The Knicks didn’t get LeBron James, but the Yankees were on the brink of obtaining Cliff Lee late last night for a package that would include top prospect Jesus Montero, the Post has learned.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik have been in constant contact over the last week, but it was only last night that the Seattle GM told Yankee officials he wanted to move quickly, possibly before the All-Star break…

In the offseason, the Yanks tried to make a deal with Philadelphia and offered Montero as the key piece. But the Phillies decided to take the Mariners’ offer instead.

– Joel Sherman, N.Y. Post.

OK, lots of stuff here. First, the requisite skepticism. Sherman’s generally not the type of baseball columnist that traffics in unfounded or sensationalized scoops, but I’ve learned to take all trade rumors with many, many grains of salt until the deal is final.

Second, if the deal really includes a package of three prospects including Montero, Mets fans should be happy their team will not match it. Like I said in the talk with John Hickey yesterday, the assessment of the Mariners’ scouting department ultimately matters more than Baseball America‘s, but BA ranked Montero No.4 overall among all prospects this offseason. Going by that ranking, the Mets would have to gut their system to beat the Yanks’ offer.

Third, and again, going only off that ranking and a few others, it’s a little bit bizarre if it’s true the Phillies opted for the Mariners’ package instead of one built around Montero in the offseason. None of the three prospects the Phils received appears to have anything like the upside of the Yanks’ mashing young catcher, and all have been pretty crummy in the Phils’ system this year. A lot can change, of course, and who knows how or why the Phillies’ preferred the guys they got to the ones they supposedly could have got, but Ruben Amaro’s administration has made a whole lot more eyebrow-raising deals than clearly good ones so far.

If Jack Zduriencik pulls this off, he should be commended, even if his Mariners have been terrible this year. A completed deal would mean he spun three underwhelming prospects for at least one awesome one, with 13 amazing starts from Cliff Lee thrown in as gravy. If Double-A second baseman David Adams is also in the deal, as Sherman has reported, then the Mariners get back at least two prospects who are, on paper at least, better than any they gave up.

Lastly, many have wondered why the Yankees should work to upgrade their rotation when they already have a lot starting pitching, much of it high-priced. The Yanks need more help in the bullpen, or maybe the outfield, they say.

Only it doesn’t work like that, and Brian Cashman seems to understand as well as any GM in baseball. Instead of targeting a specific position where his team needs an upgrade and seeking the best available player in that role, he finds the available player who will best improve his team. This trading season, it appears Lee is that.

There are many ways to win baseball games and playoff series. You can do it with a ton of offense, like the Yanks did last year, or you can do it with an unbelievable and unbelievably deep starting rotation, as the Yanks are apparently trying to do this year.