Personally, I could see Thomas running the Knicks' scouting department. Historically, Zeke's eye for talent has been sharp. He drafted Marcus Camby in Toronto and scored with late first-round picks David Lee and Nate Robinson in New York (the jury is still out on Renaldo Balkman, Mardy Collins and Wilson Chandler, while Randolph Morris, a Thomas signee last season, will be playing in the D-League next year). Not that he would accept a job like that. Not in New York, anyway. His ego is way too big for that.

In all likelihood, Thomas will be gone next season and the Knicks will be Walsh's problem. The Bronx-born Walsh will inherit a bloated payroll, a meddling owner, an absurd media policy that does more harm than good and a locker room that measures its morale somewhere between the 2004 Yankees and the guy who directed Gigli.

Good luck to him.

Oh, by the way, the Knicks beat the Heat 103-96 in overtime.

Not that anyone noticed.

Around the NBA

• Riley finally fired back at Shaq on Wednesday night. The former Heat center, who has a history of targeting his former employers after his departure, took a few shots at Miami in The Boston Globe.

"I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys," O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

"It's sad that he said those things," Riley said before the game. "It's sad that he's got to do that. I don't know why he's saying those things ... we sent him to utopia and we were left with the carnage."

Riley also took exception to O'Neal's effusive praise for the Suns' medical staff, which was perceived as a backhanded slap at the treatment Shaq received in Miami.

"That's an insult," Riley said. "We hired two therapists for Shaquille. It's a shame he would insult them like that. That upsets me more than anything."

• USA Basketball thought it found the missing links to a gold medal when it added sharpshooters Michael Redd and Mike Miller to the roster. But while Redd, who shot 45.3 percent from three-point range for the tournament, came as advertised, Miller (38.0 percent) struggled. Still, Miller believes he can be an asset in Beijing over the summer.

"I would love to be a part of it," Miller said. "I can't stress that enough. But there are a lot of guys out there who can shoot. I'm just going to try and go out there, work hard and make it tough for them not to pick me."

• Speaking of Memphis, what do you do if you are the Grizzlies and you secure the No. 1 pick in the draft? Do you take Beasley and fill a position at which you are weak? Or do you succumb to public pressure and take Rose, the Memphis guard who plays the same position as Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton? Something to think about.