Knick outcast Shandon Anderson has made his feelings clear that he is not injured and as such will be doing everything he can to keep the Knicks from putting him on the injured list to start the season.

NBA rules allow teams to have twelve active players with an additional three inactive recouperating from injury.  Every team stashes healthy players on this list while the league takes no preventive action.

"By laws of the league, if you're not injured, you don't have to go on the injured list," Anderson said. "So I'm not injured. So there's no need for me to go on the injured list. If I go on the injured list, I'm basically stuck there for the year. "

"Once I get on there, there's no coming off. I'm not putting myself in that situation. The answer is no. If I'm not injured and I'm healthy, the answer's going to be no."

Both the Knicks and Anderson prefer a buyout of Anderson's contract, but the two sides are a long way apart on the dollar amount for a settlement on the remaining $24 million owed.

Anderson said he's "pretty much an outcast. I don't want to be in a situation where I come to work everyday, the mood around me is, when I come in, it's that vibe I feel. People walk by you and don't speak."

Isiah Thomas announced today that the New York Knicks have waived forward Tracy Murray.

Murray, a 12-year NBA veteran, was signed to a free-agent contract by the Knicks on October 4th.

He averaged just 2.4 points per game in preseason play.

If the Knicks were to call, Phil Jackson would entertain the thought of becoming their next head coach.

"I'd have to think about it," Jackson told The Post during his book-signing appearance on Wall Street. "But I don't want to preclude the fact that Lenny Wilkens is the coach and they have a team and they're going forward."

On FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show, Period" last week, Jackson said, "well, if they had a really talented team, I haven't looked at their personnel this year. But if the Knicks were competitive, I would have to look at them. You have to look at a team like that. You say, hey, they've got a chance to win. It's a team you've played for. It's a team you've had a lot of blood that flows toward that direction."

According to Marc Berman's sources, preliminary talks on a buyout have begun between the Knicks and Shandon Anderson's reps.

"To get away from this situation, that's what I want," Anderson said. "Make a move. They're telling me whatever what I do, I'm not going to play."

This after his 4th DNP in 7 pre-season games.

Isiah Thomas announced today that guard Andre Barrett and center Mengke Bateer have been waived by the New York Knicks.

Both players were signed as free-agents on October 4th.

Neither Barrett or Bateer played very frequently during the Knick preseason.

Wally Szczerbiak spends his summers back home in Cold Spring Harbor, cruising around the Long Island Sound on a boat, golfing with buddies at Bethpage Black and training at local gyms.

"I just enjoyed life on Long Island," he says.

His privileged lifestyle would be nearly perfect if Szczerbiak could arrange to live and work in the New York area year-round and play for the team he grew up supporting. That dream almost became a reality over the summer before trade talks between the Knicks and Timberwolves broke down. For Szczerbiak, the deal was like the big fish that got away.

"The Knicks are an exciting opportunity. They've always been an exciting team that I would love to play for. That's home for me," said Szczerbiak, who scored 20 points in the Timberwolves' 102-82 preseason win over the Knicks last night in Sioux Falls, S.D. "But right now camp is going well. I'm happy that I'm healthy and that I can compete at a high level again. I want to help the Timberwolves win the championship."

However, training camp has gotten off to an ominous start. Sam Cassell, upset over his contract, which doesn't expire until after next season, staged a one-day holdout. His name already has surfaced in a multi-team deal for Jason Kidd, a Garnett favorite. On Thursday, Latrell Sprewell criticized Wolves management for not offering him a contract extension.

And Szczerbiak, who missed the first 53 games last season with a foot injury and then returned as a reserve, does not see himself as a sixth man.

"I've made it known that I'd like to start," he says.

Minnesota has some interest in the Knicks' Kurt Thomas, but the T-Wolves turned down an offer of Thomas and Moochie Norris for Szczerbiak because the Wolves don't want Norris' contract.

"That would have been a great move for us," Sprewell said of Thomas, one of the few former Knicks he still keeps in contact with. "He would be perfect for this team. No question."

Frank Williams didn't attend the Bulls' Thursday morning shootaround at the Toyota Center.

"It's an unexcused absence," coach Scott Skiles said. "He'll be fined appropriately."

Surprisingly, the absence isn't likely to affect Williams' chances to make the team.

Combine the glut of guaranteed contracts general manager John Paxson has swallowed with Williams' trade potential?his expiring $957,480 salary is perfect salary-cap ballast?and it's virtually a lock the former Illinois standout will win a roster spot.

Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks desperately wanted to acquire center Erick Dampier.

They offered him the $5 million mid-level exception.  That was respectfully declined.

They attempted to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with the Golden State Warriors, but Isiah Thomas could not come up with the players that would satisfy Chris Mullin.

So instead Erick Dampier was sent to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal.

"We couldn't offer the dollars that Dallas could at that time," Wilkens said. "And we couldn't get Golden State to do a sign-and-trade with us. I thought that he had the experience and that he could be a real good addition to our team."

Moochie Norris and free-agent signee Jamison Brewer are fighting for the backup point-guard job, and thus far, Brewer, who spent last season in Indiana, appears to be beating out Norris.

Because Jamal Crawford can play both guard positions, the Knicks don't need to carry three point guards. If Brewer beats out Norris, there is a possibility the Knicks would buy out the final two years of Norris' contract, worth approximately $6 million.

With centers Nazr Mohammed, Vin Baker and Bruno Sundov all off to slow starts this preseason, coupled with the emergence of Mike Sweetney, it is becoming increasingly likely that Lenny Wilkens will feature a three forward line-up of Sweetney, Kurt Thomas and Tim Thomas.  

All three players are roughly 6-8, so they would surely be undermatched versus centers such as Shaquille O'Neal, but with such centers being a rare commodity, the trio would not likely be defensively exposed on most nights.

"It's a great combination," Sweetney said, "but, I mean, it doesn't matter which big man on this team I play with."

Although Thomas said the Knicks might give up too much height against certain teams, Wilkens was optimistic they could offset the deficit.

"I think if we play good team defense, we overcome it," Wilkens said. "It's not one person. We're the type of team where it takes everybody, and I think that we can be pretty good at it."