New York ? Isiah Thomas, you’ve got next.

Next to make chicken salad out of a Knicks roster you’ve completely overhauled in 21â2 years as team president and expect to further retool.

Next on the firing line that Thursday claimed Larry Brown, just as before him it got Lenny Wilkens (despite the party line that he “resigned”) and Don Chaney.

From the front office to the bench, the Knicks belong to Thomas now after Brown’s tenure as Knicks coach ended Thursday less than 11 months after he was hired – although the dispute over what he’s owed has only just begun.

Brown was ousted at a Thursday morning meeting called by Knicks owner James L. Dolan that also included Thomas and Madison Square Garden president Steve Mills (but not Brown’s agent, Joe Glass) because Brown wouldn’t accede to certain conditions to keep his job.

Thus, he leaves behind the worst winning percentage of any coach in franchise history (.280) after one 23-59 season with his hometown team, followed by 40 days and 40 nights of uncertainty after reports surfaced that the Knicks were considering a contract buyout.

At issue now is whether he’ll get the $40 million he was owed on his original five-year, $50 million deal. The Knicks say they owe him $0 because he breached that contract with behavior he said he wouldn’t change, such as calling other teams about trades and popping off in the media.

However, Brown’s contract (about which Glass declined comment) specifies that the $40 million question now goes to NBA commissioner David Stern for arbitration,

Neither Thomas nor Dolan spoke other than in a statement Thursday. Brown could not be reached, and the league declined comment on Stern’s role.

“Sometimes decisions work and sometimes they don’t,” Dolan said in the statement. “Despite the best intentions from everyone involved, this current structure did not work for us and I did not think it was going to improve.”

“For various reasons, bringing (Brown) to the Knicks did not work out the way we hoped,” Thomas said.

Nor, based upon the Knicks’ 85-133 record since Thomas replaced Scott Layden on Dec. 22, 2003, has his tenure as president worked out well so far, despite the franchise’s only trip to the postseason (2004) the past five seasons.

His only stint as an NBA coach, 2000-03 in Indiana, wasn’t considered a success, either, as the Pacers went 131-115 and made three one round-and-out trips to the playoffs.

Brown leaves behind his eighth NBA job (and second in two years) and 11th head coaching job overall. A league source indicated Thursday that Brown could resurface in Charlotte next season to work with fellow North Carolina product Michael Jordan, who now runs the Bobcats’ front office.