“He does some irritating things,” said Donnie Walsh, who subbed for Larry Bird as the Pacers’ president last season and has remained with the organization since Bird’s return. “But other than that, in the last two years, there’s nothing I’ve seen from this kid that doesn’t make me think he can be really good.”

It was Walsh, while running the Knicks, who helped Stephenson land in Indiana when he refused to take him in the 2010 draft — not once, but twice, with consecutive second-round selections. Do Andy Rautins (38th pick) and Landry Fields (39th) ring a bell?

Bird took a chance on Stephenson with the 40th pick, and while Walsh would have to say “oops” on that, such was Stephenson’s reputation as a tempestuous presence after one lukewarm college season (at Cincinnati) and all the Born Ready hoopla at Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.

Coming behind Lincoln predecessors Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair — both of whom were disappointing pros for different reasons — Stephenson was also dealing with the growing notion that New York City players were legends only in their own minds.

In a recent telephone interview, Konchalski said: “In high school, Lance’s whole focus was on scoring, on breaking Telfair’s state record, which he did. Now he’s one of the best rebounding and passing wings in the league, he guards multiple positions and his own scoring is almost secondary.”

Would such a transformation have occurred under the dropped ceiling and circus of Madison Square Garden? The answer might be the next question: When was the last time the Knicks really nurtured and retained a good, young player?