PHILADLEPHIA – It was a confusing answer to a simple question, on what he thought of Renaldo Balkman’s debut Friday night in the Knicks’ 111-97 victory over the Nets.

Knicks coach/president Isiah Thomas, who shocked the basketball world by selecting Balkman with the 20th pick over Marcus Williams, said, “He’s a very unique player. When we drafted him, I knew he was unique. I haven’t quite figured out what to do with him. So we let him do a lot of things because he’s capable of doing a lot of things.

But if you ask me specifically what it is he does, I couldn’t tell you. I just know he’s kind of everywhere.

We just let him be everywhere.” Indeed, it seemed Balkman, who scored 11 points with seven rebounds in 15 minutes, was always around the ball, blocking a shot, getting a board, slinking free underneath for a pass and layup. He even drained a 3pointer from the corner after which he did a little dance.

Had it not been for the signing of Jared Jeffries, there’s no question Balkman would have earned minutes in the rotation. Now, with Quentin Richardson having a strong camp, Thomas had given strong hints Balkman may have to fight hard for a rotation spot.

However, Friday night he seemed a lot more into the game than the $30 million man, Jeffries, who started.

Last night in Philly, Thomas tinkered with the starting lineup to give Jalen Rose a chance to start at small forward.

“Oh yeah, I played hard,” Balkman said when asked if he feels he increased his chances of making the rotation.

Indeed, he is an unorthodox type and his college coach Dave Odom actually benched him for his inconsistency last season. But in Thomas’ freewheeling offense, Balkman is sometimes given responsibilities of pushing the ball up the court like a point guard, grabbing a rebound and racing out.

Halfcourt sets is where Balkman’s limited offensive skills become evident.

“[In] college I wasn’t shooting at all,” Balkman said.

Which is why he couldn’t help but shimmy at the Knick bench after making the 3-point shot.

“Some of the guys didn’t think I could shoot,” Balkman said. “I told them I won’t miss twice. It’s something I’ve been working on.” On Friday, the Knicks pushed the ball often and ran just one pick and roll, as Thomas’ free-flowing offense finally was on display.

Marbury had 16 points but no assists. That could be attributable to his aggressiveness from his pre-Larry Brown days, and also a symptom of the way the offense is run.

“There wasn’t a lot of dribbling,” Thomas said.

“We had one screen and roll the whole game. We wanted to emphasize passing, moving, cutting, playing without the ball. We don’t have really a point guard so to speak. We play with push men instead of point guards and we try to move those guys all around the floor.” Overall, Thomas was pleased with the first preseason game, as the Knicks were the last team to play.

“Our guys played like they practiced,” Thomas said. “It was good to see.”