Larry Brown claims he doesn’t have a clue about this Knicks roster, which must be some sort of a joke. For the tidy sum of $10 million per season, he should at least pretend he has an idea of the way he wants to go with his new team.

And actually, the Knicks’ coach has an excellent idea who he wants on the floor in crucial spots, and who he wants safely on the bench.

In that latter category falls Jamal Crawford, which must be a shattering blow for Isiah Thomas.

Crawford was Thomas’ first major acquisition in his first offseason, in the summer of 2004. He was supposed to be Stephon Marbury’s backcourt mate for years to come. Thomas went so far as to commit $55.2 million over seven seasons to Crawford, an exorbitant figure for a young player who needed extensive schooling in the pro game.

Now Thomas’ plans for Crawford have slammed head-on into Brown’s vision, which goes something like this:

It’s been nice knowing you, Jamal.

Past coaches might have been willing to put up with Crawford’s mindless play, slapstick defense and puzzling shot selection. But not Larry Brown.

New York Knicks coach Larry Brown reacts during the second quarter against the Washington Wizards Friday in New York.

On Sunday, as the Knicks added another “L” to Brown’s resume, falling, 83-81, to Golden State, Brown decided in the late stages he would be better off with rookie Nate Robinson than Crawford.

That was a slap in Crawford’s face. But he’s not going to be the first or last Knick to get smacked by Brown. A lot of ’em, including Stephon Marbury, have it coming. Because for too long around here they’ve been playing the way they want to play, not the way they need to play.

Brown’s arrival changes all that. He’ll play rookies because they get after it and listen, as opposed to his veterans, including Crawford, who go through the motions and seem to be wearing earplugs.

“They come every single day and play with passion,” Brown said of Robinson and the other rookies, Channing Frye and David Lee. “It might not always be right. But when you don’t have to coach effort, it’s a big step.”

In other words, although Crawford has five seasons of NBA experience, Brown would rather use Robinson, who has been in the league all of three minutes.

“I think we have to figure out ways to stop people first,” Brown said when asked about Crawford’s benching over the final 4:17. “I always figure if you can guard people you don’t have to score as much. I was hopeful we would value the ball a little better. My thing is, who is going to grind it out, defend and have a chance to guard people, and then we’ll move on.”

But in this particular instance, the Knicks needed scoring.

So even against a team that is not exactly the Pistons at the defensive end, the Knicks went the final 6:21 without a basket.

But Crawford has made such an awful impression on Brown, he wasn’t in the mix.

“Right now, I’m not even aggressive offensively,” he said. “So (Brown) probably made the right selection putting Nate out there.”

Let’s be honest. Robinson is not Earl Boykins. He doesn’t have the same range or accuracy from the perimeter as Denver’s mini-point.

He’s strictly a gimmick player who never will log big minutes. Down the stretch, he did little right and had a big turnover in the final 42 seconds.

“I don’t know what people can do yet in a lot of cases,” Brown said. “What I’m trying to get across to everybody is, this is what we value as a group, and this is how we can win games. We’re trying to see who’s on the same page.”

And who isn’t.

“I’m not against it,” Crawford said of his diminished role. “Whatever he feels is going to help us get some wins, I’m willing to do.”

Then, Jamal, you might want to get nice and comfortable in your seat on the bench.