The Cavaliers have already made their big move at the Deadline which leaves us to watch everyone else scramble around.  Talk about the deals, the rumors, and the winners and losers here.  This post will be updated with all the latest as it happens!

Knicks Acquire McGrady in 3-team deal - 

The Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks have agreed to terms that will expand the Houston-Sacramento deal into a three-way trade that lands Tracy McGrady with the Knicks, according to NBA front-office sources.

The Knicks will acquire McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez from Sacramento, sources said.

The Rockets get Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from New York and Hilton Armstrong from Sacramento to make the salary-cap math work. Houston also will have the right to swap first-round picks with New York in 2011 as well as take on New York's 2012 first-round pick.

Sacramento obtains Houston's Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey and New York's Larry Hughes.

Bucks, Sixers complete a deal

The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to a trade that will send Jodie Meeks, Francisco Elson and a second-round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Primoz Brezec and Royal Ivey, it was reported.

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The latest from the best beat-writer in the NBA?  The Cavaliers have made their list, checked it twice, and now sit in a holding pattern to see who will blink first.  According to Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers wish-list(see below) hasn't changed for the last 72 hours, except for one surprising addition - 

1.  Amare Stoudemire - The Suns' PF is still the Cavaliers #1 target.  The deal has offered and Danny Ferry is simply waiting for Steve Kerr to decide whether or not it is enough.  The Suns, wanting to get the best deal possible, are likely to take the waiting game all the way to the deadline.

Their first choice is believed to be to trade for the Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire, a deal they have been working on in earnest since last week. Their offer is centered around Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson, but would likely include at least one more player and a draft pick.

Despite being prodded by the Cavs, however, the Suns seem willing to wait. League executives report that the extra time is for the Miami Heat to put together a more competitive package. The Heat, who have been courting Stoudemire for as long as the Cavs, are believed to be looking for a third team to help them pull it off.

The Cavs' deal, in conjunction with a potential money-saving buyout of Ilgauskas' contract, could put the Suns under the luxury tax. That is a move that could save Phoenix is excess of $10 million this season.

According to th report, the Suns are waiting, and hoping the Miami Heat can bring more to the table, meaning, a deal that would allow Phoenix to dump Jason Richardson as well.

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More photos » Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP

(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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As the NBA Turns.  It would make for a great soap opera, or better yet, a reality TV show.  The rumors continue to fly and the Cavaliers seem to be right in the middle of it.  After days of maneuvering for Amare Stoudemire of the Suns, the winds of change might be blowing through The Q.  

Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting on Yahoo Sports that the Cavaliers have made significant progress with the Washington Wizards on a deal that could bring Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers.  While that news, in and of itself, is not shocking, the fact that the deal could happen WITHOUT the Cavaliers including J.J. Hickson does come as a surprise.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made significant progress in trade discussions with the Washington Wizards, offering Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamario Moon and a No. 1 draft pick for Antawn Jamison and Mike James, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Some league sources believe this is a deal that is preferable to some members of the Cavaliers’ management and coaching staffs over Amar’e Stoudemire(notes), but Cleveland still hasn’t made a decision on which trade to ultimately make. Other trade proposals that intrigue the Cavs are still emerging on the landscape, but the focus now is on Jamison or Stoudemire.

Washington is still trying to squeeze possibly another pick or young player out of the Cavs, but sources say it’s possible a deal could get done without J.J. Hickson(notes). As it stands, both sides believe they have the framework of a workable deal.

In a lot of ways, that could be a coup for the Cavaliers.  It would bring them the player that most people think they wanted all along and they could do it without trading away Hickson, who has quickly become a favorite of LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the fans.  

While I'm not a huge fan of including draft picks, you have to give a little to get a little, and Jamison could be the piece the Cavaliers are missing - the consummate professional that has proven in the past that he will sacrifice touches and shots for the greater good.  Oh, and he'd make life miserable for opposing defenses.

Stay tuned.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.  When the fire becomes visible, "sources" begin coming out of the woodwork to push their agenda - sometimes making up lies in the process.  The hard part is trying to figure out who is stretching the truth.  Such is the case when it comes to Amare Stoudemire and a proposed trade between the Cavaliers and Suns.

It started earlier tonight when Bob Finnan of the News-Herald published a report that said a source close to Stoudemire  had let the Cavaliers know that he has no interest playing in Cleveland.  

A source said the five-time All-Star center let it be known that he does not want to come to Cleveland.

The Cavs have reportedly been informed of that news and have gone in another direction.

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More photos » Tony Gutierrez - AP

about 1 month ago: West All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire, of the Phoenix Suns, dunks during the West All-Star team practice on NBA basketball All-Star Weekend Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The Cavaliers are going for it.  They should be applauded for it.  They are one of the few buyers in a seller's market - one of the few teams that are willing to take back a contract and add to the payroll.  Kudos to Dan Gilbert, Danny Ferry and the rest of the leadership over at The Q for taking advantage of the situation.  No matter what happens, you can't say the Cavaliers aren't doing everything they can to get a deal done - even if they really don't HAVE to do it.

At 43-11, the Cavaliers don't have to make a trade.  The team is deep and is a solid mix of veteran leadership(Shaq, Z), star power(LeBron, of course) and up-and-coming youth(J.J. Hickson).  They also have the players willing to get dirty(Varejao) that every championship team needs.  I am leaving out guys like Mo Williams, Delonte West, Jamario Moon and Daniel Gibson, of course, which goes right to one of my points about the Cavaliers.  They are incredibly deep, much deeper than last year's squad.  That depth is the reason they can even think about a trade right now, since any deal would likely be based on the assumption that Zydrunas Ilgauskas would get bough out and eventually return to the Cavaliers.

That depth is one reason why the Cavaliers could do nothing by this Thursday and still end up acquiring talent.  I'm talking, of course, about Leon Powe, set to return from the knee surgery that ended his playoff run last season and in many ways led him to the Cavaliers this season.  Sure, there are question marks, and no one knows if Powe will be as effective as his was with the Celtics, but if Powe does come back he provides the Cavaliers with another force inside, a tough defender and rebounder that will allow the perimeter guys to guard the 3-point line.

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More photos » Tony Dejak - AP

Big Z seems to be the focal point of any trade the Cavaliers might make (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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We still have two weeks, and an All-Star Break, before the NBA Trade Deadline and the flurry of activity that comes with it arrives.  For the Cavaliers, however, they are crunching their time frame a bit - so says Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer.

I have been pining for the Cavaliers to make a deal sooner, rather than later, if in fact a deal was going to be made.  Easier said than done, no doubt, since the Cavaliers are hoping to give teams financial relief instead of talent for talent in any deal.  That means that teams are likely to hold out for the best deal possible - a situation that usually goes down to the last minute on Deadline Day.

As Windhorst points out, the Cavaliers take team chemistry very seriously, and will take it into account with any deal - 

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More photos » Matt York - AP

5 months ago: Phoenix Suns Amar'e Stoudemire, right, dunks over Philadelphia 76ers' Brandon Bowman during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Much like the Holiday Shopping season that gets started the day after Thanksgiving, the NBA has a shopping season of their own - culminating in the NBA Trade Deadline.  This season, that date is February 18th. 

The Cavaliers are likely to be major players in the trade market, though the potential of a deal is never a sure thing.  Take 2009 for instance.  There was plenty of talk about Shaquille O'Neal coming to the Cavaliers only to see it crumble at the last minute.  It did end up happening, of course, during the summer, but despite all the smoke a deal never got done.

While the rumors circulating so far this season were rumblings that we have gotten used to in the past - Antawn Jamison, Troy Murphy, et al - the first real salvo was apparently fired last night when Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic reported that the Suns are amping up to trade Amare Stoudemire and the Cavaliers were one of the teams in talks with the Suns.

That shouldn't come as a shock, for a number of reasons.  

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There's a new rumor flying around the NBA involving the Cavaliers.  This one, however, is highly unlikely.  It is being reported in various West Coast outlets that the Golden State Warriors have contacted the Cavaliers about a Stephen Jackson-for-Zydrunas Ilgauskas swap. 

Of course, our friends at Golden State of Mind would love for this to happen.  Jackson is disgruntled and Ilgauskas would give them a low-post scoring threat, as well as some much needed size.

So that begs to question - what motivation would the Cavaliers have to make such a deal?  Why sweat the details?

The fact is, the Cavaliers would have no need to make this deal, unless of course, a guy like Stephon Curry was coming back as well - or Montae Ellis.  I joke, because neither is likely available.

The name of the game for the Cavaliers this summer was to add size.  The lack of a size all over the court came back to bit the Cavaliers during the playoffs and Danny Ferry spent all off-season trying to address it.  Gone are Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, in come Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.  All added size and length where the Cavaliers needed it most.

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