Q: What has the early offseason been like for you?
A: It has been busy from a basketball perspective. We just completed our first round of meetings with our scouts and coaches in evaluating potential draft picks and free agents, and have been bringing in a large number of players for workouts. Additionally I have been watching all the playoff games, most on TV but a few in person, as well as continuing to keep in contact with our players and staff on a daily basis.

Q: What are the priorities for the offseason as you now see them?
A: First of all, it was meeting with all our coaches, players and staff to set the tone for the offseason. We realize we made some strides as an organization since we got here, but we have a long, long way to go before we realize our ultimate goal of winning a world championship. We have now completed our first round of scout meetings, which will prepare us for the next stage, which will be the predraft camp in Chicago in early June, the expansion draft, followed by the draft, followed by free agency. All the while, we have to continue to monitor our players and make sure that they are committed to using this offseason to making themselves better.

Q: With regard to the workouts of potential draftees and the predraft camp, what will you be looking for in a player?
A: Since right now we only have the second round draft pick [the 43rd overall pick], we have to do a lot of homework to see if we can find a player at that spot who can make our team, and add to the base we already have. Keep in mind that an All-Star in Michael Redd (with the Milwaukee Bucks) was taken at that spot in the past few years, so it is not impossible to find a “diamond in the rough.” We will also be looking closely at all the potential draftees, because you never know when an opportunity to improve your team will come along, and you will have to have done your homework.

Q: Would you consider trading to get back into the first round?
A: As we have said all along, we will look at every opportunity to improve our team. So if the right opportunity came along we would consider it.

Q: You also mentioned preparing for the expansion draft. Have you decided which players you will or will not protect yet?
A: No we have not. We are still evaluating and will announce that decision at the proper time.

Q: And speaking of players, what is the health status of Kurt Thomas and Allan Houston?
A: One thing that we said at the end of the season was that we wanted to clear up any health issues with our players as early in the offseason as possible. Kurt has seen several specialists and will have surgery on his finger the first week of June here in New York, and we will update after that. Allan is continuing to rehab his knee, and is looking forward to being back very soon.

Q: Another player who has had a busy offseason by being named to the US Olympic team is Stephon Marbury. What were your feelings on Steph being selected?
A: I think it is great for Steph as a person and a player, and is great for our organization as well. The experience he will gain playing and practicing each day with and against such an elite group will be invaluable to him as a point guard. You only get better by playing against the best. Also, I feel the opportunity to represent your country on a world stage is very special. If you recall, I was selected to the 1980 Olympic team but did not get to go due the boycott, and having missed the opportunity to compete in the Olympics is something which I will always regret.

Q: With regard to free agents, have you started to look at players who will be available as well?
A: We are limited with what we can do because of the salary cap, so we will have to again find players in unconventional ways. That being said, we will use all our resources to get the right players. New York has become a desirable location for players to come to again, which was not the case when we started here in late December. By changing the culture in the organization, we have been able to do some things player-wise that we didn’t think we could originally do, and we are going to try to continue to do that.

Q: Looking back on this past season, what was your biggest surprise and your biggest disappointment?
A: I think the biggest surprise was the support of the fans and the resources that we have to get the job done. People here know the game and appreciate what we have started to do, and that has been very refreshing. The biggest disappointment I would say was not being able to re-acquire Michael Doleac after we had traded him to Atlanta on All-Star weekend and he was then released. I thought Mike fit well in our system and we were hoping he would clear waivers so we could re-sign him, but he was taken by Denver. Those are the gambles sometimes that you have to take to improve the team. We got two very valuable pieces in Nazr Mohammed and Tim Thomas in the deal, and if we could have re-signed Michael it would have been even better.

Q: Why was making the playoffs so important?
A: The experience you gain in the playoffs is invaluable, no matter how short the time is. You have to establish a baseline and reach small goals before you can move on to higher ones, and until you get into the playoffs you have no chance of improving and moving on. Teams don’t go from the lottery to contenders overnight, and by making the playoffs our team now knows what it is like, and will grow through the experience. We have now created a culture where making the playoffs is not just a goal… it is expected. The goal now is to continue to advance further, and I think our guys now understand that. It was also great to bring the playoff atmosphere back to the Garden, not only for the two games against the Nets but also for the games down the stretch of the regular season. Our fans had a great thirst for that type of atmosphere, and we were grateful to be able to give them a taste, with more to come.

Q: You recently went to Detroit to watch a playoff game in person. Why did you do that and will you go to more games?
A: I have found throughout my career that you learn more by experiencing things first hand, not just on television. You see things and feel things and observe things in person that you can’t pick up by just watching a game, and those intangibles make you grow as a person and as a player. Being in that type of environment has only a positive side, and I hope to be able to do even more of it as the finals approach.

Q: Any predictions on the playoffs?
A: (Laughs)… I don’t want to get into the prediction game. I leave that for others. However I will say that any of the four teams left have the ability to win, and it should be a very exciting final.

Q: Lastly, what will your summer be like?
A: After the draft we have several days of Rookie/ Free Agent camp before going to the L.A. Pro Summer League from July 11-17 in Long Beach, California. We are looking forward to seeing some of our younger players like Michael Sweetney and Frank Williams play there, along with whomever we draft. During that same period we will be looking at and talking to free agents, as well as traveling around to see our players who are not in the New York area. It will be a busy summer for us as we look to build upon what we started the second half of this past season.

Posted by TMS:

the BEST thing about what he said was that he's keeping a close track on the players & their offseason conditioning to improve on their games...when was the last time a GM took that type of action around here?

you may not agree w/Isiah's player/personnel decisions all the time, but you have to admit, he's done alot for this franchise in bringing back a sense of accountability that's been absent for a long, long time.

Interesting he was so upset about losing Doleac.. I could see him being a PERECT LLE signing and I would rather have Doleac over Vin Baker any day.