CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Former Knicks player personnel head Ed Tapscott is being asked to build a winner in the NBA's return to Charlotte.

The expansion team's owner, Robert Johnson, and Tapscott have known each other nearly two decades -- since Tapscott's wife worked as a marketing executive for Johnson's Black Entertainment Television cable network.

"I'm looking for him to be responsible for everything that happens in the organization down the line,'' Johnson said Tuesday.

Tapscott's title will be executive vice president, and he will report directly to Johnson. Tapscott expects to hire a general manager by early summer.

He was New York's vice president of player personnel and basketball operations during the 1990s, when the team made two trips to the NBA Finals.

He served briefly as interim general manager in 1999 after Ernie Grunfeld was fired. Tapscott's first-round draft pick that year -- Frederic Weis of France, who never played a game in the NBA -- drew criticism. Tapscott later was fired.

Recently, he worked as a TV analyst for Fox Sports and Comcast Sports Net in the Washington, D.C., area.

The new Charlotte team replaces the Hornets, who moved to New Orleans after last season. The team will begin play in the 2004-05 season and move into a new downtown arena in 2005-06.

Tapscott thinks the influx of international players and the league's financial structure -- including salary cap and luxury tax -- give his team hope of being competitive on the court sooner than past expansion franchises.

"You're going to see (scouts) going to China, to Australia, to Eastern Europe,'' he said. "Because of this new talent base, I think we're going to put together a competitive team from Day 1.''

Tapscott faces the challenge of making Charlotte care about pro basketball after the Hornets left amid declining attendance.

"We want to discuss all the things that are important to making this team part of the social fabric of Charlotte,'' he said. "You must communicate with this fan base, with every element of the fan base, because we compete for the sports-entertainment dollar.''