NBA Insider with Ken Berger

Time to wrap up the trade deadline, which turned out to be a real dud.

In no particular order, here we go:

· The Knicks were not serious about Vince Carter, and two people confirmed to me that Isiah Thomas’ characterization today of his discussions with the Nets as merely “due diligence” was entirely accurate.
· The Nets never got close to a deal for Carter or Jason Kidd, according to team president Rod Thorn. But that was by choice. Thorn and GM Ed Stefanski were only going to trade one of their All-Stars if they got a high-caliber player back who could give them a better chance of making the playoffs now.
· There were several opportunities for the Nets to deal either player for financial considerations – i.e. draft picks and expiring contracts – so they could clear cap space to rebuild for their impending move to Brooklyn. I’m told the Nets’ brass decided that blowing up the team with two years left playing as a lame duck in New Jersey would’ve alienated the fan base and cost the franchise millions of dollars. That, more than anything, is the reason Kidd and Carter are still on the team. Thorn essentially admitted as much on his conference call with reporters today, when he said: “I would think that we’re saying that we’re not giving up on the season, No. 1, and that we’re not giving up that our team can be a very good team going forward.”
· Another factor had to be Dwyane Wade’s dislocated left shoulder, suffered in the Heat’s 112-102 loss at Houston last night. Wade could be out six weeks, and maybe for the rest of the season, which dramatically enhances the Knicks’ and Nets’ chances of making the playoffs.
· I’m told the deal sending Mike Bibby from Sacramento to Cleveland fizzled this morning, partly because of angst among the participants that it was leaked but mostly because the Cavaliers simply couldn’t come up with matching salaries in a deal that did not include Eric Snow. There were three- and even four-team trades discussed, and both sides were serious. Brian Windhorst, who covers the Cavs for the Akron Beacon Journal, did his homework on this one, so check out his blog at http://blogs.ohio.com/cavaliers_blog/
· One of the people I spoke with today who was involved in several potential deals was surprised that the Clippers wound up not trading Corey Maggette and couldn’t figure out why the Sonics weren’t more serious about trading either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis.
· Unfortunately, I cannot deliver the stunning analysis I promised on the deals that have been completed: Fred Jones-for-Juan Dixon, Alan Henderson from Philadelphia to Utah, and Anthony Johnson going from Dallas to Atlanta for a second-round pick. Thanks to Chip for pointing out that I oversold. I'd give you a refund, but hey, the blog is free.

Good to see all the activity on here the last couple of days, so I hope you check back often.

As the Nets go down to the wire before today’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, it was revealed a few minutes ago that point guard Jason Kidd has been standing on the trading block with a cracked rib discovered recently when he had his sore back examined.

It’s not clear whether the injury, not disclosed until coach Lawrence Frank confirmed a published report in The New York Times today, has affected Kidd’s trade value with respect to the Lakers’ hot pursuit of the soon-to-be 34-year-old future Hall of Famer.

Kidd missed the Nets’ last two games before the All-Star break, and the All-Star game, with what the team described as a lower back strain. When Kidd underwent a CT scan to pinpoint the injury – Frank said doctors were even concerned about his kidneys at one point – the test revealed the cracked rib.

Kidd, who didn't practice today, isn’t certain when it happened, but Frank believes it was at Orlando on Feb. 2, when Kidd was held scoreless in a 119-86 loss after which he “couldn’t even sit down,” Frank said.

“I guess the implication was that it was being concealed, which would be a falsehood,” Frank said after practice today. “The reason Jason wasn’t able to play in those last two games against San Antonio and Toronto, and the All-Star game, was because of his back. Does he have a cracked rib? Yes. But that wasn’t what was preventing him. He’s played with the cracked rib.

“We’re not going to divulge every knick, knack, bruise, bump, if it’s not preventing a guy from playing,” Frank said. “Now he’s in a situation where he’s still sore, both back and rib.”

As I am writing this, Nets officials had no indication that a trade of either Kidd or Vince Carter would happen by 3 p.m. A person outside the organization with knowledge of the team’s trade discussions just told me, “I don’t think anything’s going to happen.”

Carter, clearly sick of the trade questions, sounded like someone who plans on staying in New Jersey – at least through the end of the season.

“Right now it’s just all about finding a way and getting better,” Carter said. “It’s plain and simple, no trickery, no nothing. We’ve just got to get it done, plain and simple. We’ve got 27 games to get it done, and if not, it’s going to be a long summer.”

Carter continued his vow of silence about his contract, dodging a question about whether the Nets put an extension on the table for him as the trade deadline approached.

“Still not talking about it,” Carter said. “We’ll find out when it’s time.”

The Atlanta Hawks have completed the only trade to this point, acquiring veteran point guard Anthony Johnson from Dallas for a second-round pick. According to ESPN.com, Portland has agreed to ship Juan Dixon to Toronto for Fred Jones.

Stay tuned for the fallout and analysis after the deadline passes.

Let's get right to it before I head to the Nets' training facility, where I have a strong hunch I will find out that neither Jason Kidd nor Vince Carter is getting traded:

The Knicks' alleged talks with the Nets about Vince Carter, in my opinion, were probably nothing more than Isiah Thomas doing his due diligence. I don't think the Knicks have near the package of players and/or draft picks the Nets would want. It looks good for the Knicks that the conversation is out in the open, but there doesn't appear to be a serious chance that Carter will hop across the river. One person who is plugged into the Knicks' and Carter's situation wasn't even aware of the talks, which tells you how brief and quiet they were.

The latest on Mike Bibby: The deal with Cleveland was hitting a snag this morning, said a person involved in the situation. The reason? Bruised egos over the leaking of the proposal that would've freed Bibby from Sacramento. That's only one of the many reasons why it's so hard to get trades done at the deadline. A few years ago, Miami's Pat Riley pulled the plug on a trade for Jamal Mashburn because he was so miffed that his secret discussions got out.

It still appears that Bibby will be dealt, and his destination probably still will be Cleveland. If the Cavs can't get Bibby, they've discussed a Damon Jones-for-Marcus Banks deal with Phoenix, as ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan reported here http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=2774443

Check back soon for more updates before 3 p.m., and for analysis and reaction afterward.

After speaking with Jason Kidd tonight before the Nets played the Hornets, I came away with the distinct impression that his mind is already halfway to Los Angeles.

Speaking to a few reporters in a rare pre-game chat that might’ve been his last with the Nets, Kidd said he’s been told the Lakers are the only team he could be traded to before tomorrow’s 3 p.m. deadline.

He sounded not only at peace with the possibility, but genuinely intrigued by it. Kidd noted that unlike the last two times he got traded, when he was in Dallas and Phoenix, he can see this one coming a mile away. He also made a point of saying both the previous trades worked out just fine.

“And if I’m traded to who everybody’s speculating, you know, I think that could work out, too,” Kidd said.

The sticking point has been the Lakers’ reluctance to part with 19-year-old 7-footer Andrew Bynum or Lamar Odom. The Nets need a legitimate post-up player, and the Lakers were believed to be trying to involve a third team who could send them one.

There are a ton of rumors out there, but the deal that I’ve been told is the closest to going down is Mike Bibby from Sacramento to Cleveland. The Lakers, who thought they had a deal for Bibby yesterday, are out of it and have focused their efforts on Kidd.

One package going back to the Kings for Bibby that would match salary-wise would be power forward Drew Gooden and point guard Eric Snow. I can’t imagine Snow playing out West, so if he’s not involved, the Cavs would have to send back a couple of contracts to make the numbers match; Scot Pollard and Aleksandar Pavlovic would do the trick. Anderson Varejao, I’m told, is not involved.

The Nets are still fielding offers for Vince Carter, who just hit the 40-point mark against the Hornets with a minute left as I am typing this. But I believe New Jersey will decide they can get more for him in a sign-and-trade this summer. The Knicks are still on the sidelines.

I appreciate all your questions/suggestions, and I’ll try to address them as best I can all the way up to the deadline. For now, I don’t think the Knicks are doing anything big, but I still wouldn’t be surprised if they made a smaller deal, possibly involving Jared Jeffries.

As for Corey Maggette, I still think he could still get traded, although Clippers owner Donald Sterling apparently has ordered coach Mike Dunleavy and Maggette to put their differences behind them. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein does a good job addressing it in the Daily Dime, here http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime

A couple of trade deadline issues to address before I head to the Nets game tonight, where – who knows? – it could be the last game in New Jersey for Jason Kidd or Vince Carter.

I get the distinct impression that the Kings are deeply involved in trying to trade Mike Bibby, and may actually have had a deal in place that fell apart for unspecified reasons. According to the rumor mill, the teams that seem most actively pursuing him are the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Heat, with Minnesota possibly being invited on board as a third-team facilitator. This site has all the links to the most recent updates and rumors:

http://www.hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

All is still quiet with the Knicks, who apparently will only do something if a team comes to them with an offer Isiah Thomas can’t refuse. Check out http://www.truehoop.com for a link to some interesting analysis on why Thomas should trade Channing Frye.

As for the Nets, it seems as though Carter is becoming a more likely candidate to get traded than Kidd. Of course, there's still almost 24 hours for all that – and more – to change. If the Lakers get Bibby, that would eliminate the most likely – and interested – suitor for Kidd’s services.

I see the sudden flood of comments, trade suggestions, and rumors, and I’m checking them out as we speak. (Or is it, as we blog?)

See you back here in a few hours from the Meadowlands.

With a little more than 24 hours to go before the trade deadline, here’s what we know, what we think we know, and what people who know tell us:

Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas hasn’t so much as made a call to the Nets about Jason Kidd. That’s not surprising; the Knicks can win with Stephon Marbury, who turned 30 yesterday, playing at the level he’s playing at this season. The guy Thomas has always loved is Vince Carter, whom the Nets are said to be even more interested in trading than Kidd.

I found it interesting yesterday during Thomas’ three daily media briefings – morning shootaround, pregame, and postgame – that every time he was asked about the Nets’ situation, he specifically said that he hadn’t called them “about Jason Kidd.” Carter, who still has some explosiveness left, would give the Knicks the scoring threat they so desperately need to complement Eddy Curry.

There’s only one problem, according to a person familiar with the Knicks’ situation: Nets president Rod Thorn would rather cut off both his thumbs than trade Carter across the river to the Knicks and watch him instantly turn them into a playoff team.

When I sat down to chat with Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith at the Garden last night, I was somewhat surprised when he said he hadn’t even made an exploratory call to the Nets to find out what it would take to get either Kidd or Carter.

“The team that we have on the floor is the team that we’ll have on Friday,” Smith said. “At some point, don’t you have to sit and kind of let things marinate? You can’t change for the sake of change.”

I’ll be monitoring a few developing situations throughout the day, so check back later for updates on where Mike Bibby is getting traded (and believe me, he’s getting traded), Cleveland’s possible interest in Kidd, and whether the much-talked-about deals for Pau Gasol and Corey Maggette will get done before tomorrow’s 3 p.m. deadline.

If you hear any rumors you want checked out or have questions you want answered, send them along.

Greenburgh, N.Y. – Despite an erroneous post by conspiracy theorist Alan Hahn – the perfect trait for a Knicks beat writer, by the way – I did not make it to Las Vegas. I can only wish that was me in this photo on his blog.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/blog/

I did stop by the Knicks’ shootaround today to check in with Isiah “Deadline Deal” Thomas to see what he’s thinking with the trade deadline barely more than 48 hours away.

Thomas has been saying all along he doesn’t expect to make a trade – I’ll believe it when I see it – but he made his most definitive statement yet to that effect this morning after practice. All he had to do was make a zero with his thumb and finger when asked to put a percentage on the probability that he’ll make a trade by Thursday at 3 p.m.

“Probably zero,” Thomas said.

I actually misspoke the first time I asked Thomas this question, asking him the probability that he’d make a trade by Wednesday. Later, just to make sure I didn’t give him any unintended wiggle room, I rephrased.

“Is it still zero by Thursday?”

That’s when Thomas gave me the visual to go along with the words.

“The first couple of years we needed to make some moves and we needed to improve and we needed to get better,” Thomas said. “That was part of the job in terms of rebuilding. But I like where we are now. We have a good group, and I think we have not only a good group for the present but I think we have a good group for the future also.”

Don’t misunderstand: If someone comes to Thomas with an unbelievable offer, he’ll do it. So the more accurate percentage probably is 99.9 percent. But if Pau Gasol and Jason Kidd can get traded – and if Kevin Duckworth once got traded at the deadline with a broken leg – then anything is possible. Should be an interesting couple of days.

It figures to be more interesting on the Jersey side of the water, where the Nets will be weighing countless offers for their two All-Stars, Kidd and Vince Carter.

Thomas doesn’t know whether Kidd will get traded – the Lakers continue to be the hot rumor – but he isn’t afraid to say he’d be happy to see the future Hall of Famer leave the division and the metropolitan area.

“I haven’t had a lot of success in beating him,” Thomas said. “He always beat my teams when I was at Indiana and he beats me now. So the less I have to play against him, the better.”

See you back here tonight, when everyone will be wondering if Dwight Howard has a spare sticker to slap on the backboard during one of his dunks.

Some of you may be wondering what happened to Newsday’s All-Star coverage. Delta Air Lines happened to it.

Actually, it wasn’t only Delta’s fault. I spent 11 1-2 hours in JFK on Friday trying to fly stand-by to Las Vegas after having my flight canceled on Thursday. When I wasn’t standing in line or reading Joumana Kidd’s counter-complaint, I was on my cell phone, calling every airline and checking on flights out of every airport I could think of. My bosses probably thought I had lost my mind, but I was willing to go as far as Baltimore or Boston to get a flight. No dice. There was nothing into Vegas all weekend, so Newsday stays home from the All-Star Game in my first year on the NBA beat.

One gripe with Delta, though, and I know I'm not alone. How is someone ever supposed to get on a flight when the airline's policy is to bump everyone farther down the stand-by list and put passengers from just-canceled flights ahead of them? It was sheer lunacy, made no sense, wasn't fair, and made a lot of people extremely angry. Only American from now on for me.

Somehow I knew David Lee would win MVP of the rookie-sophomore game with me not there. At about the time he was handed the trophy, I was in a cab heading home, having given up on flying.

The readers clearly are the biggest losers here. My plan was to win enough money Thursday night to buy a PDA so I could blog right from the craps table. Seriously, despite the letdown of experiencing All-Star weekend with no blog to keep you going, this is no time to abandon me. I’ll be posting stuff all week on trade rumors and the like with the trade deadline coming up on Thursday.

In the meantime, drop me a line and let me know what kind of stuff you’re looking to read on this blog. And if you have any travel horror stories to share, post them, too. I feel your pain.

The blog is back tonight from Continental Airlines Arena, where a snowstorm and Eva Longoria are breezing through.

I didn’t speak with Eva, who is married to Spurs All-Star Tony Parker. But I did speak with Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who doesn’t seem like a guy wondering whether he’s going to be the second person to get divorced from Jason Kidd this season in a potential trade before the Feb. 22 deadline.

Kidd is out tonight against San Antonio and tomorrow in Toronto with a lower back strain that might keep him out of the All-Star Game in Las Vegas, too. Kidd is expected back for the Nets’ first game after the break next Wednesday, but said in a statement he hasn’t made a decision on All-Star.

The real question is, how long after the All-Star break will Kidd still be a Net?

Anyway, Frank wouldn’t bite on questions about whether he’s eager to see how rookie point guard Marcus Williams runs the team in Kidd’s absence. Williams looks like the real deal, and even though Kidd is a future Hall of Famer, Williams’ presence could make the Nets feel more comfortable about trading Kidd than they otherwise might be.

“I don’t want to make it about Marcus Williams, because you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player who’s not playing the next two games,” Frank said. “That’s not even fair to Marcus.”

But isn’t he curious to see, even for just a couple of games, how the team responds with Williams replacing Kidd – which, let’s face it, is going to happen one of these days no matter what?

“If he plays well, I don’t think you can overestimate it, and if he struggles …,” Frank said, without finishing the sentence. “Look, we don’t need to put any more pressure on him than there already is. Marcus has made really good strides. … It’s not like I’m interested to see Marcus respond in a starting position. I’m more interested to see how our team responds to being without its captain.”

Based on the fact that the Nets started the second quarter 0-for-13 from the field and were scoreless in the period until Vince Carter hit a technical foul shot with 5:29 left to snap a 20-0 run by San Antonio tonight, maybe they shouldn't be in any rush to trade the Hall of Fame point guard just yet.

The Nets are doing what they’re supposed to do, which first and foremost is to see what could be had for Carter, who can opt out of his contract next summer. Kidd’s name has come up in some trade talks, most notably with the Lakers, but nothing has come close to piquing the Nets’ interest.

I spoke recently with someone plugged into the Nets’ situation who said they’re still very conflicted about whether they have enough – once Richard Jefferson comes back from ankle surgery – to make a run. There’s not much time to figure it out, with only one more game – next Wednesday at home against the Hornets – before the deadline.

My firm belief is that if they’re not sure what to do with Kidd or Carter, they’ll stand pat. Nonetheless, I’m a lot more interested than Frank, my fellow Indiana University grad, in seeing just how much Kidd will be missed with Williams in his place.

On another note, if Kidd decides to ask out of the All-Star Game to rest his back, he’s technically required to fly to Las Vegas for the festivities anyway. If the Nets feel strongly enough that flying will hinder Kidd’s recovery, the league will give him a pass.

I also stopped by to chat with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was overflowing with his usual assortment of punchlines:
· On the minor trade the Spurs completed today, sending forward Eric Williams, a second-round pick in 2009, and cash, to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward-center Melvin Ely: “It’s not like we traded Manu [Ginobili] for Vince Carter or Tony Parker for Jason Kidd. He’s taller than me, he’s stronger than me, so I’ll give him a shot.”
· On whether assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo has some good restaurants lined up: “P.J. always has restaurants lined up. The only thing is, they’re always Italian. I’d like to throw in something different once in a while. I tried to take him to an Asian place in Washington, and he almost quit.”
· On whether he’ll try to make any more trades before the deadline: “No, we’re a veritable juggernaut now and I don’t want to change that.”
· On Kidd missing the game: “Kidd’s out? [Expletive!]” Popovich then put his hands on his head and walked into the locker room, knowing that the Spurs have lost to the Lakers without Lamar Odom, the Jazz without Carlos Boozer, and the Rockets without Yao Ming (twice).

Philadelphia – Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love, where MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki had no such thing for Dwyane Wade this morning when he commented for the first time on Wade’s recent verbal shots questioning Nowitzki’s leadership.

A couple of weeks ago when Dallas played Miami in a rematch of last year’s Finals, Nowitzki apparently struck a nerve when he said the Mavericks gave the championship away after blowing a 2-0 lead in the series and a late lead in Game 3. Wade, the Finals MVP, fired back on Thursday, questioning Nowitzki’s leadership in an interview with Miami reporters.

“Dirk said that they gave us the championship last year,” Wade said. “But he’s the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn’t the leader he’s supposed to be in the closing moments.”

Outspoken Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has responded to Wade in his blog, saying, “You don’t have a clue” about Nowitzki’s leadership and telling Wade, “You obviously have an over-inflated value of your own.”

Nowitzki hadn’t commented on the scrape until this morning, when I walked with him to the team bus after Dallas’ shootaround at the Wachovia Center in advance of tonight’s game against the 76ers.

“All I said two weeks ago when we played them was, we feel like we gave them the championship,” Nowitzki told me. “We had a 2-0 lead, we were up 10 with a couple of minutes left in Game 3. If we win that Game 3, we have a chance to close the series out. That’s really all I said, and I don’t know why he got all sensitive about it. That’s really the whole story. He said what he said, and I’m not going to go back and forth with him. If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels.”

When I asked if he’s surprised that Wade went after him the way he did, Nowitzki said, “I really don’t care. Hopefully we’ll get a rematch and we’ll go from there.”

Dirk and D-Wade will go head-to-head again Sunday at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas. More importantly, mark Feb. 22 on your calendars: Dallas hosts Miami that night in the Mavericks’ first game after the break.

One curious tidbit from Dallas coach Avery Johnson, whose team has the best record in the NBA at 41-9 entering tonight’s game. Johnson, who comments on almost anything, refused to offer his opinion on the wave of mixed reaction from around the NBA to former player John Amaechi’s decision to come out as gay.

“We’ve decided as an organization that we won’t comment on that,” Johnson said.

Just had a nice chat with Magic GM Otis Smith before Orlando’s game against the Nets tonight, while Grant Hill was testing his sprained right knee in warm-ups and looking pretty spry doing it.

Let’s get right to it: Despite the fact that Hill’s big, fat, juicy, $16.9 million expiring contract would seem awfully appetizing to teams trying to rebuild and make cap room, Smith said he hasn’t received a single call from another team about Hill. The Feb. 22 trade deadline is only 12 days away.

“I fully expect him to be here,” Smith said. “One, there’s nothing out there that would excite me to make me want to do anything. Secondly, absolutely no one has called on his behalf. I like what he brings to our young team, so it’d be really hard for me to part with him.”

The Magic carried a 4-11 record into tonight’s game since former Knicks Trevor Ariza went down with a knee injury Jan. 10 at Golden State. Orlando was 22-14 after beating Golden State that night. At 26-25 heading into tonight’s game, Smith’s team was in danger of completing a freefall to the .500 mark.

Orlando will get Hill, Ariza, and Keyon Dooling back after the All-Star break. But if he wants to make any changes before the trade deadline, Smith has some interesting pieces to offer. Keith Bogans might draw interest from a team looking for a wing defender, and Pat Garrity has a $3.5 million expiring contract.

One situation that won’t be resolved until after the season is that of power forward Darko Milicic, who has started to blossom after being banished to the bench by Larry Brown in Detroit. The Magic could’ve signed Milicic to a $40 million extension last summer, but opted to wait. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“We fully expect to have him back on our team,” Smith said. “… I think you get drafted based on your potential and you get extensions based on a body of work. I just haven’t seen enough to be sure what to do with him.”

Another interesting tidbit I picked up from hanging around the Magic before the game: Dwight Howard will have some help in trying to take Nate Robinson’s slam dunk title away next weekend at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas. And it’ll come from someone almost as short as Robinson: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson.

No one is giving up the goods on what sort of dunk Howard is working on, but it’ll involve Nelson in some way. Howard said recently that a lot of people suggested he try to win the competition by breaking the backboard. The only downside I can see to that is, it would cause me to miss deadline.

With the Feb. 22 trade deadline fast approaching, I just got finished participating in discussions with Isiah Thomas and Elton Brand about the definition of “untouchable.” I got very different answers.

For more on Thomas’ assertion before tonight’s game against the Clippers that everybody on his roster is untouchable, and for my thoughts on it, check out my column in tomorrow’s paper. But suffice it to say, Brand of the Clippers made Thomas look silly, considering he believes there are only five untradeable players in the NBA.

“I think really it goes probably Yao, Duncan, Kobe, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James,” Brand said. “And a few guys are right there on that cusp, but that would be my five that I would say right now are untradeable. They seem to be happy and content with their teams also. That’s my five.”

Hmmm. Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, D-Wade and LeBron. That would be my five, too. And not a Knick among them.

Brand, who probably will be named to Western Conference All-Star team as an injury replacement for Yao or Carlos Boozer, doesn’t even think it’s out of the question that the underachieving Clippers would deal him before the deadline.

“I don’t think it’s too absurd,” Brand said. “It is what it is. It’s a business. … Money-wise or to improving-the-team-wise, something could happen. Not just because Shaq got traded or this guy got traded, but it happens.”

Thomas should have said that Eddy Curry is the only player he wouldn’t trade. It’s beginning to look less likely that the Knicks will make a big move before the deadline, but a minor deal for a shooter for Curry to pass to out of double teams would certainly help.

We’ll see how untouchable everybody is on Feb. 22.

Am I the only one who doesn’t have a problem with Carmelo Anthony being left off the Western Conference All-Star team?

If the fans wanted to vote him in as a starter, that would’ve been fine. Shaquille O’Neal missed more games than ‘Melo, but Shaq has earned his spot. If the fans want to see him, that’s their deal.

But the coaches who voted for the reserves were under no obligation to put Anthony on the team after he missed 15 games due to a suspension for punching the Knicks’ Mardy Collins – a bonehead move that escalated an altercation that shouldn’t have become an all-out brawl between the Knicks and Nuggets on Dec. 16.

All seven of the Western Conference reserves announced last night were deserving, including ‘Melo’s teammate, Allen Iverson. But the fact remains that Anthony missed 15 games for doing something stupid that jeopardized his team’s season. There will be plenty of All-Star games for ‘Melo, and if he doesn’t go to Las Vegas for this one, it’s no one’s fault but his own.

Having said that, the fact that Carlos Boozer and Yao Ming will have to be replaced due to injuries means Anthony probably will be named as a replacement. The best part is that the person in charge of selecting the replacements is the same person who suspended Anthony in the first place – commissioner David Stern.

Even then, Anthony shouldn’t be the first name on the tip of Stern’s tongue. That should be Dallas swingman Josh Howard. It’s far more of an injustice than Anthony’s situation that the Mavericks, who have the league’s best record, only have one All-Star – MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki – as we sit here today.

As for Eddy Curry: It’s too soon. He’s on his way, but Curry isn’t in the same class as Dwight Howard or Jermaine O’Neal. Not yet, anyway.