Larry Brown sounded as if he’d welcome back Tim Thomas with open arms. Thomas won’t be at the Garden tonight, as the Bulls have reached a mutual agreement that he will stay away until traded.

The 6-10 Thomas left the Bulls last week to return to his home in New Jersey to see his wife, who a source says was involved in an accident. The Bulls told him to stay away, but they won’t release him because they feel his expiring contract has trade value.

“He’d be playing a lot of minutes here,” Brown said, regarding if Thomas hadn’t been dealt.

The Knicks haven’t filled Thomas’ spot at small forward. Brown has started four different players at the “3” – Matt Barnes, Malik Rose, Trevor Ariza and Quentin Richardson.