WASHINGTON — In the latest episode of "He Said What?" Isiah Thomas said getting under the salary cap is "not our goal" as Thursday's trade deadline nears.

What could follow is another episode of "He Did What?"

According to an ESPN.com report posted late last night, the Knicks were in preliminary talks for a three-team deal that would send Eddy Curry to Miami, the expiring contracts of Jason Williams and Ricky Davis to the Nets and — brace yourselves, Knicks fans — fading former all-star Vince Carter to the Knicks.

Carter, 31, would add $48.8 million in salary over the next three seasons, which is significantly higher than the $31.4 million owed to Curry over the same period.

Thomas has had interest in Carter before. The Knicks tried to offer Zach Randolph to the Nets for him earlier this season. Thomas has also been pushing the "small ball" concept — his latest game plan infatuation — and has cut down Curry's minutes dramatically.

But would Garden chairman James Dolan really approve another big-contract acquisition? Hard to believe, but Thomas seems to suggest that following the Nets' plan of cutting big contracts and getting under the cap isn't something the Knicks are interested in.

Their $89-million payroll is about $30 million over the salary cap and the second-highest in the NBA behind only Dallas ($105 million).

"Our goal is to continue to get better and, you know, be mindful of where we are," Thomas said. "We've done a good job the last couple of years of just bringing the number down. So we're in a good position. We've got young talent, we've got a cap number that's going down. But we want to turn it into wins, also."