Sports

TWO OK MOVES

Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’

You gotta have somethin’

If you wanna be with me

– Billy Preston, 1975

CONSIDERING the squall of trade winds that relayed the names of Amare Stoudemire, Vince Carter, Shaq, Richard Jefferson and Gerald Wallace throughout the NBA, it’s safe to say none of the deals blew us away or remotely provoked anyone to exclaim, “Like, whoa!”

The first inclination of valued misanthropes was to write off the Knicks deal with the Bulls as one team’s trash is now another team’s trash.

“This wasn’t a trade,” column castigator Frank Drucker underlined, “it was a prisoner exchange.”

Think about it; how badly did the Bulls and Knicks want to delouse themselves of their respective canker sores?

So badly that Larry Hughes’contract ($12.8 million, $13.6M next season) almost certainly would have been bought out by managing partner Jerry Reinsdorf had GM John Paxson been unable to deport him. So Hughes was swapped for Jerome James, inarguably the worst mid-level free-agent signing in NBA history, Tim Thomas, whom Chicago exiled him the last time the Knicks sent him there until it could reroute him to Phoenix and disposable 3-point clunker Anthony Roberson.

With Stephon Marbury on, ahem, hiatus, the Knicks evidently felt obligated to fill the under-the-malignancy-cap void.

Hughes’ mantra is straight from the Supreme Court justice handbook . . . he ain’t ever comin’ off the bench. Not starting was the issue in Chicago. When the 6-foot-5 guard returned from the injured list roughly six weeks ago, coach Vinny Del Negro offered him 30 minutes a game (sound familiar?) at the point, off guard and small forward. He impudently declined.

“Larry doesn’t give a damn about winning or losing unless his team win and he’s the focal point,” a Bulls official harpooned. “All he cares about his starting, playing 36-to-38 minutes and getting his.”

Talk to some Cavaliers, professionals who don’t bother anybody and, generally, slam nobody, and they croon the same cheerless tune. “It’s about Larry and that’s all it’s about,” one Cav confirms.

Another says, “All I’ll say is he’s a different guy. It was hard to figure out what is important to him. He actually has a decent understanding of the game. . . . but not as much as he thinks.”

Insights such as that explain why the Knicks are Hughes’ sixth team (14.7 ppg, ordinary 41 percent from the field and an awful 3.2-2.2 assist-turnover ratio) in 11 seasons. He has worn out his welcome at each venue (Philadelphia, Golden State, Cleveland and Chicago) except Washington; the Wizards wanted him back for a mega pact but were outbid by the Cavs.

The same Bulls official advanced disapproval an additional step. “You don’t need distractions. If Larry is not playing you don’t know what he’s saying to the young kinds or how he might be conspiring with the veterans behind the coach’s back. One way or the other, he had to go.”

Opportunistically for Hughes, he’s joining a team that craves an established off guard. Starting for the 22-31 Knicks may not be any kind of an achievement, but Larry can ball, irrefutably. Don’t take my word for it; indictments regarding his selfishness aside, the above Bulls official fully endorses his ability.

“Larry really knows the game and he can play it . . . at both ends. He’s not a catch-and-shoot guy. His specialty is taking the ball off the dribble and creating shots. You’ve got to have guys like that when things break down at the end of a shot clock. His defense is what’ll surprise you; nobody on the Knicks is better than him.”

In other words, Knicks president Donnie Walsh can’t go wrong with Hughes and then outdid himself by obtaining a second starter from Oklahoma City when Tyson Chandler was returned to New Orleans when he failed the Thunder’s physical.

Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith were the other part of that deal. When it was annulled and the Knicks couldn’t match the Bulls offer to the Kings for Brad Miller, Walsh adjusted his sights and grabbed Wilcox while the getting’ was good.

Whereas Hughes’ shooting range is not idyllic for coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, and he can’t fill the lanes on the fast break (he was the first of Allen Iverson’s peeps who couldn’t run with him), Wilcox is perfecto.

“He was really a good pickup for New York. When Mike was at Phoenix he repeatedly tried to get Chris from the Sonics,” said an executive very much in the thick of things.

“He’s a poor man’s Amare. He doesn’t have his shooting range and doesn’t score or rebound with his consistency. One night he’ll get you 20 boards, the next night seven or eight; he should do better within Mike’s up-tempo style.

“Knicks fans are really going to enjoy Chris. He can flat-out run and, with those huge mitts, finishes as well as anyone in the league. He should really help in their pursuit of a playoff spot.”

Wilcox, a rising free agent, also gives Walsh and D’Antoni a look-see for the remainder of the season. They have got his “Larry Bird rights” so if they want to re-sign him for another year at bigger dollars than the mid-level they’re allowed to do it.

As for James, he was last spotted wedging himself into three or four airplane seats (steerage section) and uttering his two favorite words: Deep Dish.

peter.vecsey@nypost.com