Considering the rumblings that Pistons GM Joe Dumars had his sights set on either Nate McMillan or Maurice Cheeks as the team's next head coach, along with the notion that Dumars had apparently hoped to make a hire before the start of last week's NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago, ESPN's Chris Broussard wonders if the hold up with regards to a coaching decision gives any indication that Phil Jackson - recently tabbed as an adviser for the head coaching search - could soon be running Detroit's front office (Insiders only). According to popular thought around the league, Brian Shaw would be Jackson's first choice, and while some insist that Dumars is still in charge as the general manager, Broussard suggests that their next coaching hire will be a strong indicator of how much control the Pistons legend still has of the franchise. Here are more notes out of the Eastern Conference tonight: 

• Jackson - a member of two championship Knicks teams as a player - spoke with Harvey Araton of the New York Times about the current makeup of his former team and how he compares them with their cross-town rival Nets: "(The Knicks) still have to find some accommodating group of guys that know how to play ball together, move the ball, play the game the right way...With Brooklyn, if you’ve got a point guard and a solid center, or a good point guard and a great center, you’ve got two of the pieces that you want to have toward a champion.”
• According to an NY Post report (via the Associated Press), former Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo is interested in remaining as an ESPN analyst just through the postseason and would consider a coaching opportunity if it presented itself afterward. 
• Celtics big man Jared Sullinger tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com that he should be 100% healthy by September or October. 
• Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated profiles Chris Andersen, the Heat forward who has shined as one of Miami's key reserves during the current postseason. 
• Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago grades Carlos Boozer's season and touches on what's next for the Bulls' forward. 

• Knicks guard Jason Kidd credits Kenyon Martin for "saving our season," writes Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York. It is difficult to imagine where New York would have been without Martin's contributions, especially as the team has dealt with plenty of injuries in their frontcourt. 
• Eric Koreen of the National Post outlines the top ten legacies that are on the line during the NBA playoffs. 
• Jon Humbert of KOMO tweets that the Longshore Union filed an appeal over the land use challenge for the Seattle arena. Last month, a report from The Seattle Times (via the Associated press) said that the Longshoremen have been in staunch opposition of an arena being built near the Seattle waterfront, due to the congestion of the area that would be caused by athletic events. 
• Mike James proved to be a viable pickup for the Mavericks this season, averaging 8.1 PPG and 4.2 APG while helping the team finish 15-8 over their final 23 games. Although James said recently that he'd like to play two more seasons with the Mavs, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas discusses why the Amityville product doesn't figure to be in the team's long-term plans.
• Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is expected to travel to Rome next week to scout Gigi Datome, according to Sportando.net (hat tip to Il Corriere dello Sport).  
• Following up on a hypothetical trade proposed by Grantland's Bill Simmons, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com examines the possibility of the Bulls trying to trade for Kevin Love, exploring whether a package of Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, the rights to Nikola Mirotic, and Charlotte's first-round pick would be more than Chicago would be willing to give up.
• Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at the evolution of Paul George into an All-Star and a leader in the Pacers locker room. 

The Bulls "definitely" won't be moving Carlos Boozer today and are unlikely to make any deals at all, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Twitter link).

Boozer and Richard Hamilton were considered the two players most likely to be traded by the Bulls, but as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com noted earlier today, neither guy has drawn much interest. One report indicated that the Bulls are reluctant to pair Hamilton with a draft pick to get below the tax line, in which case I wouldn't expect the team to find a taker.

Just to make sure they don't slip through the cracks, here are a few odds and ends from overnight and this morning, as the trade deadline creeps closer....

• Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com expects the Bulls to stand pat at the deadline, since Carlos Boozer and Richard Hamilton aren't drawing a ton of interest.
• The Warriors are shopping Jeremy Tyler, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, while Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group says (via Twitter) Charles Jenkins is also being shopped. I would guess Golden State has discussed both players with Sacramento, as the Warriors attempt to get below the tax line.
• Spears also tweets that Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins have been given the impression by the Kings that they won't be moved today.
• If they don't move Eric Gordon today, the Hornets will likely revisit trade talks this summer, writes John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
• Teams with the draft rights to players currently overseas could find those guys to be valuable trade chips, and A.J. Mitnick of SheridanHoops.com profiles the top five assets stashed away in Europe.
• The Thomas Robinson trade between the Rockets and Kings came together in about 48 hours, having been initially hatched on Monday, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Eastern Conference may have been on the losing end of yesterday's All-Star Game in Houston, but there's still plenty happening around the conference. Here's the latest:

• As decision day nears for the Magic and J.J. Redick, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says the team would be more willing to move Redick if another team was willing to take on Al Harrington and/or Hedo Turkoglu along with the sharpshooter, which isn't likely.
• Nikola Vucevic, who Schmitz calls Orlando's only untouchable player, appeared on WGYG in Orlando, and said he wasn't bitter at all about the offseason trade that sent him from the Sixers to the Magic (link via Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews).
• Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues that it's time for the 76ers to cut their losses on another major piece of that Vucevic trade: Andrew Bynum.
• One league source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he thinks Carlos Boozer is the player most likely to be moved by Thursday (Twitter link).
• Josh Smith, Andrea Bargnani, and Rodney Stuckey are among the players Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld says should have been traded before now in order to maximize their value.

SATURDAY, 11:56am: Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that the Raptors have "no interest" in trading for Boozer or his contract.

FRIDAY, 12:05pm: Although the Raptors and Bulls discussed a potential swap involving Carlos Boozer and Andrea Bargnani earlier this season, reports have indicated that talks aren't currently active. However, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, there's an offer on the table from the Bulls that the Raptors could revisit if they choose.

Johnson reports that the Raptors were told that a deal of Boozer and Nate Robinson for Bargnani and John Lucas III is available whenever they want it. While a Boozer/Bargnani swap wouldn't be permitted under the league's trade rules, the addition of Robinson's minimum salary and Lucas' $1.5MM salary would make it work.

The duo of Boozer and Robinson has significantly outperformed Bargnani and Lucas on the floor this season, but such a deal would appeal to the Bulls based on its financial implications -- the hypothetical trade would allow Chicago to slip below the luxury tax threshold this season. Additionally, although Boozer and Bargnani are both under contract through 2015, Bargnani is owed $22.25MM over the next two seasons, while Boozer will make $32.1MM.

If the Raptors were to accept the Bulls' offer, it would likely make Toronto a taxpayer this season and next, significantly reducing the team's ability to make other moves.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times relayed some gems out of Bulls camp tonight, reporting that Chicago is still taking and making phone calls as the trade deadline approaches. He cites a source within the organization that says talks between the Bulls and Raptors involving Carlos Boozer are "off the table," and that there hasn't been a high demand for Richard Hamilton. As for Derrick Rose's status, the reality that he might not return this season hasn't put any additional pressure on Chicago to find more help or try to lessen the payroll. Here's more of what we've heard tonight out of the Eastern Conference:

• Several Magic veterans weighed in on the possibility of being traded before next Thursday's deadline including J.J. Redick, who is in the final year of his deal and has drawn significant interest from other teams. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says that although the front office has told their players that they aren't being shopped, they still acknowledge that they are responsible for listening to offers and taking into account what could make them better in the long term. 
• Amidst reports of tension boiling over between Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap and embattled guard Ben Gordon on Monday, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes that it wasn't the first time that the 29-year-old guard appeared frustrated this season and that Gordon and Dunlap have already met twice before to discuss his role. 
• Celtics forward Kevin Garnett explained his comments that this Sunday would be his last All-Star game, as some had seen it as possible hint that he would retire after this year: "Let's just put it like this: I'm more than grateful for going. I'm not going to act like I've got more All-Star games in me. So I'm just going to actually enjoy this one with friends and family. That's what I meant" (NBA.com).
• Rich Levine of CSNNE.com said that nothing definitive can be concluded by Garnett's comments, and that only time will tell if he is actually contemplating retirement soon. 

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is hearing plenty of chatter from around the league, and shares a lot of information in his latest dispatch. He identifies the player receiving the most attention as the deadline approaches, and dishes on several big names. We'll cover the highlights here:

• The Celtics are open to trading Kevin Garnett, but president of basketball ops Danny Ainge is looking for something to get "really, really excited" about, Amico writes. Garnett has a no-trade clause, and reportedly will only waive it if he's dealt to Los Angeles and the Celtics also trade Paul Pierce away.
• Josh Smith is the most-talked-about name on the rumor mill at present, and Amico reiterates that the Spurs, Nets and Bobcats are among the teams that have interest in the athletic forward. The Nets are anxious to deal Kris Humphries, and could be looking to get a third team involved in talks with Atlanta to faciliate a Smith-Humphries deal. Cavs GM Chris Grant spent time on the phone with Nets GM Billy King last week, and Amico notes the close ties Grant shares with King, as well as the connection between Hawks GM Danny Ferry and King.
• Grant wants more draft picks, and is apparently willing to rent some of the Cavs' ample cap space for a player whose deal expires after next season, as Humphries' does.
• If they can't land Smith, plan B for the Nets might be Paul Millsap. We heard about Brooklyn's interest in the Jazz power forward earlier today.
• Bulls GM Gar Forman also covets Smith and Millsap. Chicago has talked to the Nets about Carlos Boozer, but there's been no recent movement on that front.
• Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings are available, but only for a team that makes an overwhelming offer to Bucks GM John Hammond.
• The Mavs are publicly downplaying the chances of a trade before the deadline, but that's not the case behind the scenes, where basketball president Donnie Nelson is seeing what he can get for Shawn Marion.
• Eric Gordon would love to return to his Indiana roots and the Hornets have interest in Danny Granger, but the Pacers and New Orleans have not discussed a Gordon-Granger swap.

Not content to simply rank the NBA's teams, one through 30, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports also includes plenty of interesting trade rumors and nuggets within his power rankings. Here are the items of note from Spears in this week's installment:

• The Spurs, who used to employ current Hawks GM Danny Ferry, are among the teams interested in Josh Smith.
• Eric Maynor has been drawing some interest, and Spears suggests that he could be a fit for the Jazz, the team that initially drafted him.
• The Knicks are still trying to decide whether they should wait on injured bigs Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace or sign a free agent.
• Zach Randolph appears safe in Memphis, but the Grizzlies could still try to make a deal using one or more of their seven trade exceptions.
• Spears hears from a source that it's been nearly three weeks since the Raptors and Bulls last discussed a Carlos Boozer/Andrea Bargnani swap.
• No Suns player is untouchable via trade.
• Talks between the Bobcats and Nets involving Kris Humphries and Ben Gordon remain at a standstill.

The Bulls have been one of the elite teams in the NBA since the summer of 2010, when they missed out on LeBron James and instead added Carlos Boozer and coach Tom Thibodeau. They seem poised to once more make a move toward the top of the Eastern Conference with the impending return of Derrick Rose from injury. Several executives believe they, more than any other team in the Eastern Conference, could have what it takes to knock off the Heat, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

So, it's somewhat surprising that they apparently initiated discussions last week with the Raptors about swapping Boozer for Andrea Bargnani. Chicago fans have peppered Bulls.com scribe Sam Smith with potential Boozer trade scenarios nearly as long as Boozer has been in town, and while the 31-year-old power forward hasn't lived up to his five-year, $75MM contract, he has been playing some of his best basketball of late. He averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in January, well above the 15.3 PPG and 8.9 RPG he's posted over the past two years as a whole. Not coincidentally, the Bulls went 12-4 last month and rekindled talk of title contention.

If the Bulls are serious about the Bargnani deal, they wouldn't appear to be entirely motivated by finances. As Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors noted when he wrote about the rumor this afternoon, the Raptors don't have an expiring contract to aggregate with Bargnani's deal to make the salaries match in such a swap, meaning Chicago would have to take on at least one more player on a multi-year deal. Plus, the trade would short-circuit any chance either team could seek salary relief by amnestying Boozer or Bargnani, as traded players aren't eligible for the amnesty clause.

Bargnani's deal, which has $32.25MM left on it including this year, ends in 2015, the same year Boozer's does. Bargnani also comes with a 5% trade kicker the Bulls would have to pay. Still, he's due about $5MM less per season that Boozer is, and depending on whom the Raptors add to the deal, the Bulls could at least lower their tax bill this season. Chicago is close to $4MM over the tax line, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf has never been a taxpayer, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports documented.

Perhaps the Bulls simply want to sell high on Boozer, believing that he'll revert back to the norm following his recent hot streak. If so, his contract makes it difficult, meaning they'd likely have to take back another sizeable deal that another team doesn't want. Only the Magic have a trade exception large enough to absorb Boozer's $15MM salary this season, but Orlando doesn't make much sense for him. The Nets appear willing to dangle Kris Humphries and his $12MM salary, but I don't think two teams that entered Friday in a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference would be motivated to help each other out. That's part of the problem with teams that might have interest in Boozer from a basketball standpoint, as Eastern contenders like the Heat and Celtics would like to boost their front lines, but probably not in any way that enhances Chicago's title chances.

If the Bulls do trade Boozer this year, it would have to be with a team that's not afraid to take on long-term commitments. With so many franchises trying to clear cap space for either this summer or 2014, when King James could hit the market, there aren't a ton of options. In an injury-plagued season, the Timberwolves are looking toward the future and it seems like they're ready to make a move, so maybe they'd be willing to consider a core of Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Boozer, but I doubt it. Unless the Bulls get something done with the Raptors, I think Boozer stays put, at least until the summer, when Chicago might have a field of trading partners wider than the one out there now.