Wanna bet the Nets are open to dealing Vince Carter and Stromile Swift for Stephon Marbury?

Stop thinking.

I’m just making a point from the recliner while this game drags on.  Knicks fans might’ve jumped at the deal two years ago, but this new direction changes that kind of backward thinking.

Wilson Chandler is the preseason MVP.

I’m not sure how Mike D’Antoni gets him enough minutes behind David Lee and Zach Randolph, though. He might have to play more small forward when the regular season tips off.

A lighter Mardy Collins appears to getting a long look. Let’s not lock him into the rotation yet because the outside shot is not part of the package. That’s important. And if the Knicks get desperate for a roster spot, he would be easy to move for a draft pick.

I’m not up close, but Eddy Curry is starting to look frustrated. He will not get any better until anger sets in, so maybe that’s a good thing.

You know what the Knicks are missing? A shot-blocker. Heard that one before? Seriously, though. How much fun would it be to watch somebody like Marcus Camby spark a couple of breaks with a rejection?

Anyway, let me know what you like so far.

If you want to get a sample of what the Knicks go through in practice, the doors at the will be open at Pace University in Pleasantville on Sunday at 10 a.m.

First come, first served.

The open practice is a yearly tradition and features the Knicks City Dancers and Knicks City Kids in action. I doubt they will be running any drills.  Player autographs depend on time and safety factors. A number of seats will be set aside for season-ticket holders, and the rest are open for general admission. There is no charge.

It might be your only chance to see Jerome James in action.

And wait until you see Danilo Gallinari shoot, although we don’t know what he’s been cleared to do. Maybe you’ll just get to see him watching from the sideline.

So are you going to MSG to check out the Knicks?

Have you overdosed on optimism?

I’m thinking most of the faithful are going to reserve judgement. Does anybody remember when Larry Brown showed up? How about when Isiah Thomas was ordered to the bench?

Neither one earned the respect they were immediately granted.

My flight back from Cleveland will put me on the ground in time for a Garden visit. (This is where I would normally blog about being run down after doing Monday Night Football, but I just saw a guy in the airport here walk by with a big stack of urinal cakes and some kind of grabber contraption. My job ain’t so bad.) I’m going to be listening carefully when the game tips off.

It will be interesting to see if the crowd falls immediately in love with Mike D’Antoni.

Since there wasn’t a lot of turnover, I’m guessing the players are going to be timid. A poor effort will undoubtedly inspire a quick and negative response, so it will be fun to watch how they handle that obligation.

After the last three seasons, it’s the least anyone can do.

I’m back in Cleveland to do Monday Night Football, and just came in from the airport.

LeBron James still adorns the larger-than-life banner across from The Q with arms outstretched. Witness. And just in case anybody is wondering, he was still in a Cleveland jersey.

It makes you wonder exactly what Nike might unveil if their poster guy ever does wind up in New York.

How many floors does the Empire State Building have?

So what do you think of Chris Duhon right now?

The lesson here is to be patient and let the season unfold. It’s silly to slot anybody into the rotation until everybody is up to speed. We might be a month away from that point.

Duhon isn’t going to contribute 19 points a game, which is fine.

I do like the decisions he’s making when the Knicks have to slow down and set up. And the defense on the ball out top is a huge improvement. There are some gaps elsewhere, but it was encouraging to see the Knicks create turnovers and take off running in the first half, wiping out a sizeable deficit in no time.

There are going to be some unhappy souls on that bench in a month or so.

You can already see how Mike D’Antoni locks into a tight rotation. He’s leaning on eight or nine guys, even in the preseason. What’s going to happen when Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries are ready to go? A couple of capable players are going to be limited.

So give me a rotation. Who are your top nine players tight now? Make a list.

So did the Knicks make a good first impression?

All things considered, it wasn’t a chore to stay tuned in throughout. I only clicked away during commercial breaks. The effort seemed plenty genuine, although some of the defensive rotations were half-hearted late in the game when the legs were gone. It’s something that will improve as the preseason moves along.

I liked the Zach Randolph and David Lee combination.

Chris Duhon gets a little credit for coming up with 10 rebounds and six assists on a tough night. There are going to be some turnovers at this pace, but he’s got to be more aware of what’s happening outside the line of sight. Crawford also struggled to score, but threw in seven assists.

And when you check the box score from now on, look to see how many 3s are being launched. If that number matches the number of free throws attempts, the Knicks are going to have a pretty good chance to win.

That’s all I’ve got … let me know what you saw.

In a span of three or four minutes yesterday it was clear to me that Eddie Curry will eventually catch up and find a place in the up-tempo world of Mike D’Antoni.

You can stop watching the scale and look at the rim.

Twice during a scrimmage, Curry trailed the initial break and was able to walk right down the lane and set up. When the defense collapsed on the ball, guess who was open? A big man with reliable hands. Curry got off the floor to get passes tossed in his general vicinity, controlled the ball and scored before coming back down.

And there wasn’t a damn thing anybody could do about it.

That’s an NBA skill, and one that can be featured in this offense. It doesn’t make him a starter. And he does need to get into the best shape of his young life to stay on the court and compete 30 minutes a night, but there’s plenty of time for that.

Big men have to be in peak condition for the playoffs. Remember how Patrick Ewing used to start off slow and save the legs for the games that counted the most? It still works that way. Using that kind of a timetable, Curry might have a full 18 months before the Knicks really need him to be in shape.

I picked a good day to drop in on the Knicks, who probably aren’t going to impress a lot of the faithful when they open the preseason tomorrow up in Toronto.

They are not aesthetically pleasing at this point.

I just watched about 30 minutes of a scrimmage that included plenty of stops and starts. Nate Robinson called it haywire, so you can imagine how things played out.

Be patient.

Mike D’Antoni wasn’t dropping names when he was asked for a starting lineup. Look for Chris Duhon, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Zach Randolph.

And there will be plenty of experimentation.

Stephon Marbury is likely to debut as the league’s most expensive role player. And you’ve probably read how it’s not going to be an issue.

“I just think going forward to limit the distractions, to just concentrate on basketball, that’s the most important thing,” he said this afternoon. “The most important thing right now is to get out to a good start and try to do what I said, try to make it to the playoffs.”

D’Antoni’s reaction was priceless.

“Yeah, it’s great,” he said. “Wow. For ya’ll, that’s big news. To me, that’s like, well, that’s how everybody should act. Isn’t that how you do it? Don’t you build a team? Does it matter who gets the credit and who doesn’t? This is the New York Knicks. I would think the New York Knicks is bigger than me and anybody else. And it is that way. I’m really proud he did that, but it shouldn’t be newsworthy. To do the right thing should never make the news.”

Figures.

Jared Jeffries clearly spent most of the summer getting himself ready to find a niche in the new system, and he was getting praise from teammates and coaches alike.

Mike D’Antoni saw a potential matchup problem.

The plan is now on hold. Jeffries stepped off the floor in pain this afternoon up at Skidmore and tests revealed a fractured left fibula. He’s done running for the next 6-8 weeks.

We’ve been down this road before.

Jeffries can’t seem to catch a break. I know, he’s been a bad signing to date, but we need to remember he’s among the few players on this roster who’s got a history of making a team better. When he was on a pretty good team in Washington, Jeffries kept the ball moving and played hard defense.