2 articles of interest.

Are the Pacers done dealing?

Six swingmen. Count em. Reggie Miller, Ron Artest, Ron Mercer, Al Harrington, Jonathan Bender and Austin Croshere.

The Pacers picked up incredible depth Tuesday when they shipped Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norm Richardson to the Bulls -- but do they have too much depth?

All six of the Pacers' swingmen could arguably start on an NBA team. Miller will hold down his starting slot and Artest is expected to get the nod at small forward. That leaves Harrington (who's injured), Croshere, Bender and Mercer fighting for minutes. There won't be enough to go around.

That's why Pacers GM Donnie Walsh's work isn't done. He wants this team to make its way deep into the playoffs. Will Indiana pull off another trade before the deadline?

While Kevin Ollie is a serviceable backup point guard to help spell rookie Jamaal Tinsley, you think Walsh wouldn't mind landing veteran like Mark Jackson or Mookie Blaylock to steady Tinsley down the stretch? Even Nick Van Exel's name has resurfaced.

Priority No. 1 will be to try to see what the Pacers can get for Croshere or Mercer. League sources say the Pacers had several three-way trade scenarios in play, but couldn't firm anything up before they had to pull the trigger with the Bulls. Can they pull something off now? It's unlikely, but the Pacers are making the calls.

All things being equal, the Pacers would prefer to move Croshere, who seems to have fallen out of coach Isiah Thomas's favor. While league sources say there is some interest in Croshere, his base-year salary status makes it tough to get a deal done. More likely, the Pacers will make a concerted effort to ship him off this summer when they can trade his full salary.

Mercer is more likely to be re-dealt by the deadline. His contract expires after next season making him more attractive to teams and the Pacers don't really need him.

With all of that said, who came out the winner of Tuesday's trade? The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz says that the move could be great, but it puts all of the pressure firmly on the shoulders of the still unproven Isiah Thomas.

Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune says that this is the best trade the Bulls have made in years. Lacy Banks of the Chicago Sun Times said it may be the worst. We think they're trying to revive that Siskel-Ebert thing.



Will the Knicks come up a little short?

Scott Layden is trying. But in the end, it looks like he might come up short -- just like his woefully undersized front line.

The New York Times delivers the bad news. "It appears that Stephon Marbury will stay put, or at least out of New York. The Knicks' pursuit of another troubled point guard, Denver's Nick Van Exel, also appears to be going nowhere. With the Knicks unable to put together an attractive offer for Van Exel, as well as his teammate Raef LaFrentz, it looks as if Van Exel will either remain in Denver or be traded to Boston.

"In fact, Layden, the Knicks' president and general manager, seems to be getting nowhere in his attempt to better his club. A Minnesota official scoffed at reports that the Timberwolves were contemplating a trade for Knicks point guard Charlie Ward, and the Knicks' interest in Golden State centers Erick Dampier and Marc Jackson also seems destined to go unrewarded."

The N.Y. Daily News and Newsday also are reporting that the Knicks are likely stuck with what they've got until the summer.

Ever the optimists, the N.Y. Post has a slightly different spin. While acknoweldging that nothing was in the works, it hopefully threw out the names of Latrell Sprewell, Marc Jackson and even the Pacers' Austin Croshere as Layden's last gasps.

2 more...

Will the Suns stop the madness?

No, the Suns aren't shopping Stephon Marbury. The same way that the Pacers weren't shopping Jalen Rose. Yes, Suns GM Bryan Colangelo is listening to all offers that come his way, the same way that Donnie Walsh did with the Pacers.

Will Marbury suffer the same fate? That question was perhaps the most hotly debated among GM's Tuesday. Most insisted to Insider that Marbury was basically untouchable. A few weren't so sure.

The Knicks have talked to the Suns, but so far they've rebuffed Scott Layden's advances. But two other teams could put together more intriguing packages for Marbury than the Knicks.

The Warriors are another team that is looking for a big-time point guard. While talk of them having interest in Penny Hardaway surfaced Tuesday, could the Suns pass on a package of Larry Hughes, Danny Fortson and Marc Jackson for Marbury?

The Suns are in desperate need of toughness up front. Fortson would provide that, and they could afford to move Hughes back to his natural shooting guard position and play Penny at the point.

The other scenario involves the Nuggets. If GM Kiki Vandeweghe can't trade Van Exel on his own and decides to pull the trigger on a Van Exel-Raef LaFrentz trade, the Suns might be willing to part with Marbury and Jake Tsakalidis.

While there is nothing but talk going on right now, the Suns have a major decision to make. Most within the organization believe that a backcourt of Hardaway and Marbury won't work. If the Suns could realistically move Penny, they'd do it, but Marbury has much more value.

Ironically, it is Marbury's DUI that complicates things. The Suns don't want the reputation of dumping players every time they get into trouble. (Is that such a bad rep?) They just recently shipped off Jason Kidd. It could be way too early to give up on Starbury.



Is there any hope for Marc Jackson?

That of course leads us to where all trade talk ultimately ends -- with the mysterious Marc Jackson.

The N.Y. media surrounded Jackson Tuesday, but the likelihood of the Knicks making a deal is looking slim to none.

However, the rumors involving Jackson are as hot as ever. The San Francisco Chronicle drummed up some new and old talk about Jackson.

The most interesting is a potential deal that would send Jackson, Danny Fortson and Larry Hughes to Milwaukee in return for Glenn Robinson, Joel Przybilla and the Bucks' No. 1 pick.

Though Milwaukee wasn't on Jackson's nine-team list, he'd certainley get the playing time he's looking for in Milwaukee.

Other talk, according to the Chronicle, has Jackson going to either Denver (ironically also not on his list) or Phoenix. And, of course, there's your obligatory Knicks rumor.

A few things are for sure. One, in addition to shopping Jackson, the Warriors are also working hard to move Hughes and Fortson. Despite the fact that Hughes has played decently at the point, the Warriors are looking for a big-time point guard.

"I think it's coming to the point where if you need a point guard and I'm not getting it done, then, yeah, I would rather play two-guard somewhere else," Hughes told the Contra Costa Times. "I feel like you could only judge me at point guard in two or three years. But if they don't have that kind of time, they don't have that kind of time. I feel like I could have done better. If I'm not here long term, I'm fine with that."

Fortson is a rebounding machine, but also plays the position Antawn Jamison (the Warriors' $90 million dollar man) wants to play.

Two, Jackson is praying he'll be wearing a different uniform Friday. "This is a prison," Jackson told the Chronicle. "As long as I play in a game, I don't care if I go to Europe, which I've already done. It's about playing situations. I want to play for a team that needs help, in scoring and rebounding, and who needs what I can give 'em."