Isiah deals with trades

Link:Isiah Thomas has never let the trading deadline pass without tweaking the roster, which hasn’t always been a good thing. Does the name Steve Francis ring a bell?

With 17 shopping days left, the Knicks’ president has remained relatively quiet, which could be taken several ways. There is a theory that Garden chairman James Dolan will not give Thomas permission to make trades in light of last year’s Francis move and the free-agent signing of Jared Jeffries.

Another theory is that Thomas is somewhat gunshy because the Knicks easily will surpass last year’s win total of 23 and he doesn’t want to risk making a bad trade that would take Dolan’s focus away from the overall record.

And that certainly isn’t a good thing.

With the value of several Knicks, including Jamal Crawford and Channing Frye, having increased this season, Thomas could be in position to put together a package to acquire a player who would enhance the Knicks’ chances of reaching the playoffs in the watered-down Eastern Conference.

There are several lottery-bound teams that may be looking to dump big contracts and rebuild. Seattle’s Ray Allen, Memphis’ Pau Gasol and Boston’s Paul Pierce could be on the move. Allen or Pierce would give the Knicks a go-to-scorer late in games who would flourish when Eddy Curry is double-teamed.

It is unclear if the Knicks have the pieces to pursue an elite player. But it doesn’t help that the Knicks wasted an asset by buying out Jalen Rose’s expiring contract, which in some cases can be more valuable than actual players.

Thomas could opt for a smaller deal, perhaps a backup point guard. Stephon Marbury is resigned to playing with pain in his left knee for the remainder of the season. Francis could serve as a backup but hasn’t played in five weeks because of knee soreness of his own. And there still is a possibility that the Knicks and Francis will negotiate a contract buyout.