The big goal in the 2010 free agent class is to have enough money to sign two max contract players, so that LeBron can have a world-class buddy to play with to build a small shack out of Larry O'Brien trophies.
Before today, the Knicks were pretty much the only team prepared to do that, but with deals today, the Bulls and Heat are getting dangerously close.
Chicago reportedly has dumped Kirk Hinrich, his $9 million salary, and the 17th pick for... something. What they get in return hasn't been revealed, nor has the trade been made official - talks are also apparently underway with either Indiana or Sacramento to get rid of Hinrich.
In more official news, the Heat sent Daequan Cook, worth $2.2 million next year, to the Thunder for the No. 32 pick in the draft.
In both deals, the teams had to part with their first round pick to get the other team to take on the deadweight of extra salary - as well as freeing up the cap space that would have been required to sign the new first-rounder. Perhaps Knicks fans shouldn't be so distraught about the lack of a pick in this year's first round, because chances are they'd use it in the same way these teams did - merely as leverage for more cap space.