NEW YORK  — Zach Randolph

“He said he’s gonna come back here. This is where he started at,” Randolph said after dropping 31 points and 25 rebounds in a 120-109 victory over the Knicks, his former team, at Madison Square Garden.

The 6-foot-8 Gay reportedly rejected the Grizzlies’ five-year, $50 million offer last November because he wanted a five-year, $65 million extension.

“If it would’ve happened then, then it would be done, but now it’s all about my team and I’d be selfish if I’d be thinking about that the whole season and I’m not that type of player or person,” said Gay, who is averaging 20 points and 5.8 rebounds and had 27 and 5 in the win over the Knicks.

The Grizzlies can give Gay a $4.4 million qualifying offer this summer. He can be signed to an offer sheet by another team, but Memphis reserves the right to match the offer and keep him. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2011.

While the Knicks will target the big-name free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Gay could be an attractive option this summer if none of those pan out.

“It’s definitely a historic, great place to play,” Gay said of the Garden. “But I’m wearing a Grizzlies jersey right now, so maybe this summer you could ask me that question and it will be a different answer. But right now it’s all about my team.”

Wherever he lands, the future is bright.

“The guy’s 6-8, athletic, can run, jump, shoot,” Randolph said.

“You see he took over tonight. The sky’s the limit. He’s a future All-Star.”

(Photo courtesy NBA.com)

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Lance Stephenson

“I think I’m going to stay and keep working,” Stephenson told the newspaper. “I don’t think I’ve had an NBA season this year so the best choice for me is to stay.”

“Lance really likes it at Cincy,” Lance Stephenson Sr. added in a text message. “My wife and I are happy how he’s maturing and enjoying the college life. We will support him with any decision he makes.”

The all-time leading scorer in New York state history, Stephenson was tabbed as the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year, but there is no guarantee he’ll win the postseason award.

Rutgers rookie Dane Miller is averaging 12.5 points and 6.6 boards overall and 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in the conference. He has won the last three Rookie of the Week honors.

Stephenson is averaging 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds overall and 10.7 and 4.6 in Big East games.

He is shooting just 20 percent (11 for 56) from beyond the arc and has committed a team-best 64 turnovers.

“[Stephenson] has had a heck of a freshman year,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin told the Enquirer. “But he’s had some rough spots, no doubt about it.”

NBA scouts have been underwhelmed by Stephenson’s freshman season and the Enquirer cited several scouts who said he would be no higher than a low second-round pick.

“He’s been good this year for Cincinnati but I don’t know if he would have projected as a high-lottery pick,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “I think down the road he certainly will be. I think he’s improved his game. He’s learned to play with other players more comfortably and another year at Cincinnati under Mick Cronin will only make him a better player.”

Cronin told the Enquirer that Stephenson will meet after the season with his parents to discuss his future but could understand why he might want to return.

“He definitely wants to play better,” Cronin said. “That’s just a reflection of him letting you know, ‘Hey, I know I need to play better.’

“Lance’s big thing is maturity and not trying to score on a guy just because he scored on him on the previous play, not breaking the offense and going one-on-five.”

(Photo courtesy Cincinnati Enquirer)

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Tracy McGrady

This is an age in which salary figures and cap hits and expiring contracts are more important than talent for a number of players, when a seven-time All-Star is little more than a means to end. In McGrady’s case, the back-to-back scoring champ is being used to recruit another scoring champ.

The Knicks will cut T-Mac to lure LeBron James.

Read the full story by Art Garcia and myself here.

(Photo courtesy AP)

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GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Donnie Walsh is a man with a bold plan.

And he’s sticking to it.

During a whirlwind couple of days leading up to Thursday’s NBA trading deadline, the Knicks president got rid of six players, brought in half a dozen new ones with expiring contracts — including seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady — and now has between $33-$36 million in offseason salary cap space.

Now the Knicks have the option of targeting not one, but two maximum-contract free agents beginning July 1. That’s when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson become unrestricted free agents.

Read the full story at NBA.com.

(Photo courtesy David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

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NEW YORK (NBA.com exclusive) — On a night when both teams were without key players, the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls played a basketball game amidst a swirling storm of trades, rumors and speculation.

Playing without guard John Salmons and forward Joakim Noah, the Bulls beat the Knicks for the second time in two nights 115-109 after outscoring New York 62-45 in the second half at Madison Square Garden.

One night after pouring in 29 points in a 118-85 Bulls’ rout in Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 27 points and Brad Miller tallied 19 of his 21 in the second half. Luol Deng added 23 points and Taj Gibson put up 14 points and a career-best 16 rebounds for the Bulls.

Chicago rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to move above .500 at 27-26 and hand the Knicks their fifth straight loss. The Bulls outrebounded the Knicks 52-40.

Read the full story here.

**And here’s the latest on McGrady from ESPN.com. Kevin Martin to the Rockets in exchange for T-Mac, who could be dealt to the Knicks today in a three-team deal.

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NEW YORK

The Bulls won, 115-109, behind Derrick Rose’s 27 points, Luol Deng’s 23 and 19 of Brad Miller’s 21 in the second half.

Amid multiple reports that New York was on the brink of trading Robinson to the Boston Celtics, Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said Robinson was sick.

“Nate’s still sick, he wouldn’t be here anyway,” D’Antoni said. “He had flu-like symptoms.”

Celtics guard Eddie House told reporters Wednesday he is part of a deal that will bring Robinson to the Celtics.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a done deal, but there’s a pretty good chance it’s going through,” House’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Boston Herald.

D’Antoni coached House in Phoenix and Bartelstein said the coach is a fan.

“Mike D’Antoni is a huge fan of Eddie,” Bartelstein told the Boston Herald. “Mike told me on more than one occasion that his greatest regret was letting Eddie go.”

Robinson won his record third dunk competition at All-Star Weekend in Dallas. He is averaging 13.2 points per game. House is averaging 7.2 points per outing.

Knicks forward Al Harrington, himself the subject of trade rumors, said the team would miss Robinson if indeed he’s traded.

“If that’s the case, I wish him good luck,” Harrington said. “Obviously, [I would] be happy for him. [It would] put him in  a position where he’d be on a winning team and possibly could be playing for a championship. Obviously going from this situation to that would be a great opportunity for him, so I just wish him luck.”

Asked what the Knicks would miss without Robinson, Harrington added:

“He’s our little spark-plug. He does a lot for us, not only on the court but off the court, too. Keeping everybody’s spirits up. If he’s gonna be moved, he’s definitely gonna be missed.”

SALMONS OUT

Bulls guard John Salmons was back at the hotel and not at the game in anticipation of a possible trade.

“He’s not going to play,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “He’s gonna be at the hotel and I’ll find out more after the game.”

David Aldridge of NBA.com reported in a Tweet that sources said Salmons could land in Milwaukee for Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson.

Any team that picks up Salmons will owe him $5.8 million next year.

KNICKS DEAL DARKO FOR CARDINAL

While the Robinson deal has yet to be announced, the Knicks did announce that center Darko Milicic had been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Brian Cardinal.

The 7-foot Milicic was acquired by New York from Memphis in exchange for Quentin Richardson on June 25, 2009.

He played sparingly and averaged 2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 8.9 minutes in just eight games with New York. Drafted by Detroit with the second overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft, Milicic has career averages of 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 345 career games with Detroit, Orlando, Memphis and New York.

He has said he may return to Europe to finish out his career.

The 6-8 Cardinal has career averages of 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 354 games over 10 NBA seasons with Detroit, Washington, Golden STate, Memphis and Minnesota. He was averaging 1.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 9.0 minutes in 27 games this year with Minnesota.

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The deal would involve McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract going to the Knicks along with Joey Dorsey and Brian Cook in exchange for Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill and either Al Harrington or Larry Hughes.

The teams would also exchange 2011 draft picks and the Knicks would give up their first-round pick in 2012.

“They’ve made some progress,” one source told Howard Beck of The New York Times.

By shedding Jeffries’ $6.9 million deal for next year, plus a $2.5 million commitment to Hill, the No. 8 pick in the 2009 Draft, the Knicks would have another $9.5 million in salary cap space.

That would give the Knicks up to $35 million in cap space to pursue two free agents next summer.

The Knicks are targeting the big-name free agents, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

If they land one of them, they could still have enough money left to add a second free agent, with the New York Post pointing to Carlos Boozer as one option.

The Knicks have already surrendered their 2010 first-round pick, now owned by the Utah Jazz.

Should they surrender a 2012 pick for McGrady and then fail to make the playoffs, somebody else could once again benefit from their future lottery pick.

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Lee and Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd have been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Kobe Bryant (ankle) of the Los Angeles Lakers and East All-Star guard Allen Iverson (personal reasons) of the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively, in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.

Lee, in his fifth NBA season, has recorded 30 double-doubles on the season for the Knicks and will be making his first NBA All-Star appearance. The announcement comes one day after Lee was selected for the U.S. national team pool that will compete at the World Championships in Turkey in August.

Lee is the first Knicks’ All-Star since Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell in 2001.

He will be joined in Dallas by Knicks teammates Nate Robinson, who will defend his Slam Dunk title despite a groin injury, and Danilo Gallinari, who’s participating in the 3-Point Shooting contest.

As Daily News writer Frank Isola pointed out, the last American-born white player to play in the All-Star Game was Brad Miller in 2003 and 2004.  Wally Szczerbiak and John Stockton also played in the All-Star Game.

Kidd, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time All-NBA First Team selection, will be making his 10th NBA All-Star Game appearance.

West All-Star head coach George Karl and East All-Star head coach Stan Van Gundy will determine which players will replace Bryant and Iverson in the starting lineup.

The NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy DimeMag.com)

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The Wizards would get Knicks forward Al Harrington and his expiring contract along with another player, potentially Jared Jeffries, Larry Hughes or Eddy Curry. Hughes has an expiring contract while Jeffries and Curry have deals that run through the 2010-11 season.

The Rockets would get Wizards forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood.

The potential trade fits with president Donnie Walsh’s strategy of trying to land an impact player for this year while not compromising his flexibility to sign a free agent this summer. McGrady’s expiring contract is worth $23 million.

“It’s a real simple strategy. If you can get a good player, it doesn’t hurt you in the summer and it helps you, you consider it,” Walsh said Tuesday before the Kings game. “Depending on who you have to give up.”

Rockets GM Daryl Morey previously told the New York Post that the Knicks wouldn’t be a good fit for McGrady.

“There might not be a fit with New York because their goals don’t necessarily meet our goals,” Morey told the paper. “I think they like him but there’s an issue of fit.”

Perhaps the Wizards can help make the fit happen.

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NEW YORK

Instead, Walsh plans to stay home in New York and work the phones in the days leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

“Going to the All-Star Game, it’s so big now. You have a better chance of talking to GMs of other teams if you’re using the telephone,” Walsh said before Tyreke Evans scored a team-high 27 points as the Sacramento Kings beat the Knicks, 118-114, in OT at MSG. “It used to be that we were all in the same hotel and we would meet each other all the time. I can’t find them when I go to the All-Star Game.”

Walsh reiterated his long-held position that he is open to any trades that would improve the Knicks (19-31) while also allowing them to maintain salary-cap flexibility for the free agent class of 2010 that includes LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. That means he will trade expiring contracts for expiring contracts.

“It’s a real simple strategy. If you can get a good player, it doesn’t hurt you in the summer and it helps you, you consider it,” Walsh said. “Depending on who you have to give up.”

The Knicks have six players with expiring contracts and desperately need a point guard to help spell Chris Duhon.

“You guys are telling me that’s what I should be doing so I’ll take that under consideration,” Walsh joked.

Walsh said he believed “some good players will be available,” but he doubted the Knicks would be able to trade for any impact players like Tracy McGrady, Amar’e Stoudemire or Bosh.

“You’re not going to probably be able to trade for them,” he said in general.

Some clubs could opt to trade 2010 prospective free agents like Bosh before the deadline, but Walsh said such trades would be generated by the clubs themselves.

“I don’t expect players of that caliber to be traded because the home team wants to keep them. If they decide they can’t keep them, then they’re going to reach out and try to make trades,” he said.

And Walsh would take those phone calls.

“Obviously, yeah,” he said.

NATE QUESTIONABLE FOR DUNK CONTEST

Nate Robinson, the defending champion in the Slam Dunk Contest, said he would decide after the game whether his injured groin will allow him to participate or not.

“We’ll see after the game,” Robinson said.

Robinson said his primary focus was on helping the Knicks make the playoffs. They entered the night 4 1/2 games out of the final spot, with several teams ahead of them.

“If he was hurt and it would hurt him to go into the Dunk Contest, then I would want to know that,” Walsh said. “Normally it’s a big honor to be invited. He’s a defending champion so I would like to see him be able to go but I also want to use him for the rest of the year, so I think that shows responsibility to the team [if he stays home].”

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