With the trade deadline coming in about 8 1/2 hours today, there are still several players out there that could be had if the price is right.

Vince Carter, David Lee, Nate Robinson, Wally Sczerbiak (not looking up the spelling again), Raef LaFrentz and his contract, Mike Miller, and a few others might be packing up their bags and heading for new destinations by the end of the day.

Soooo, I'm wondering if the Pacers are going to pull the trigger on any trades today.  The Tinsley to Charlotte deal seems to be dead in the water, but that doesn't mean Indiana can't still be players today.  Chad Ford seems to agree with me...and I with him:

I'm wondering why no one is mentioning the Indiana Pacers as a possible trade partner. They have two expiring contracts: Rasho Nesterovic and Marquis Daniels, whose salaries together equal $15 million. As a bonus, both of those players are actually playing really well this season.

Why wouldn't a playoff team looking to create some cap space make a run at those guys?

It's no secret that the Pacers want to find both an athletic big man and a team willing to take point guard Jamaal Tinsley off their hands. Pacers execs Larry Bird and David Morway have done a great job of recreating this roster on the fly. The team has about $10 million or so in wiggle room next year before it hits the luxury-tax threshold, so the Pacers can take on some salary. I wouldn't be surprised to see them become players Thursday.

As much as I like Daniels and Nesterovic, I know that this team needs to improve!  With the way these two have played this season, it could actually help sway some teams to make these deals. 

Here are a couple deadline deals that I think could happen:

Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston to Miami for Daequan Cook and Mark Blount.  This move allows Miami to pick up two contracts that will expire at the end of season and it rids them of Mark Blount's contract.  The Pacers pick up Cook, who fits the Pacers style of play, and Blount will help fill in on the front line for next season.  Both Cook and Blount have contracts that expire at the end of NEXT season, so this could help Indiana in making a push for a 2010 free agent.

Marquis Daniels, Stephen Graham, and Josh McRoberts to Minnesota for Rashad McCants and Jason Collins.  Minnesota could pick up cap relief for this summer with three expiring contracts (Daniels' deal is a team option for next year), while getting rid of McCants who has apparently fallen out of favor with Kevin McHale.  If the T-Wolves do move Mike Miller, then they can pick up Daniels' option for next season.  The Pacers would pick up McCants who will be a RFA at season's end, but could match any offer to keep him.  If nobody is kept, then both teams just pick up about $9mil in cap space for the summer, most of which would probably be chewed up with player contracts for next season.

Still no clue as to what Indiana will do with Jamal Tinsley.  I'm of the thinking that they should go ahead and play him for the rest of the season, so that they could possibly drum up some interest in him before the draft.  It just seems the most logical thing to do at this point.  It's not like he is going to hurt the team's record.