Wanted: Head coach for professional basketball team in major market. Experienced applicants only, preferably with at least nine championship rings. Will pay relocation costs for right candidate. Zen Masters encouraged to apply. Send resumes to I. Thomas, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.

The Knicks have advertised this position ever since Isiah showed Lenny Wilkens the door in March, but only now have they become serious about filling the vacancy. Part of that is the nature of the game – Thomas needed to know which coaches would be cut loose by other teams before he could evaluate any candidates. But more importantly, Thomas’s first choice was on the other side of the world at the time.

That would be Phil Jackson, and the Knicks are one of the few teams that could successfully lure the Zen Master out of his tepee and back into coaching. As a former player who was part of the Knicks’ two most recent championship teams (“recent” being 32 years ago), Jackson is obviously attracted to the Big Apple. That’s why even though the woeful Knicks are headed for the lottery, it appears Jackson has winnowed the field of suitors down to New York and, yes, the L.A. Lakers.

Those two weren’t the only teams vying for his services, of course, but Jackson quickly dismissed overtures from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Portland Trail Blazers. He’s been mulling the decision between the Knicks and Lakers for weeks now. So what’s the hold-up?

Perhaps he’s more interested in another job – like one that has yet to open up. A job with a team still playing in the post-season, but whose coach is likely to depart. One that could easily give Jackson that record-breaking 10th championship ring.

Two teams fit the bill. The more remote possibility is Seattle, where Sonics coach Nate McMillan’s contract expires at the end of the season. But let’s not forget about Detroit. With Pistons coach Larry Brown expected to exit at year-end because of health problems, the situation could be tailor-made for Jackson to step in.

Neither option may appeal to Jackson, though. Living in a gritty city like Detroit probably wouldn’t mesh well with his off-court sensibilities. Likewise, Seattle may be attractive in other respects, but the Sonics are bleeding cash and can’t afford his exorbitant price tag.

That leaves the more credible guess for Jackson’s delay: He’s using one team for negotiating leverage over the other. Sadly, it seems the Knicks are the ones being manipulated. With at least two years of rebuilding before New York can contend, it’s hard to fathom why Jackson would be interested in showing up immediately. Additionally, Jackson’s girlfriend is Jeannie Buss, the daughter of Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss. So as long as Phil can patch things up with Kobe Bryant, it stands to reason that Jackson is talking to the Knicks solely as a ploy to squeeze more cash out of the Lakers.

Fortunately, Isiah seems to know this. He’s already interviewing other candidates and has narrowed his list of alternates. There’s no question that making the offer to Jackson is a worthwhile pursuit, even if the odds of his accepting are low, because he’s arguably the greatest coach in history. Knicks watchers just need to be realistic about the odds of this tactic succeeding.

If it doesn’t, Isiah has four solid fallback candidates: Flip Saunders, P.J. Carlesimo, Maurice Cheeks, and Herb Williams. While Saunders clearly is the best of the bunch, he seems likely to take the Cleveland job instead. He’d have the chance to mentor LeBron James and wield more control over personnel than Isiah would be willing to concede.

If that happens, the Knicks would be in position to hire the local boy, Carlesimo, whom Isiah has already started interviewing. I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t one of his players try to choke him? P.J. certainly overdid it with the yelling in his first couple of NBA stops, which is what led to Latrell Sprewell’s chokehold. But having spent the past several years as an assistant with San Antonio, P.J. has learned how to get his point across without being quite so grating.

Additionally, the Knicks’ last two coaches have been unusually laid-back, so it’s time to get somebody a bit more intense. Thomas needs to hire a coach who will challenge Jamal Crawford to play defense and take good shots, get on Mike Sweetney to stay in shape, and demand that Tim Thomas play hard every night. Williams, Cheeks, and even Saunders don’t qualify on those counts, nor do many of the other proposed candidates who didn’t make Isiah’s short list. Carlesimo, however, fits it to a tee.

So by all means, root for Jackson to choose the Knicks, and be overjoyed. But if the Knicks have to settle for Carlesimo, it may not be such a bad thing. For at least a year or two, his tough love could be just what this team needs.

***

Watching the Heat play in the Eastern Conference playoffs has to be absolute torture for Nets fans right now, because Alonzo Mourning is going gangbusters. Unfortunately, it’s a year too late for New Jersey. Now that he’s swapped uniforms, not to mention kidneys, the ‘Zo of old suddenly has reappeared in Miami.

Mourning’s per-game averages don’t seem that impressive: just 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds. But look at his per-40-minute numbers and a different picture emerges: 22.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks. He’s also shooting an absurd 76.2%, and his physical domination in the paint is apparent in his free-throw rate of nearly 14 attempts per 40 minutes.

What’s more, Mourning’s trademark defensive intensity has taken the Heat to another level at that end of the floor. When Mourning isn’t blocking shots, he’s altering them, showing a dexterity that fans in the Meadowlands never witnessed. His play has allowed Miami to weather Shaquille O’Neal’s thigh injury with relative ease.

This was the performance the Nets hoped for when they inked Mourning to a four-year, $22 million deal two years ago. He was supposed to be the missing piece to the championship puzzle. Instead, he was merely missing. It seems unfair considering Mourning whined his way out of town, but the way ‘Zo has played in the postseason, he might become the missing link in a team’s championship puzzle after all. It just won’t be with the Nets.