With the arrival of Isiah Thomas in 2003 as the New York Knicks’ president, the team took a dramatic turn for the worse.

During Thomas’ reign, the Knicks went a combined 128-200 and also went through Hall of Fame coaches Lenny Wilkens and Larry Brown. Thomas also hired himself, but saw very little success. On April 2, the Knicks brought in Donnie Walsh as team president, who then fired Thomas and in the offseason hired reputable coach Mike D’Antoni to bring in a new era of Knicks basketball.

D’Antoni came into New York wanting to implement his successful “run and gun” offensive system from the Phoenix Suns. On draft day the Knicks picked Italian star Danilo Gallinari, and also signed point guard Chris Duhon, who fits perfectly into D’Antoni’s system.

Making it clear that he is running this team his way, D’Antoni kept both Eddie Curry and Stephon Marbury, two of Isiah Thomas’ key pickups who were inactive for all of the Knicks games so far. Donnie Walsh produced the kind of roster that D’Antoni needed to win, which obviously did not include Curry or Marbury. Even though at first Marbury seemed OK with it, stating that he will do whatever he can for the team, he is starting to lose patience with the situation. As the days go by, Marbury is starting to get more frustrated at getting paid $20 million to sit out and watch.

The season started against the revamped Miami Heat, and the Knicks got off to an extremely fast start. Led by guard Jamal Crawford, one of the new staples of this team, the Knicks held off a late rally by the Heat to win the game. They have since defeated the Bobcats, Wizards and Jazz, and own a record of 4-2.

This team has gone through a ton of dramatic changes and I think they are ready to become a serious playoff contender this season. They have a nice compliment of guards with Duhon, Crawford and the electric Nate Robinson coming off the bench. Quentin Richardson is a prolific 3-point shooter and also has the advantage of having played in a Mike D’Antoni system in Phoenix early in his career.

One of the key weaknesses for this team comes down low, where they are weak at the big man position. Zach Randolph has proved to be a decent scoring option over the years, but he has been criticized for taking it to the hoop at times. David Lee, a youngster out of Florida, has a deep passion for the game and plays every one like it’s his last. Even with this passion, there are times when he will run into better big men in the league.

Overall, this team looks a lot better than last season and they will be ready to make a playoff run this season as one of the big surprise teams in the East. Even with the additions of Elton Brand to the Sixers, Jermaine O’Neal to the Raptors and Allen Iverson to the Pistons, the Knicks will be able to contend. They have already shown early in the season that they will not back down to any opponent. Armed with young, developing talent, they will not blow big leads like they have in the past; D’Antoni just really knows how to coach good teams.

The Knicks will be able to use this new look and will probably gain the sixth spot in the 2009 playoffs. I also think with all these new weapons they will be able to provide a six-over-three upset in the first round over a team like the Raptors or Sixers. Don’t be surprised if within a few years the New York Knicks are competing for an NBA championship.