"Obviously, if I'm speaking to them, then I obviously have an interest," Larry Brown said of the Knicks to Howard Beck. "But my concern is what's best for my family and if I can do it mentally."

Isiah Thomas landed at a local airport and the two were set to meet to talk about the Knicks' job for the first time in the evening.

Brown, 64, who is coping with a bladder condition, said he had not determined whether he wanted to coach next season or contemplated the challenge of coaching the Knicks. He said repeatedly that the wishes of his wife and children would be paramount in his decision.

"I've got to sit with my family; there's a lot of issues," he said. "You have to ask Isiah what his plans are. But I've got a lot of things happening in the last two weeks that I wasn't prepared for."

There is no ambiguity on the Knicks' side of the equation. Thomas has waited three months for the chance to interview Brown, and he prolonged his coaching search on the mere hope that Brown might be available.

Offering Brown the job is viewed as an almost unnecessary formality. The offer is implied, and the Knicks are prepared to give Brown a paycheck that rivals Phil Jackson's. The Los Angeles Lakers recently signed Jackson to a contract that pays $10 million to $12 million a year.