2 articles today.

Marc Jackson narrows the field to three

Sure, plenty of teams seem more than a little interested in Warriors center Marc Jackson. But is Jackson interested in them?

That was the big question this weekend as the Warriors began engaging in the first serious talks with teams about Jackson. Jackson is eligible to be traded on Jan. 19 and GM Gary St. Jean has given every indication that the Warriors will pull the trigger.

While the Heat, Knicks, Suns, Pacers, Blazers, Magic and Grizzlies have all shown major interest in Jackson, because of restricted free agent rules, Jackson can veto any trade the Warriors put together for one year.

Despite the fact the Jackson is mired at the end of the bench in Golden State, he made it clear Sunday that he'll exercise that veto power if the situation isn't right. When asked by Miami reporters whether he'd like to play for the Heat, Jackson said , "No."

"They have Zo and they have Brian Grant and I'm not the type of player that only needs to play a couple of minutes a game," Jackson told the Sun Sentinel. "I'm the kind of player who showed what he can do, who needs more minutes than that. I'm looking for a starting place and a major-minutes role. And I can't play that here with Alonzo and Brian Grant."

The Heat aren't the only team Jackson has no interest in. Jackson said that he'd only approve a trade to three teams. While refusing to name them, he did indicate that the Magic would be one team he'd play for.

A league source told Insider that another of those teams is the Pacers. According to the source, the Pacers have gotten the furthest in talks with the Warriors, in part, because Jackson would like to play there.

Both the Magic and the Pacers are in desperate need of a big man. Should Jackson be traded to Orlando, he'd likely get 30-35 minutes a night. However, it's unclear just how serious the Magic are in landing Jackson. They made several moves in the last few months, including giving away Bo Outlaw to clear enough cap space to make a run at Tim Duncan during the summer of 2003. With Jackson signed through the 2006-07 season, he has a contract that the Magic have been trying to avoid.

The Pacers would likely have to offer point guard Travis Best, who is in the last year of his deal, a future first rounder and the cash to land Jackson -- a steep price for a second-round draft pick who was floundering in Europe just two season ago.

As for the third team? It's doubtful that it's the Blazers or Grizzlies. Like the Heat, they already have big men who would have to platoon with Jackson. That leaves the Suns and Knicks. Jackson shied away from the Knicks this summer when he was a restricted free agent and given that Marcus Camby, Clarence Weatherspoon, Kurt Thomas and Othella Harrington all play down low, they might not suit him either. The Suns, on the other hand, are struggling to find another low-post presence. Tom Gugliotta looks like he'll never fully recover from a myriad of injuries, and centers Jake Tsakalidis and Jake Voskuhl both seem like career backups.

While Jackson is being choosy, he may have to rethink that strategy if the Pacers, Magic or the third team balk at the Warriors' asking price. Jackson wants out of Golden State badly. "Let's just hope it gets done," he said. "The only reason they signed me was to get something for me. So let's get it over with. I'm tired of sitting around."

Whatever the Warriors do, they better be careful. Jackson crumpled to the court Sunday night against the Heat, clutching his knee night and sending a panic throughout the team. Jackson spent several minutes on the floor before getting up and limping away. He returned later in the game and the injury was called a strained knee.


Knicks continue to unravel

It's New York, the media spotlight is hot and no one, now that Jeff Van Gundy is gone, seems to be holding up well.

The team is bickering, the coach is frustrated and now Cablevision chair Jim Dolan has decided to "accompany" the Knicks on their next road trip.

Dolan will take the temperature of New York's floundering franchise before things get even worse. Whether that means the team picks out the guys it needs to trade or that interim head coach Don Chaney will get fired is anyone's guess.

While Knicks players seem to agree that selfishness is at the heart of the problem, no one can agree on who's being selfish. Is it Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson, Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston? Depends on who you ask.

The players still support Chaney, but aren't sure that management does anymore. "It's almost like they are looking over Don's shoulder every day," one player told the N.Y. Daily News. "It doesn't seem right."

It's good how New York is a potential destination for Jackson, but i am not likling how things are going right at this point. Hopefully we can make at least one move that puts the team back on the map. This could be the one, but that has yet to be determined.