No doubting Thomas: the Bucks believe moving Tim Thomas into the starting lineup is the first step toward putting the problems of last season behind them. (NBA).

Facing the most difficult decision of his professional career two summers ago, Tim Thomas stashed himself in a Miami hotel suite to choose between a six-year, $67 million offer to become a starter on a bad Bulls team or to return to the contending Bucks for the same money--but as a sixth man.

Thomas thought he had secluded himself from the pressures of both teams to weigh the situation privately, yet unknown to him, Bucks coach George Karl and general manager Ernie Grunfeld had discovered his south Florida hiding place. They showed up unannounced at his door and would not leave until Thomas heard their final sales pitch.

In return for his signature on a contract, Karl and Grunfeld assured Thomas he eventually would become the Bucks' starting small forward.

The Bucks made good on that promise this offseason by trading two-time All-Star Glenn Robinson to the Hawks. The deal makes Thomas a large part of Milwaukee's plans to change a stale lineup and fractured chemistry that contributed to the team's failure to reach the playoffs last season just a year after making it to the Eastern Conference finals.

"Tim Thomas, I've said, is the most talented player in the league who doesn't get any minutes," Bucks shooting guard Ray Allen says.

This season, Thomas, who averaged 26.9 minutes last year off the bench but never had a defined role, should get all the playing time he can handle. The Bucks' hope is that Thomas will find a measure of consistency as a starter that he did not always display as a reserve.

"My big thing with Tim is that his ordinary games have to be 10 (points) and seven (rebounds), not four and four," Karl says. "We've got to get more consistency and focus from him. His off games can't be bad games. Some of the off games he has had here have been ugly."