Money can’t buy happiness, but the Knicks are hoping it can buy an Atlantic Division title. For the first time since Jeff Van Gundy’s departure, the Knicks enter a season on an optimistic note, and they’re feeling that way thanks to the league’s highest payroll.

Isiah Thomas has remade the squad into an offensive-minded, attacking (and yes, overpaid) team that features two flashy guards and some sweet shooting forwards. As a result, the Knickerbockers should be entertaining even on the bad nights.

Yet despite the extreme makeover, Isiah’s Knicks remain deeply flawed. They have an abundance of power forwards but no center. They have too many scorers and not enough defenders. They are “led,” so to speak, by a coach who is basketball’s answer to Muzak. And of course, they have too many guys named Thomas.

But first, let’s focus on the positives. Any discussion of the Knicks has to start with their best and most indispensable player, Stephon Marbury, who was Thomas’s first important acquisition when he took over the team. Marbury is the best in the league at the pick-and-roll from the top of the key, although, oddly, Wilkens ran this play much less when he took over from Don Chaney at midseason. Regardless of the play call, Marbury’s ability to get to the rim creates openings that lead to easy shots for the Knicks’ jump shooters.

Marbury’s penetration skills would make a particularly good complement to Allan Houston’s exquisite shooting stroke. Houston, however, may not be ready until at least December as he recovers from postseason surgery on a knee that has worsened substantially over the past few seasons. Even when he returns, it may be unrealistic to expect 20 a night from him anymore.

Fortunately for Knick fans, Isiah purchased some insurance over the summer in the form of Jamal Crawford. He may have overpaid – a longstanding Knicks tradition – but at least he got somebody who can actually play when he gave Crawford the seven-year, $56 million deal. The leading scorer for the Bulls a year ago, Crawford will have to man the shooting guard spot while Houston is on the shelf, and he’ll also move over to the point when Marbury catches a breather.

Crawford’s shot selection is a major issue – he only made 38.6% from the field last year thanks to his many crazy hoists in traffic – but he’s only 24 and he won’t have to carry a terrible team like he did in Chicago. That low-percentage, high-volume approach might be better suited to a sixth man role, so Knicks fans have to hope Houston makes a healthy return for the season’s second half.

At the forward spot, the Knicks have the solid if unspectacular combination of Tim Thomas and Kurt Thomas. Tim made waves last year by labeling then-Net Kenyon Martin a fake during the playoffs – from the comfort of the sidelines, of course. The irony is that Thomas is the one who has dramatically underachieved during his seven NBA seasons. While stardom isn’t in the cards, he looks poised to have his best pro season after averaging a career-best 15.8 points and hitting 40.6% of his 3-point tries after he was acquired from Milwaukee at midseason last year.

As for the other Thomas, Kurt is the subject of almost daily trade rumors, but for the moment he’s the Knicks’ starting power forward. He remains a steady outside shooter who is great at spotting up on the pick-and-roll with Marbury. He’s also the best defender in the Knicks’ starting five.

Yet Kurt is also the Knicks most dispensable asset, because of the rising star backing him up: Michael Sweetney. The wide-bodied Sweetney is the team’s best rebounder and the one Knick capable of dominating in the low post and forcing double teams. Still a little rough around the edges, especially on defense, he’ll start the year coming off the bench. But nobody will be surprised if he cracks the starting five by April.

The biggest question mark looms at center, where Nazr Mohammed edged out Vin Baker in an uninspiring preseason race. Baker is the better offensive player, but the Knicks have lots of scorers and only one basketball. His slowness getting downcourt leaves New York exposed in transition, and his defensive effort is sporadic at best.

Mohammed, on the other hand, is a shaky shooter, but the better rebounder and the more willing banger. But like Baker, he is a converted power forward who has little impact as a shot blocker. Though even more undersized, Kurt Thomas is also an option here, especially if Sweetney breaks out. In any case, this is one spot Isiah certainly will be looking to upgrade during the season – along with half the NBA.

The other area of concern is the bench, where the Knicks are faced with some gaping holes. With Houston starting the year on the injured list, New York’s backcourt reserves are Moochie Norris, Jamison Brewer, Shandon Anderson, and Penny Hardaway. There isn’t a pulse between the four of them. The one saving grace may be second-round draft choice Trevor Ariza, who has forced his way into the rotation with his defensive energy and open-court athleticism.

The frontcourt is better situated. Sweetney and Baker are both solid reserves, while underrated energizer Jerome Williams, who arrived in the Crawford trade, could end up playing a major role if Kurt Thomas is dealt away.

Running the show, at least for now, is the supremely mellow Lenny Wilkens. While everyone else is pumping fists or screaming at the officials, he looks like he’s watching the opening act at a blues club. But his demeanor does have its positives. Wilkens’s track record in developing young players is unmatched, and his willingness to let Crawford, Sweetney, and Ariza work through their mistakes should help them bloom.

On the down side, his laid-back coaching style isn’t likely to sit well with the fiery Isiah for long, especially with Isiah’s consigliere Mark Aguirre on hand as an assistant coach. The coach’s seat is always hot in New York, so if the Knicks start slow, this could be Aguirre’s team by Christmas – if Isiah doesn’t decide to take over himself.

In the big picture, any preseason analysis of the Knicks is fraught with peril since it’s built on the assumption that the roster won’t change. With Zeke at the helm and owner James Dolan apparently drunk on Isiah-flavored Kool-Aid, that seems unlikely.

Isiah has been working hard to rebuild the team in his image, and nobody thinks he’s anywhere close to complete. Of course, he won’t be nearly as active as he was a year ago because he’s already played most of his cards. He only has three remaining assets whom other teams would find desirable in a trade: Sweetney, Ariza, and Kurt Thomas. The rest have behemoth contracts that make them salary cap poison.

Whatever Thomas decides, the Knicks should be able to claim a division title thanks to some fortunate geography and the NBA’s divisional realignment. The three-time Atlantic Division champions, the Nets, have completely dismantled their operation and will be lucky to get near .500. The other three teams – Boston, Toronto, and Philadelphia – all are in similar rebuilding phases as the Knicks, except none are as far along.

The Knicks don’t have the horses to hang with Indiana and Detroit, and that won’t change no matter how many expensive contracts Isiah acquires. But his spree of acquisitions has at least returned the team to respectability.

The Knicks should be division champs and could even end up in the second round of the playoffs, both of which were unthinkable as recently as a year ago. This team might not bring back memories of Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere, but the Knicks have bought themselves an entertaining team that should make going to the Garden worth the price of admission again.