McGrady dealt to Knicks

The Cleveland Cavaliers hope they took another step toward keeping LeBron James. The New York Knicks are in better position for a run at him — and a second superstar, too.

And they aren’t the only team lining up for a chance to become a summer spender.

The Knicks acquired former scoring champion Tracy McGrady on Thursday in a three-team swap with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings. The deal left them on the verge of being able to offer two maximum salary contracts to the 2010 free agent class that could be headlined by James.

Amare Stoudemire could be in the market for one if he decides to leave Phoenix — where he’ll again finish the season after spending the weeks before the deadline atop the trade rumor mill.

“I’ve maintained that unless there was something out there that improved our team and put us in a lot better position moving forward, then we weren’t going to do anything. And that was the case,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said.

Chicago, Washington and Sacramento all cleared enough salary in moves before the 3 p.m. EST deadline to be able to afford a max player, and the Los Angeles Clippers got close.

The Cavaliers gave James more reason to stay home. They acquired forward Antawn Jamison on Wednesday, a deal that could make the Eastern Conference leaders even stronger.

“We’re trying to build a franchise that all players want to be a part of, that can have sustainable success and do things at a high level,” general manager Danny Ferry said. “Clearly LeBron’s an important player for Northeast Ohio, for Cleveland, for the Cavaliers. It’s all ground in winning, too. Antawn can help us win. We’re excited what he can bring to us over the next few years.”

The Knicks can afford James and perhaps someone else in the class that could include Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

By including Jared Jeffries in the deal for McGrady, whose $22.5 million contract expires after this season, the Knicks removed $6.9 million from next season’s payroll and left them with about $32 million in salary cap space. Those top free agents would each earn a little more than $16.5 million in the first season of a max deal.

Tags: sports, nba, basketball, mcgrady, knicks, trade