As fans streamed into the Theater at Madison Square Garden for the N.B.A. draft last night, they were handed orange flyers proclaiming the availability of Knicks season tickets. It seemed like a safe bet that those who passed through the doors weren't buying any on the way out.

A half-hour before the draft, a steady chant of "Fire Layden" sounded through the Theater, and it rose again during a lull. But when N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern stepped to the podium to begin the proceedings, the fans almost drowned him out as he tried to laugh them off.

The chant, directed at Knicks General Manager Scott Layden, overpowered the cheers for LeBron James when he took the stage as the first overall selection, and surfaced again as the Knicks' selection at No. 9 drew closer.

But what the crowd and maybe even the Knicks didn't know was that the ninth pick would not reverse the reaction. When the Knicks chose Georgetown power forward Michael Sweetney, the chant was replaced by a smattering of cheers but mostly stunned silence.

The loudest chant of the night came at the start of the second round. With the crowd begging, "We want Lampe!" the Knicks brought the fans to their feet by taking the Polish 7-footer Maciej Lampe with the 30th overall pick. Lampe played to the crowd as well as Patrick Ewing ever did, acknowledging cheers that only grew louder.