Madison Square Garden isn't square and isn't a garden. So it's not surprising that the Chairman of MSG, James Dolan, looked hard at Isiah Thomas and mistook him for a basketball mind.

Toward the end of last season the villagers of New York (a rather large village) were gathering at the old camp grounds with torches and pointed sticks and asking for Isiah Thomas' head, or at least his job as General Manager. Dolan, tired of hearing the protests but not inclined to spend more of his company's money (or show an interest in the team), huffed and puffed before demanding "evident progress" from Thomas. In addition, he made the former Piston's guard the team's coach, which bought a cheap replacement for the fabulously overpriced sideline presence of Larry Brown.

Evident progress in this case is that the Titanic which is the Knicks is moving forward toward 36 wins and a playoff spot, as the deck chairs bought by Thomas the GM continue to slide off onto the salary cap iceberg he steered into. A losing record and $120 million payroll, followed by a declaration that the war was over. "Mission accomplished", as someone once said. And now Thomas has a multi-year contract extension to continue to bring mediocrity to the NYC.

The ledger sheet shows some assets, but many more liabilities under Thomas' leadership. Yes, Eddie Curry has developed into an offensive force at center. David Lee is a useful six man type under the boards. Jamal Crawford showed real promise before being injured. Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, and Jerome James are useful reserves.

What Thomas surrounded this group with, while weighing the Knicks down with oppressive contracts is another matter. Stephon Marbury rolls out his playground legend and a shopping cart full of bad shot selection nightly and remains on the roster because nobody in the league will touch him or his contract. Steve Francis is a part that won't fit on an engine that doesn't run. You could combine Malik Rose and Jared Jeffries and still not have half a player.

Penny Hardaway, Jalen Rose, and Maurice Taylor have slunk off into the dark night of the salary cap fog that envelopes the Knicks. Then there is the sexual harrasment suit against Thomas, and his on court confrontations with opposing players.

It's all enough to make you, well, delusional. "If we get in the playoffs and we don't win it all, I'll be disappointed," Thomas said. "But that's just my mind-set. I want to win. I want to win it all the time. If we get in, I'm trying to get it all. I'm not satisfied with just a little piece of it."

The players, particularly Marbury and Curry are happy. They hated Larry Brown, hated being taken off the court for mistakes, hated the long practices. Now they have a coach they can manage. Blue skies, singing birds, happy ever after. At least until the quick first round playoff exit.

The Knicks first round pick this year will go to Chicago (for Curry). There is precious little cap room to sign free agents, what with the money invested in Marbury, Francis, and Rose. The team you see now, absent Francis (who will eventually be given away for beads and trinkets), is the team you will see on the court next season. Progress, such as it is, will be limited to the continued development of the young core.

And so it goes. Stephon Marbury has the coach he wants. Dolan can go back to flying paper airplanes around his office. Thomas, in one of the greatest escapes since Houdini, continues employed. Shovel at the ready, he stands prepared to dig the next pit the Knicks will fall into. The Knicks are dead. Long live the Knicks.