Deadline deals lack star power

Jeff Green could give the Los Angeles Clippers a better shot in the Western Conference, and Markieff Morris might strengthen a Washington Wizards playoff push in the East.

Still, the possibilities were more interesting than the realities of the NBA’s trade deadline.

There were no deals involving Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Al Horford, or any other All-Star caliber player whose name was floated in recent days.

Major moves will wait for the summer, when a soaring salary cap and a strong free- agent class could provide the fireworks that never materialized Thursday.

Washington and most of the other teams battling for a spot at the bottom of the Eastern Conference race may have improved, though the New York Knicks couldn’t come up with anything.

“There’s probably maybe two teams in the league that feel like they don’t have to make any improvement or adjustment. But everybody else feels like there’s areas that we can improve our ballclub, so those are things that we discussed,” interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said. “The reality is all of these rumors and all this talk that’s gone on, 99 percent of it never is going to happen.”

Cleveland, Chicago and Atlanta made trades, though mostly minor ones.

Teams interested in their top players not only had to weigh giving up assets versus signing them in the summer, but also whether they wanted to acquire a player who could be a free agent and command a huge salary when the cap increases to around $90 million in July.

Veteran players can earn 25 percent or more of the cap as their first-year salary.

Green went from Memphis to the Clippers, giving them another versatile forward while Blake Griffin is sidelined. Morris, unhappy this season in Phoenix, joins a disappointing Washington team that is 10th in the East.

Speaking to reporters while riding a hoverboard on his way out of the Suns’ arena Thursday, Morris expressed his thanks to that team and said: “I’m just ready to move on.”

Needing to add depth, defense and another piece to perhaps help them beat Golden State in June, the Cavaliers acquired forward Channing Frye from the Orlando Magic in an exchange that left popular center Anderson Varejao departing in a three-team trade.

Varejao and a firstround pick went to Portland, which also acquired guard Brian Roberts and a future second-round pick from Miami.