We don’t know exactly what happened in the SUV, but Stephon Marbury is again on trial for his questionable behavior. It’s been a long summer for the unpredictable Knicks playmaker. The man selected to captain this comeback is only adding to the organization’s bad reputation.

The roster will be modified again before the season tips off.

Perhaps it’s time for Marbury to be shipped out? You tell me. Are the events of the last few months enough to warrant a change?

I’m not hearing a lot of raves from within the organization after his recent performances, but Isiah Thomas has never once withheld support. There was some tough love dealt early on last season when he parked a sulking Marbury on the bench a couple of times. Even then, it was clear nothing was going to change.

Marbury appears to be making a serious attempt to be a humanitarian. He’s pledged millions. He’s giving away shoes. The only problem is, these other shenanigans keep overshadowing the genuine effort Marbury is making to change needy communities well beyond Coney Island.

I’m not saying trade him. I’m not saying keep him. I’m just wondering how fans are feeling about a player who was getting nothing but praise a couple of months ago.

• Dan Dickau might actually wind up in training camp with the Knicks next month. His agent, Mark Bartlestein, indicated this evening that is the plan at this point. “Our expectation is to be there,” he said. Dan is planning right now to go in and compete for a spot in the rotation.” He appears to be a long shot with Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Mardy Collins and Nate Robinson all vying for backcourt minutes and the Knicks needing to pare an oversized roster. A buyout was apparently not discussed when Bartlestein and Thomas spoke earlier in the week. Dickau is in the final year of his contract and has $2.8 million coming. “Isiah wants to look at him,” Bartlestein said. “We have a great relationship, and Isiah understands Dan’s misfortune and how hard he worked to get back. If Isiah doesn’t have a spot for him, I think he’s going to get Dan to a better place.”

• Is anybody second-guessing the Blazers right now? Have you cracked a Sam Bowie joke? File this note away, when a press release says exploratory knee surgery, the organization is attempting to avoid using the word microfracture for at least 24 hours. It postpones the panic attacks. Let’s hope Greg Oden gets back next season and ends all of the unfavorable comparisons to a failed No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Still waiting to see whether James Dolan flipped open the checkbook and settled before Stephon Marbury got on the stand and started dancing with the judge … kidding.

Not much going on aside from the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment trial.

It seems the Knicks faithful aren’t emotionally invested. And there really haven’t been any headlines generated, so far. I did like the response from a prospective juror who was asked to evaluate the front office performance of  Thomas.

“Can I be honest?” he said. “The team isn’t doing so well.”

Somebody give that man a blog.

I’m guessing everybody is waiting to get back to basketball. For all of you clock-watchers out there, NBA.com has a running countdown on the site. Pretty cool.

To pass the minutes, give me your starting lineup. It should be pretty easy, but there are several options because the Knicks do appear to have depth at every position. So if the season got under way tomorrow do you like Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph and Quentin Richardson?

I’m going with that group.

Perhaps you can figure out a way to get David Lee out there.  Good luck. Or maybe you like Renaldo Balkman  and the extra defense. Chime in.

Isiah Thomas is finally getting a chance to explain away the sexual harassment claims filed by Anucha Browne Sanders, and there will undoubtedly be several tense moments in the courtroom for everyone involved should this advance beyond jury selection.

And there will be all kinds of media attention.

That’s a combination MSG boss James Dolan usually avoids regardless of cost. Ultimately, this case will be judged in the court of public opinion.

I don’t know much about what happened behind closed doors, but I was around when Thomas came on board in 2003 and bristled at the access numerous sponsors had to the players. When the Knicks were in Charleston, S.C. for training camp, Browne Sanders was courtside with a gaggle of corporate folks in tow.

It was a reward for doing business with the Knicks.

There were also sponsors in the locker room after games from time to time. It was an uncomfortable situation. Thomas believes the players deserve a clubhouse sanctuary quickly ended the practice. Even now, there might be a Make-A-Wish kid passing through, but the door remains closed to non-essential personnel.

Browne Sanders used to be in training camp every fall. She used to show up on road trips, as well. It was an odd arrangement for somebody who heads the marketing department. Browne Sanders does have an impressive basketball resume, and every time she sat next to former general manager Scott Layden or assistant general manager Jeff Nix, we all wondered out loud whether the organization was grooming her for a high-profile front office job.

That all changed on Dec. 22, 2003.

Immediate changes left very little doubt who was in charge after Thomas showed up determined to change the culture. There was soon an obvious divide between the basketball and business sides. It was never resolved, and now all of the he-said, she-said details are on the verge of coming to light.

• There’s a Jamal Crawford Q & A on Knicks.com, not a lot of news, but worth a look.

Over the next few weeks you’re going to be reading countless reports of NBA teammates getting together well in advance of training camp to work out and sing campfire songs. I keep seeing dispatches from Portland, where most of the roster was apparently reunited over the last week and scrimmaging on a daily basis.

Does it help?

The additional court time certainly doesn’t hurt, but I don’t recall many postseason regulars like San Antonio or Detroit getting together in the summer to build chemistry.

So don’t worry too much about the Knicks losing ground already.

David Lee, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson and Eddie Curry were at the MSG Training Facility this morning. Stephon Marbury has been in and out all summer. Jamal Crawford is expected in next week. Zach Randolph and Jared Jeffries are supposedly coming in before the end of the month, too.

We’ll see.

It’s good to see Curry is here under the watchful eye of the coaches and trainers. Starting the preseason in top physical condition would undoubtedly lead to big things. Last season, he definitely hit a wall. And then in the last month, Curry got noticeably better as the legs got stronger.

The media doesn’t get to monitor any of the summer workouts, so we have to rely on team officials for second-hand news.

• Did you see Phil Jackson wants no part of a contract extension unless the Lakers move forward this season … to the second round of the playoffs? So if the organization doesn’t start making some noteworthy moves around the league’s trade deadline, assume they will deal Kobe Bryant and blow the whole thing up.

• The sexual harassment suit against Isiah Thomas and MSG gets under way on Monday. It could get messy. Do you think there will be more lawyers or PR executives on hand when the proceedings tip off?

With apologies for the silent treatment, I took a week off to spend time with my kids before they headed back to school. And when the bus pulled away this morning I was hoping to catch up with the Knicks, but instead used the quiet time chasing down a story about Elton Brand funding an expansion team in the ABA.

Here’s the story for local fans that might be interested.

During the downtime, we jumped in the minivan and headed for the Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s not exactly Cooperstown, but there’s plenty of stuff in the museum to keep casual and hardcore fans busy for a couple of hours.

My youngest kept asking me, “Why isn’t David Lee in the hall of fame?” I told him, “David Lee might not be good enough to make the hall of fame.” A raucous debate ensued. I can’t escape this stuff.

At least nobody called me a moron.

There is a fair amount to see and do at the hall of fame, but don’t expect a lot of recent Knicks memorabilia. You shouldn’t need to ask why. We did come across Patrick Ewing’s old jersey. It was missing the considerable sweat stains, though.

I can’t remember ever seeing the big guy in a dry shirt.

And somebody needs to explain the Jerome Williams locker decorated with several of his jerseys. I like the Junkyard Dog as much as the next guy, but does he deserve all that space in the hall of fame?

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas donated a couple of items. The ball is a pretty cool showpiece. We also found a pair of game-worn Asics shoes he wouldn’t be caught dead in today.