I was playing around with the Trade Machine and cooked up this deal. Check out the trade (click the image to enlarge), then read the explanation

Houston and Dallas are both chasing Howard/Paul and need every bit of cap space they can get. But the Rockets have a lot of cap-clearing to do to make that happen; ESPN has reported that the Rockets would consider trading Lin/Asik to get the necessary cap room. In this deal, the Rockets save 5 million. They also escape the poison pill in Lin/Asik’s third year.
In this deal, Dallas saves 1.7 Million. They are VERY close to Paul/Howard-territory in terms of the cap, so that 1.7 M is a big deal to them.
Sacramento gets 2 young assets for free, a mentor for Cousins, and White (for what it’s worth). They would also probably get a 2nd rounder from Dallas, who doesn’t want the cap hit that comes with a 2nd round pick.
The Knicks get a big man who can rebound (Asik). We get a decent guard who can shoot (Delfino). Outlaw has SOME versatility and could help a bit. Cunningham is irrelevant, he is only here because Dallas wants to dump his salary. In exchange for taking on Asik’s pill, we might even be able to get Houston’s second rounder (34), and that helps Houston escape a cap hit. It is a fantastic deal for Dallas, a good deal for the Knicks (although i’d like to keep Novak), a good deal for Houston if they are serious about CP3/D12, and an OK deal for the Kings. And with any luck, Maybe Dallas swaps picks with us to help this deal go through, saving them money and moving us up 11 spots in the 1st round (Shabazz, anyone?).

And if this is too complicated, Dallas would probably give us a pick if we found a way to take Marion in a trade

By Tommy Rothman