In his short tenure as the Knicks team president, I like what Isiah Thomas has done, including his first major trade which had the Suns send guards Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to New York in exchange for a package of draft picks, cash and players, most notably Antonio McDyess. This deal makes the Knicks a better team and gives them a legitimate shot at the playoffs this season.

THOMAS' BOLD APPROACH
Since he joined the Knicks, Thomas has made his presence felt and I think the league needs more of his style of management. He has shaken up the team, taken a hands-on approach with everyone involved on the basketball side of the operation and held players accountable while demanding they show responsibility.

In this day and age in sports and in the NBA in particular, you have to make changes to shake things up. Even if some moves don't work out, fans like to see management trying to improve the team rather than just sitting back and doing very little, if anything.

MARBURY RUNNING THE SHOW
When a team gets Marbury (the Knicks are the fourth franchise he has played for), it pretty much has to put the ball in his hands and let him do what it is that he does best -- that being penetrating and creating for either himself or his teammates.

Marbury has had to deal with the knock of being a selfish player, but last season he worked on remaking his image as I saw him go through stretches in games where he just looked to distribute the ball and only took a shot if it happened that he had the ball with the shot clock winding down.

To me, however, Marbury is going to be at his best when he is playing his game -- and that is having the ball in his hands a lot and not being shy about trying to score.

From an offensive standpoint, Marbury has to play his game and it's up to New York's shooting guard Allan Houston and small forward Keith Van Horn to adjust around Marbury's style.

GUIDANCE FROM ISIAH
I think Thomas will have an influence on Marbury's play because Thomas, when he was playing with the Pistons, had very similar talents to those of Marbury, but he did not become a championship-caliber player until he learned to trust the players around him.

That's why I'm sure Thomas will be in Marbury's ear a lot, telling him to make sure he runs theffense so as to get good shots for Houston and Van Horn. In this way, the Knicks can benefit from the offensive abilities of both players.

Marbury paired with Houston provides the Knicks with a top starting backcourt and the two guards along with Van Horn give New York three quality offensive players.

HOME SWEET HOME?
As for Marbury, who is from Brooklyn, a key challenge will be for him to keep all the distractions that come with returning home from interfering with his game.

In Phoenix, he was far removed from friends and family and even though he was a star, no posse of hangers-on surrounded him.

Marbury will need to display maturity in order to avoid the off-the-court traps of playing in New York.

His addition to the Knicks will create a buzz in Madison Square Garden and he will fill some seats and that's exactly what the franchise needs.

PENNY'S WORTH
The 32-year-old Hardaway, a four-time All-Star in his 11th pro season, was coming off the bench for the Suns and was productive.

On some nights he looks solid -- like a reserve who can contribute about 16 points and six assists per game, but at this stage of his career, Hardaway will also have stints where he will go two or three games and offer little production.

He will never again be anywhere near as consistent as he was in his prime, but he certainly can give the Knicks some quality minutes throughout the season and his presence will have an even greater impact if Houston misses some games due to injuries.

DEAL HELPS PHOENIX AS WELL
A year ago, the Suns were a big surprise, making the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference and taking the eventual NBA champion Spurs to six games in the first round of the playoffs before losing.

This season, however, the Suns are going nowhere and they needed to create salary cap flexibility. The trade with the Knicks helps them toward achieving that goal.

McDyess, who played for Phoenix in 1997-98, is coming back from knee surgery that sidelined him for all of last season. The year before that he played in only 10 games. He will be a free agent at the end of this season so the Suns will get a four-month look at him to see if they have an interest in making him part of their future.