Scott Layden used last year's NBA draft to get a veteran power forward with the potential to immediately alter the landscape in the Eastern Conference.

It was the type of bold transaction no one believed he'd ever pull off. But Layden rolled the dice - and all he got for his wheeling and dealing were chants of "Fire Layden" and zero games from Antonio McDyess, who missed the entire 2002-03 season with a knee injury.

Tonight that same chant will reverberate inside the Theatre at Madison Square Garden sometime before LeBron James is introduced as the top overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Everyone, including Layden, knows it's coming.

"I'm not worried about it at all," said Layden, the Knicks president.

As the fans are calling for his head, Layden will be sitting inside the Knicks' war room at 2Penn Plaza - and yesterday he promised to be just as aggressive this year and that the results from last year's draft will not affect his decisions.

"That won't change," Layden said. "We're keeping all of our options open. Our only focus is on trying to make the team better. There is no second-guessing about what happened last year."