From a list on Hoopsworld handicapping the odds of various players being shipped out before the deadline:
LATRELL SPREWELL:| 75% | If the Knicks can land a serious player in return, Spree is gone. Knicks fans won't like that, but Scott Layden's hands are tied, and no one wants Allan Houston's contract. I have been told the Knicks want a possible top 3 pick included in any deal sending out Spree, and that want proven "marquee" talent in return. If the Knicks make a deal with Spree involved, its going to have to go through Chicago, Miami or Memphis
This is the first report involving a trade for Spree that doesn't infuriate me. If we could get our hands on a top three pick, plus one the afore-mentioned teams' young talent, I'd be all for it. Not that it still wouldn't leave a bad taste in my mouth if Sprewell had to be sacrificed to a crap team in order to save the Knicks from the Allan Houston / Scott Layden Experience--that remains unforgivable. But I do think high draft picks are the one ray of hope on the horizon, as long as the current braintrust is no longer in a position to squander them when the time comes.
At the same time, I'm not sure exactly who qualifies as 'marquee talent' on the Grizzlies, Bulls or Heat (unless they would just be used as brokers in a three-way). Unless it's young players with promise--like Artest, Crawford, Gasol or Battier--I can't think of anyone I would want from those teams, including Brian Grant or Eddie Jones. Bringing in highly-paid players who are in or slightly past their prime would screw up the timing of the serious long-term rebuilding plan that the Knicks' front office has to commit to.
