Last Update: 1:55 A.M.
The clock recently struck midnight, which means it'll all end today. In the next 15 hours or so, we'll know exactly who is on the Knicks and who isn't. For now, let's take stock of what we know.
The table is set for big deals.
Darko Milicic and cash considerations were sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Brian Cardinal. Cardinal will likely be waived, which will set the Knick roster at 14. Also worth mentioning is Adam Zagoria's report that the league has given Donnie Walsh cap relief for Cuttino Mobley's contract. I don't know exactly what ramifications that will have, but I assume Donnie does.
Nate Robinson will be a Celtic, but we don't know which Celtics will become Knicks.
The report during tonight's game (and reiterated by Alan Hahn) was that J.R. Giddens and Eddie House will become Knicks in exchange for Robinson. It was previously reported that Walsh sought draft picks in the Nate deal, so the return package might be slightly different when the trade becomes official. Robinson's locker was cleaned out tonight, though, and it seems safe to say we've seen the last of the lilliputian in orange and blue.
The Knicks are still pushing hard for Brian Cook.
Update (1:54 A.M.)
Woj:
Two league sources tell Y! Sports that Kings are unsure whether they will keep T-Mac, or move him onto Knicks in a deal before deadline.
Update (1:27 A.M.): I was just gonna go to bed, but I had a feeling something was brewing. Sure enough, there's this from Adrian Wojnarowski
The Sacramento Kings have reached an agreement in principle with the Houston Rockets on a trade that will swap Kevin Martin for Tracy McGrady, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Huh. Slightly less recently, Marc Stein twitted the following:
Deal could expand before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline into a three-way trade scenario that lands Tracy McGrady in New York with Knicks
Wojo's post sounds pretty certain, though. Perhaps it's a sinister ploy by Daryl Morey to push Donnie Walsh into coughing up all his assets. Perhaps it's the real thing. More as it comes.
Marc Stein has the good word on the Knicks' proposed deal for the Rockets' superstar and Tracy McGrady.
In exchange for taking back the Knicks' Jared Jeffries -- whose contract will pay as much as $7.6 million next season once a trade kicker is applied -- Houston is seeking three assets: New York's 2012 first-round pick, the right to swap first-round picks with the Knicks in the 2011 draft and Knicks rookie Jordan Hill.
Yet sources say New York balked Wednesday, even though shedding Jeffries' contract would enable the Knicks to sign two top-tier free agents this summer. The Knicks, source said, have conveyed to the Rockets that they're only willing to package two of those assets along with Jeffries and the $13.7 million expiring contract of Larry Hughes for McGrady's own expiring deal valued at $22.5 million.
Sources say the Knicks also want 1-to-10 lottery protection on any draft pick it surrenders to the Rockets, while Houston is pushing for the 2012 pick to be fully unprotected.
"We'd like McGrady and the cap relief," one Knicks source told ESPN.com's Chad Ford on Wednesday. "But the Rockets are asking for too much. We're willing to pay a premium to make a deal. But the price right now is still too high."
With Chicago potentially out of the picture, those of us salivating over more cap room should be excited. Meanwhile, those of us unsettled by the prospect of coughing up Hill and/or unprotected picks should be encouraged by Stein's sources.
The Knicks are still in the running for Tyrus Thomas.
If and when the Brian Cook deal goes down, it might be followed by a deal sending Al Harrington to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James (which will now be affectionately called "The Jerome James Deal").
It's all very exciting. I'll be up early tomorrow and updating as much as possible. Goodnight.