6 Former New York Knicks Play in Tuesday's Cavaliers, Mavericks Game

If New York Knicks fans lost interest in the loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, they probably tuned in to the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Dallas Mavericks matchup on NBA TV.  

Viewers from the Big Apple could find a slew of familiar faces in the nationally televised event between the two playoff-bound teams

A combined six former Knickerbockers suited up at the American Airlines Center.

J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov played for the Cavaliers, while Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton found minutes on the floor on the Mavericks roster. 

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Phil Jackson dealt five of those six players since he was introduced as New York's president of basketball operations on March 18, 2014.

Was it Jackson's plan to completely reassemble the roster from the very beginning? Or did he think the opening-day roster could compete in the Eastern Conference? Only the former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls head coach knows the real answer to that question.

Prior to the season, Jackson acquired Samuel Dalembert, Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington, along with two draft picks, in exchange for Chandler and Felton from Dallas.

The trade did clear up cap space for the Knicks to re-sign Carmelo Anthony, and media outlets like CBS Sports commended Jackson for the trade. But the performance of the roster following this deal was the reason Phil was forced to begin revamping the entire roster.

What the Knicks have to show for the deal is nothing to be proud of. Dalembert was released by the Knicks back in early January, and Calderon has not been much of an upgrade from Felton's performance at the point guard position.

Mark Cuban received the lone prize in the six-player deal in Chandler. The center is averaging a double-double this season (10.4 points, 11.4 rebounds).

When owner James Dolan agreed to pay Jackson $12 million annually for five seasons, he believed the Zen Master would bring short-term and long-term success to New York. 

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

In the first month of basketball, the Knicks quickly fell to last place in the Atlantic Division, forcing Jackson to dump all of New York's players in pursuit of the best chance at the first-overall draft pick.

The three-team trade with the Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder in January unloaded the contracts of fellow shooting guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert.

The most recent drop was the man who brought the winning culture back to Madison Square Garden back in 2009-10: Amar'e Stoudemire.

The Mavericks would benefit from Jackson throwing in the white flag for a second time, when Cuban signed the forward off waivers in late February.

Chandler and Stoudemire reunite to give the Mavericks the inside presence that they have been longing for since the team celebrated its lone NBA championship in 2011. Dallas can now compete with the bigs of the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference.

The one player that Jackson did not deal away from New York was Mozgov. The big man was a key component alongside Stoudemire in 2009 before he was dealt to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

The Cavaliers had lacked a starting center after Anderson Varejao suffered a season-ending injury. Mozgov provides length for Cleveland in the middle and immediately catapulted the team to the top contender in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks now have the worst record in the NBA at 12-51, posed with numerous issues to address.

Will Jackson trade Mew York's future lottery pick? Who will the Knicks go after in free agency? How will the Knicks fill up the vacant roster in the offseason?

Fans are all waiting for Jackson's plan to unravel, and the cold hard fact is six former players who wore orange and blue are already a part of something bigger.

Chris Corso can be followed on Twitter @CACorso.