"Nate Robinson is without question the big financial winner in last month's trade to the Celtics. He will pocket a $1 million bonus for making the playoffs for the first time in his career.

The Knicks also believe that the trade was a win-win for their club and not just because the locker room is no longer as loud as it once was. The trade of Robinson and Marcus Landry to Boston gave the coaching staff and front office two months to evaluate the talent level of the three players the Knicks acquired, particularly Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens. The other, free agent-to-be Eddie House, is a veteran who once played for Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix.

Walker has proven to be a live body with decent range while Giddens, recovering from knee surgery, is about a week away from making his Knicks debut.

"I really look at it as we have a chance to look at five players," says Knicks president Donnie Walsh, referring to Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez. "That's why we made these deals.""