Chris Sheridan: Greetings from New York, where the Al Michaels-for-Oswald the Lucky Rabbit deal has inspired me to begin researching the strangest thing ever to be included in an NBA trade. So far all I've come up with is Scot Pollard. Lots of questions lined up today, so here we go ...

Richard (Melbourne, VIC): Why is it that none of you NBA writers understand the difference between 'compliment' and 'complement'? I can only assume you guys don't because I frequently see the two words confused in chat wraps. Has it gotten to a point where journalism students need to also take a minor in English? I thought I might just send this comment to you, given that you displayed ostensible pride in your literacy skills in your very first chat. Then of course there are your colleagues (such as Chad Ford) who frequently confuse 'they're', 'their', and 'there'. Do you guys need editors for your chat sessions too?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: It's pretty early in the morning over there to be up worrying about our English, isn't it Richard? Were you one of the Aussie fans who chanted "Carter is a Wanker" at Vince during that pre-Olympic US-Australia game in Melbourne in 2000? What a strange game. Carter collided with a ref and broke the guy's elbow, and a woman who had worked the opening US-Australia women's game was brought back to work the men's game. Also, Richard, you've picked a heck of a time to deride the editing abilities of the chat folk. Did you know today is Chatgirl's final day? That means in Australia, where it's already tomorrow, Chat Girl is already embarked on her new career.

Andy (Detroit): Are Miles or K-Mart worth the risks?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The risk with Miles is that he's been paid for his potential for 5 1-2 years now, but he hasn't come close to preforming at a level that would justify his salary. That didn't stop the Blazers from bidding against themselves and giving him a six-year deal, and now they must decide whether that was another mistake from the past they need to correct. Miles is a favorite of owner Paul Allen, so there will be some resistance. New York remains willing to do a Penny Hardaway for Theo Ratliff and D.Miles deal, but the Blazers want to include Patterson instead of Darius. Given all the stuff that's being going around Isiah this season, I don't expect him to bring aboard someone with as much baggage as Patterson. With K-Mart, the risk is having all those long-term dollars committed to a player coming off knee surgery and still dealing with some soreness. The knee has kept Martin from practicing much this season, and coach Karl has always liked his players to practice hard. There's a sense from other teams that the Nuggets are a house divided when it comes to their affection for Martin, and no ones quite sure who has the final say in Denver on personnel matters these days.

Sean: What are the Hawks going to do about losing Tyrone Lue for the next couple of weeks? Will they let Joe Johnson take over the position? Will they take a flyer on the artist formally known as Jay Williams? Royal Ivey is not the solution! Thanks

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: They're actually dusting off Tony Delk tonight, showcasing him so they can find something on the trade market _ maybe even a replacement for Lue.

Eric (NJ): Who's Stern going to choose as a replaement for Jermaine O'neal?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: He'll make his selection over the weekend, and I can't see him passing up Gilbert Arenas, who is fourth in the league in scoring and will be one of the faces of Team USA at the World Championship in Japan this summer. Michael Redd is another strong candidate, but Gilbert is averaging 28+ points, for pete's sake.

Ryan (Holliday): What team has the ugliest jerseys in the NBA?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Jazz. Their uniforms are as boring as multicultural day in Provo.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: I'm sticking with the Spurs as my Western pick for now, but I'm also anxiously awaiting the final two regular-season meetings between Dallas and San Antonio, who appear all but locked into a second-round matchup that will allow a weaker team to advance to the Western conference finals out of the other bracket. In the East, nobody touches the Pistons.

Blake (Halifax, Nova Scotia): Any chance that Toronto will move Antonio Davis before the deadline?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Since they are forbidden by NBA rules from trading him to Chicago, the only thing I see making sense is a deal with Dallas for Keith Van Horn, with the Mavs tossing in a litle something extra (would $3 million do it?). Davis would give them a very capable low-post defender to use against Tim Duncan in the second round of the playoffs, then they can leave him on the bench for seven games against the Suns or someone else in the conference finals.

Jack (NYC): Can the Knicks give the Bulls the draft pick they just got from the Raptors instead of their own for the upcoming draft?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: No. The Knicks now have the Spurs' pick and Denver's pick, but they can't get their own pick back because of the conditions they agreed to when they traded it to Chicago. A reminder to Knicks fans: One more win by the Bobcats, and Charlotte moves ahead of New York for 29th place.

Mustafa(FL): Hey Chris, out of all of those NBA Games u attended, who has the most exciting fans?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Auburn Hills, Mich. and Oakland, Calif.

Mike (Memphis): Is the market for Lorenzen Wright along the lines of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit or can we actually get another player for him?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Jerry West is not going to simply give him away, as much as he'd like to move him, if it will adversely affect the Grizzlies' chances to get out of the first round. So there has to be some size coming back, or Wright will be stuck in Memphis another couple months _ still nothing compared to Oswald's stint in NBC's vault.

kwame: newcastle, de: All star game is all about the best players. How can a team with no superstars all of a sudden have 4 all-stars. All star game is not about what the "team" has done from november to february. I'm simply saying detroit doesn't deserve to have 4 all-stars in the game, expecially when there are other deserving all-stars.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Wow, now that's some serious hating on the Pistons. Send us a resume.

fred (L.A): The Clippers are shopping Wilcox for a perimeter playing big. How about Jared Jeffries....

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: With the uninspired way Chris has been playing, the Clips will be lucky to get anything for him _ especially with Elgin Baylor asking for alot in return, as he usually does. At the Knicks-Clippers game at MSG the other night, Wilcox got so abused by Channing Frye under the basket, Sam Cassell came leaping off the bench to scream and point at him. Referee Kevin Fehr saw the outburt from midcourt and hit Cassell with a technical foul, then rescinded it when the other refs told him Cassell was indeed yelling at Wilcox.

Aaron (Dallas): Chris, all the talk the first half of the season has been about the Pistons? Why no love for the Mavs? Avery has won coach of the month honors several times, the team has arguably the same record as Detroit, and they beat Detroit earlier this year by 37 points!

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Mavs are the Pistons' bucket boys.

Victor (El Paso): Will you iron this out for me I'm very confused, do the Bulls get the Knicks 1st pick this draft or the next, or do they have their choice of which one they want?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Chicago gets NY's pick this year. In addition, the Bulls have the right to swap 1st round picks with the Knicks next year.

Gerald(Houston): What potential trades can cure the Rockets woes? Or do you think they should just wait for the lottery

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: I actually liked the Bogans trade from the Rockets' point of view. Their backcourt bench scoring has been nonexistent this season, and Keith can play a bit if he ever gets healthy. Baxter is little more than a big body. I think the Rockets would like to move Stromile Swift for a similar sized player with a little more spunk, but there's anot a whole lot more on their roster that's both healthy and movable.

H.L. (Tallahassee, FL): How do you think a Mavs-Spurs 7 game series will play out in the playoffs?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The home team wins it.

Matt, MPLS: As long as we are ironing out first round draft picks, what is the status of the Wolves. No first rounder for ANOTHER two years?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Wolves owe the Clippers a No. 1 pick from the Cassell-Jaric trade, and Minnesota has 1-10 lottery protection on the pick through 2011. They cannot give the Celtics the pick they owe them until two years after they give the Clips a pick. So if the Wolves give their 2006 pick to LA, they'll keep their 2007 pick (they have to under NBA rules that forbid trading a first-round pick two straight season) and send their 2008 pick to Boston.

Mike (SLC: Boozer, finally playing and will it matter?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Sloan said he's going to give him 5 minutes tonight, so the over/under on when the hamstring gets pulled is 3 minutes.

Mark(Raleigh): Is a Paul Pierce trade inevitable ? If I trade him to Chicago - Hinrich HAS to be a part of it or no deal. Agree ?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Absolutely Hinrich has to be a part of it, along with Gordon, too. An offer beginning with those two would get the Celts' attention, but the salaries don't even come close to matching. That's why I think if a Celts-Bulls trade gets done, it'll be in the summer when the Bulls have all that cap room and can made trades in which the salaries need not match.

RL (NY): Will one of your sportswriters get a hold of Dolan and find out what he is thinking by keeping Isiah as long as he has? Does he enjoy spending $100+MM to compete for last place?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: You have to understand how little the money means to Dolan and his company Cablevision. Every month they get $40 bucks or more from a large percentage of the NY metropolitan area, where they have a cable TV monopoly in most areas. That's an awful, awful lot of money coming in each month, so they give a large portion of it to Jimmy to run the Knicks and Rangers, and he spends it. Then next month, there's a whole new boatload of money to spend, and so on, and so on ...

ROB(NJ): WITH WILCOX AND SWIFT NOT PLAYING UP TO THEIR POTENTIAL COULD ROD THORN TRY AND GET ONE OF THEM??

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: I believe Rod Thorn will take one last run at Wilcox, who has been on the Nets' radar for a while. The impression I've gotten is that the Nets believe teams' asking prices will come down around Feb. 22. I'd like to see them try to fit Reggie Evans into the mix, but Reggie will probably veto any trade at a team already over the salary cap. He blieves he's going to get a free agent contract starting around $6 million per season, and the most New Jersey would be able to offer him would be $5 million. If Evans reassesses his open market value in the next 12 days and lowers his expectations, I think the Nets will go after him.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: That's all for today, folks. Check the site early next week for a recap of every NBA trade made over the past year, with winners and losers declared. It'll help pass the time while refreshing your memory as the days tick down toward the trade deadline.