marcus Hatten in the second round.

In just a few New York minutes Layden regained a small measure of credibility while some fans lost a little.

Layden and the Knicks emerged from the draft as early winners. The selection of power forward Mike Sweetney from Georgetown was a safe pick while getting Polish 7-footer Maciej Lampe, a projected lottery pick, in the second round could be a steal.

"No matter what moves you make you always need a little luck," Don Chaney said. "And we sure could use some. Last year we didn't have any."

The Knicks thought they had struck it rich after the 2002 draft by acquiring Antonio McDyess in a trade and picking Yugoslavian point guard Milos Vujanic in the second round. Neither played last season and with McDyess still recovering from a knee injury and Vujanic under contract in Italy there is a strong chance that neither player will make an appearance this year.

Layden has been around long enough to realize that Thursday's success at the NBA Draft was minor, perhaps even fleeting. And that the real season for Layden begins this week with the start of free agency and the summer trading frenzy.

Knicks GM Scott Layden said he drafted 141/2 feet of center Thursday. But if 18-year-old 7-footer Majiec Lampe, who has a small forward's game, and 7-6 Slavko Vranes are not ready for the rotation, then the Knicks will not have accomplished their goal of getting "longer" in the frontcourt for next season.

If 6-8 Mike Sweetney becomes the opening-night starter at power forward, the Knicks still will be undersized at all three frontcourt positions, including at center, where 6-9 Kurt Thomas continues to masquerade as a pivot.

That is why the Knicks are hardly done with their retooling project. Free agency begins Tuesday and the Knicks will make another play for the Timberwolves' 7-foot center Rasho Nesterovic, who is now an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks also have interest in Alonzo Mourning and Pacers center Brad Miller, but Miller's market value will be higher than Nesterovic's and Mourning prefers to re-sign with Miami.

"They showed extreme interest last summer and I don't see that changing this summer," Nesterovic's agent, Bill Duffy, told The Post.

The Knicks courted Nesterovic, 27, last July but only had their $4.5 million exception to offer. Plus, Nesterovic was a restricted free agent and the Wolves likely would have matched any offer. Duffy believed Nesterovic was worth more than $4.5M and passed on the Knicks' long-term offer. Nesterovic elected to re-sign with Minnesota for one year, thus becoming unrestricted this Tuesday after having a nice year, averaging 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.

He was supposed to be a top 10 lock, perhaps going as high as No. 5 to the Heat.

He was supposed to be the next coming of Dirk Nowitzki, and surely no general manager in his right mind would let that slip through his hands.

He was supposed to shake David Stern's hand on the stage at Madison Square Garden.

Instead, Polish forward Maciej Lampe wound up shaking Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik's hand Thursday night after the Knicks picked him with the first pick in the second round on the NBA draft.

Now, the player many believed the Heat would select is going to find it difficult just to play in the NBA next season.

Lampe, a 7-0 forward with unlimited shooting range, fell in the draft in part because teams were afraid it would be difficult for him to get out of his contract with Real Madrid, which runs through 2008.

After surviving the first round of cuts for the United States junior national team earlier this month, Al Jefferson, a 6-foot-9 high school senior, wrote USA Basketball a letter saying he would not be joining the team.

Instead of playing for his country in a prestigious international competition against top-flight opponents, Jefferson chose to play for his Nike-sponsored summer traveling team. Jefferson, one of the top ? if not the top ? high school seniors in the country, will play at Nike's all-American camp in Indianapolis in July and help his Amateur Athletic Union team defend the national championship it won last summer.

So while the junior national team practiced this week under the eyes of top college coaches at the American Airlines Center ? where the Dallas Mavericks practice ? Jefferson was hoping his high school coach in Prentiss, Miss., would unlock the gym, according to Larry Stamps, Jefferson's summer traveling team coach.

"He had made some prior commitments," Stamps said of Jefferson in a telephone interview. "Obviously, he respects USA Basketball a lot. But we all have to make tough decisions sometime in our life."

Basketball's changing culture, and its focus on self-interest, has undermined the junior national team and the Pan American team.

The biggest upset of the NBA draft might have been that all three picks made by Knicks general manager Scott Layden received cheers instead of the customary boos. Instead of trading for a young veteran, Layden began to lay the foundation for the future by taking forwards Mike Sweetney (No. 9) and Maciej Lampe (No. 30) and center Slavko Vranes (No. 39).

Layden had reason to feel good about the draft, but no one in the organization was happier than European scout Kevin Wilson, who was stunned that Lampe, a projected lottery pick, fell to the Knicks with the first pick of the second round. Lampe was chosen later than expected because of a contractual problem with Real Madrid, the Spanish team that owns his rights.

"Kevin was bouncing off the walls last night," Layden said Friday at a Madison Square Garden news conference to introduce the newest Knicks.

The Knicks considered taking Lampe with their lottery pick but went the safe route with Sweetney because of the uncertainty regarding a buyout clause in Lampe's contract. To their surprise, even teams with late first-round picks and little hope of hitting a home run passed on Lampe. Possibly, teams with lower picks didn't have enough information because they didn't expect Lampe to be available.

"It is kind of a mystery why some of these teams passed on him," Wilson said. "The only thing that makes sense is that this was a draft that was addressed toward needs rather than best player available ... Maybe they were afraid of how much potential he had. Maybe people were pinching themselves and saying, 'Ah, this guy can't be that good. I think we're overselling him."'

The Knicks could be looking at a new starting power forward come fall, and we're not talking about Antonio McDyess.

When the Knicks introduced Mike Sweetney yesterday at the Garden, Don Chaney ranked his new No.1 pick ahead of incumbents Othella Harrington and Clarence Weatherspoon in the one area in which his team needs vast improvement: scoring in the low post.

"If you look at the team from last year, not counting McDyess, we really didn't have guys who were really post-up players," Chaney said. "So to me, it's hard to compare. Most of our power forwards were guys who played away from the basket. I think (Sweetney) can play very well with his back to the basket."

One word of caution before you pencil the Georgetown product into the starting lineup: Last summer, Chaney also predicted rookie Frank Williams would challenge for the starting point guard position. That never happened.

"I think he'll surprise a lot of people, in terms of his ability to score down low," Chaney said of Sweetney, taken No. 9 overall. "I'm not saying he's a Larry Johnson. But Larry was undersized and he scored on big guys. I think (Sweetney's) versatility in the low post, with his different variety of shots ... I think he'll be very productive."