FanHouse Malik Rose

The 3 PM ET trade deadline in the NBA has come and gone, and while there were plenty of big names rumored to be on the move, few teams actually had the guts to pull the trigger. There were plenty of deals made, however, including one that might have one Eastern Conference team feeling like it's back in the title conversation. A wrap-up of today's events after the jump.

The Dallas Mavericks seem to have found a winning formula: bench Jerry Stackhouse. The Mavs had a 3-7 record the day Stackhouse requested a trade. He hasn't played a single minute since, and the Mavs have won eight of nine games in his absence.

Knowing this, it's not a huge surprise the team has granted him permission to seek a trade elsewhere. At 34, he's not the player he once was, but he can still provide some scoring punch and has a palatable contract that expires in time for the summer of 2010. Hmm, who might be interested in a player like that?

Alan Hahn of Newsday connects the dots and suggests a match with the Knicks, who could send back Malik Rose's expiring deal in return. With a heart condition putting Cuttino Mobley's career in jeopardy and a nagging groin injury bothering Nate Robinson, the Knicks have been playing shorthanded.

Donnie Walsh certainly won't pull the trigger on a multiyear deal to fill a short-term need, but Stackhouse seems like the kind of player who could thrive in Mike D'Antoni's offense not to mention bring some veteran leadership and swagger to the court. The Knicks will be over the cap next year anyway, so losing whatever space Rose's expiring deal brings isn't that big of a deal. The real prize is the summer of 2010, and bringing Stackhouse on board wouldn't change that at all.

There's nothing I enjoy more than trudging my way through pouring rain to huddle under a small tent with people I don't know to wait to speak with people who, as a general rule, want nothing to do with me. But I hold my commitment to FanHouse with too much gravity to stay safe in a warm (dry) bed, so I made the trek to New York City's Union Square for the NBA Tip-Off 08 presented by KIA Motors Basketball Celebration on Tuesday and, with the exception of the weather (and maybe David Stern), it wasn't a disappointment.

Video, and some details, after the jump.

There's nothing I enjoy more than trudging my way through pouring rain to huddle under a small tent with people I don't know to wait to speak with people who, as a general rule, want nothing to do with me. But I hold my commitment to FanHouse with too much gravity to stay safe in a warm (dry) bed, so I made the trek to New York City's Union Square for the NBA Tip-Off 08 presented by KIA Motors Basketball Celebration on Tuesday and, with the exception of the weather (and maybe David Stern), it wasn't a disappointment.

Video, and some details, after the jump.

The Knicks currently have 17 players under contract, two more than they will be allowed to carry into the regular season, so it's clear they're going to do some kind of move. If Isiah Thomas has his way, his next move will make as big of a splash as his recent trade for Zach Randolph. From the New York Post:

If the Knicks are to land forward Ron Artest in a trade this summer - one of their remaining summer goals - they will have to package a couple of prospects.

The one young Knick who could seal the deal is David Lee, as Isiah Thomas ponders whether to make him available for the former Defensive Player of the Year who carries lots of baggage. Lee could be packaged with either Jared Jeffries or Malik Rose to make the deal work under collective bargaining agreement mathematics.

A starting front-court of Artest, Randolph and Eddy Curry would be off the charts, both in terms of talent and off-the-court craziness. Giving up Lee would be a very steep price, especially on the heels of dealing Channing Frye (another talented, young and most importantly, cheap big man), but if it allowed Thomas to unload Jeffries, who still has four years and $25 million left on his contract, it might be something worth considering. And if Thomas was somehow able to convince the Kings to leave Lee out of the talks but instead include a guy like Nate Robinson, well, all the better.