All that remains from Kurt Rambis' storied playing career with the New York Knickerbockers is that vintage photo and fond memories of a fleeting contract that today would be worth little more than meal money.

When the Timberwolves coach returned to Los Angeles in December and received his championship ring before a game at Staples Center, the home team honored him with an "Always a Laker" video montage highlighting his playing and coaching career.

But that NBA career began in New York. The Knicks drafted him in the third round (58th overall) out of Santa Clara in 1980. He was cut in training camp, played in Greece and was re-signed by the Knicks to one brief 10-day contract before playing the next seven seasons with the Lakers.

"Highlight?" Rambis said when asked about his best moments with a Knicks team featuring Micheal Ray Richardson and Bill Cartwright. "The highlight was just being with the team. It was fun to be in uniform. It was great to get a bagful of free shoes and warm-ups. To be in the NBA, that was a highlight."

He doesn't remember now ever wearing the Knicks No. 4 uniform, but there's photographic proof of a young, bespectacled Californian gone East Coast for a brief time.

"Pretty scary, huh?" he said.

His 10-day contract ended with a game at Golden State, just down the road from his hometown of Cupertino, Calif.

"That worked out really well," he said. "Just being on the 10-day roster, that was probably somewhere in the $2,500 range. That was an awful lot of money. That was 'woo-hoo.' And that's not even counting per diem."

His team plays the Knicks for the second time in five days Sunday night at Target Center.

Rambis said he will stay with the same lineup -- the two Ryans (Hollins and Gomes) to start, Kevin Love and Damien Wilkins off the bench -- that helped produce Friday's 111-97 victory over the Clippers.

Asked if he has tinkered with the lineup in searching for a unit that can play at a faster pace, he said, "More energy, not necessarily a faster pace.

Hollins started what he finished Friday, staying on the floor with the starters down the stretch while Love watched from the bench. Love played about eight minutes in the second half, when he had no points and three rebounds after reaching a 13-point, 10-rebound double double by halftime.

"I like to give Kevin more time out there on the floor," Rambis said. "He probably needs to be in that 30-minute-a-game range. But Ryan Hollins did a good job."

Love said, "I'm comfortable playing 40, doesn't matter to me."

Asking about playing three minutes in the fourth quarter, Love said, "I was really happy with the guys; we played great in the fourth quarter. There were a couple instances I wasn't particularly happy with myself. I don't think I scored in the second half. After as far as being productive, I was really frustrated. After the game, I was smiles for the most part, but in the back of my mind I was thinking I could have been out there."

Corey Brewer had made more than one three-pointer in a game 13 times in his career now. Five of those 13 times have been in the past six games. Nine of them have come since Jan. 1. He is 26-for-54 (48.1) on three in his last 12 games after going 3-for-8 on Friday.

He averaged 21.3 points on 54.2 percent shooting in three games last week.

"I think his confidence is a byproduct of him shooting the ball more correctly, with better balance than he has had in the past," Rambis said. "He's seeing a positive result and the confidence comes as a result of that."