Michael Ventre

They say the most interesting trades are the ones that are never made.

Of course, the people who say that are usually the ones who sit on their hands until the trade deadline comes and goes.

There was a time when the NBA trade deadline meant something, when swashbuckling general managers in their three-piece suits and gold pinky rings would puff on their stogies, ignore conventional wisdom spouted by bean-counters and milquetoasts, and trust their riverboat instincts to make a deal that would improve their team for the season’s final weeks.

But as Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline passed, all NBA fans witnessed was a whole lot of status quo.

Sure, there were a couple of deals decent enough to stifle yawns, including a four-team transaction that brought Earl Watson back to Seattle. Somebody bring me the smelling salts.

But Kevin Garnett? He’s still in Minnesota, and at this rate might spend more time there than Garrison Keillor.

Lamar Odom? He remains in Los Angeles, tormenting Lakers fans with his manic-depressive game.

Al Harrington? Kenyon Martin? Allen Iverson? Ben Gordon? Paul Pierce?

None have to pack the 42-inch plasma, or relocate the posse. They’re still with their old teams. Like hamsters on a wheel, they’re not going anywhere.

Missed opportunities were the order of the day on Thursday. Teams tempted to gamble instead held tightly to their measly possessions and stood pat, or in some cases, folded.

The league is still abuzz over the Steve Francis trade to the Knicks. That swap had the three-pronged attraction of a marquee player, a reckless executive and a frustrated Big Apple. After much scrutiny, no one in New York City can figure it out. The theory that seems to come the closest to explaining what the Knicks are doing involves the “Seinfeld” episode when Kramer kept showing up at an office even though no one hired him and he had no business being there. In this case, substitute Isiah Thomas for Kramer.

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But I bring up the Francis trade because some feel Thomas is positioning himself to make a run at Garnett this summer, which might explain why Garnett remained in Minnesota after the trade deadline. Kevin McHale and Thomas have a good relationship dating back to their playing days, which would make an interconference deal between the T-Wolves and Knicks more plausible than an intraconference trade involving the Lakers, another reported Garnett suitor.

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Then again, why would the Timberwolves want anything that the Knicks have other than Channing Frye?

The Lakers did nothing Thursday, but they tipped their hand and said as much prior to the deadline. Apparently they’re still hoping Odom evolves into a tough-minded triple-double factory over the second half of the season.

He is their only real trade bait, since they will not consider moving promising 18-year-old center Andrew Bynum. As a result, they’ve committed to competing for the eighth spot in the playoffs, getting wiped out in the first round, and spending the summer looking for reinforcements. If Odom falters down the stretch, he’ll be dealt in the offseason.

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