PRO BASKETBALL : NBA Trade Winds Blow, but Time Running Out

Only five shopping days left in the NBA, and here is a look at the hot air--the trade talk or non-talk that will develop into action or more inaction. The trading deadline is Thursday.

The New York Knicks have at least two trade offers outstanding, according to several NBA executives:

1. John Starks to Dallas for Rolando Blackman (the Mavericks also want a No. 1 pick, which the Knicks refuse to give).

2. Mark Jackson to Charlotte for Dell Curry (the Hornets are pursuing other deals, including ones that would bring them either Pooh Richardson from Minnesota or Rumeal Robinson from Atlanta. And they don’t like Jackson).

The Knicks are not commenting on the potential for either deal being realized, and at least one NBA executive said, “I hate everybody on their team except for Patrick Ewing.”

It must be noted that the executive works for a team that would be in the lottery if the season ended today, so if he hates the quality of the Knicks players, he must despise his team.

But the bottom line is that in trades involving almost every player that they are interested in, the Knicks are only an option. If they make a trade, it is almost a certainty that it will be because the team they trade with could not work out a better deal.

Executives of a number of NBA teams continue to wonder why the Mavericks are making no deals. The answer is easy. It’s called fear.

During the summer of 1990, the Mavericks made two big deals, trading a total of four No. 1 draft picks for Fat Lever and Rodney McCray. The Mavericks lost Roy Tarpley because of violations of the anti-drug program, and now they do not have enough frontcourt scoring to be competitive. They have the third-worst record in the league.

But they’re doing nothing.

One Western Conference executive said of Dallas vice president Rick Sund, “I think Rick’s afraid to make a deal.” Another said, “Rick is paralyzed.”

The Mavericks’ inactivity becomes even more perplexing when you consider that they still have long-term commitments of $14 million to Derek Harper and $8.5 million to Blackman. Harper is 30 and Blackman is 33. By trading one or both, the Mavericks could begin rebuilding and also rid themselves of the salary burden.

Fear, however, often leads to bad decisions, or in this case, indecision.

Neverthless, the Mavericks are talking.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are desperately trying to figure out a way to get Blackman. It will be hard because about the only way the Cavs can clear enough room under the cap is to trade Danny Ferry, who makes an average of $3.75 million a year on a 10-year deal.

Plenty of teams would like to have Ferry, but they either don’t have salary-cap room or, more importantly, don’t want to be responsible for his contract. The only way the Cavs could get Blackman is in a three-way deal. The Miami Heat (Brian Shaw or Willie Burton) is a remote possibility.

If the Mavericks were not scared of their own shadows and had any sense at all, they would call the Knicks and offer Harper for Greg Anthony and a No. 1 pick. They might be surprised at the positive response.

The Mavericks have told other teams they are working on a “big” deal for Harper, which presumably is with the Los Angeles Clippers, who own four No. 1 picks in the next two years. But even the Clippers are tired of dealing with the indecisive Mavericks and are talking about a deal that would send forward Ken Norman to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Jay Humphries.

If that deal went through, the Bucks would need a point guard, so they have magnanimously offered Brad Lohaus for Mark Jackson. The Knicks firmly refused.

The Clippers continue to make overtures to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley.

The latest suggestion is a trade sending Charles Smith, Loy Vaught and two No. 1 picks to the 76ers for Berkley, but the No. 1 picks belong to Cleveland in 1992 and the worst from the group of Seattle, Philadelphia or Phoenix in 1993. The Clippers will not include their own No. 1 picks in the deal.