Much of the attention focused on the Knicks coaching staff so far this season misses the point. The “will he stay or will he go” drama surrounding head coach-team president Isiah Thomas ignores the basic point that the current Knicks roster is both extremely young and set in place. Because of the expensive long-term contracts of players like Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, and Steve Francis, there is little flexibility to make significant trades until 2009. Instead of speculating about Isiah’s future, a far more salient question concerns what he will do at developing the young players on the Knicks roster. Whether Thomas is around next year or the year after that, Channing Frye, David Lee, and Renaldo Balkman will be.