Isiah Thomas mailed letters to his players in August suggesting that they arrive in New York after Labor Day for informal workouts, which is common for NBA teams. Thomas' plan was to encourage his team to begin building camaraderie while removing the ugly memory of last season as soon as possible.

According to New York Daily News' writer Frank Isola, on the day following the holiday, only four players, including Channing Frye and David Lee, bothered to show up for work, according to a team source. The majority of the Knicks didn't arrive in town until last week.

The lukewarm response to Thomas' letter doesn't mean the players weren't training in their hometowns. Nor does it suggest that the league's highest-paid club was defiantly ignoring its new coach. But for Thomas, who has a "win now or else" ultimatum hanging over his head, the poor turnout doesn't represent a great start.

It also proves that removing Larry Brown from the building is not the solution for all the Knicks' problems. Not by a long shot.

"The first thing I need to do is instill confidence back into the players," Thomas said yesterday. "(I have to) make them confident about what they're doing. Make them smile again. Make them like basketball again."