BREAKING NEWS:

Knicks just traded Jamal Crawford (PG/SG, GSW) for Al Harrington (PF/C, NYK).

More to come. They want Zach Randolph off the books ASAP and Dallas covets his skillset. Look for more activity over the next week or two.

Check this out from the Knicks Fix on Newsday.com :

The Knicks, Warriors and Clippers are talking about a three-way deal that would involve Jamal Crawford (PG/SG, NYK), Zach Randolph (PF/C, NYK) and Mardy Collins (SG/SF, NYK) being sent in a cap-space clearing move that would bring in Tim Thomas (SF/PF, LAC), Cuttino Mobley (SG, LAC) and Al Harrington (PF/C, GSW).

The contracts on all three incoming players expire in 2010.

Trying to confirm this now.

Stay tuned . . .

So, if you're holding Harrington hoping for a quick trade, it might be coming. Good time to speculate and snag him if he was dropped in your league, particularly if you have a chump you've been itching to hand the pink slip.

Okay folks, if you have stakes in Knicks players, you need to pay attention here.

Remember in the offseason/preseason when Mike D'Antoni was talking about starting Jared Jeffries (SG/SF, NYK) at Center?

Well, Jeffries is about to return to practice and will be back in a couple of weeks or so. What does that mean for the rotation?

Jared Jeffries - the team reiterated that he is the top candidate to start at Center. He'd be a nice player to own for multiple eligibility purposes (in addition to SG/SF, he could soon be PF/C, delivering true four-position fantasy eligibility!), but don't expect elite stats.  Even if he plays 35 mpg, we're looking at a guy who'll likely offer 8-10 points, maybe six or seven boards, a couple of assists, and little else. AND you'll be forced to take on his career 57.1 FT%. Think Josh Boone (PF/C, NJN), but with a boatload less toughness to go with that hustle.

Zach Randolph (PF/C, NYK) - Hopefully your format already gave him C eligibility, because the C minutes will go to Jeffries and David Lee (PF/C, NYK). He should continue to do roughly the same as he has done so far, minus a board or two on his average.

David Lee (PF/C, NYK) - Expect more of the same inconsistency, with possibly fewer minutes now that another frontline player will be added to the rotation. Sell him now on name value if you can.  Those bone spurs aren't going away without rest or medical attention, and the team won't have to push him as hard for minutes in the near term.

Quentin Richardson (SG/SF, NYK) - Another sell high guy, and ASAP.  He is a near-lock to lose his starting gig, while...

Wilson Chandler (SG/SF, NYK) continues to start. His value will remain pretty close to where it is now.

At least owners of Jamal Crawford (PG/SG, NYK) and Chris Duhon (PG, NYK) won't have to worry about them losing their starting gigs. Crawford has proven he can flourish in D'Antoni's system, and Duhon is a great role player who doesn't mind deferring on the offensive end, which is perfect next to selfish free shooters like Crawford and Randolph.

And as for Stephon Marbury (PG, NYK), look for some decision on him to come within a week or so after Jeffries returns. There are too many guys vying for roster spots, and the team can't afford to drag out this drama for much longer.

NOTE: You can read more on this topic in today's entry on the Knicks Blog . Take a look...

In the final 30-seconds of the Rockets-Thunder game Ron Artest (SF/PF, HOU)  rolled his ankle and it does not look good.  This comes after Tracy McGrady (SG/SF, HOU)  left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.   If you're a fantasy owner you had been thoroughly warned bout T-Mac and his inability to stay on the floor.  I hate to say it, but all I could do when T-Mac hurt himself was shrug it off.  Artest, on the other hand, was an unfortunate incident.  Trying to put down a transition bucket when the team bus was already warmed up is truly disappointing.  Both injuries just happened, so the severity of each is still yet to be known.  But, let's hope that Artest is not another victim of the dreaded 2-to-4 week ankle roll.  T-Mac, on the other hand... c'est la vie!  

In my column this week I also gave you the Luis Scola (PF/C, HOU) tip.  He finished the night with 23 points and 9 rebounds.  Two things that make me scratch my head a bit in regards to Scola is that he shot 66.8 percent from the charity stripe last season, while this year he's 21-for-21 from the line.  He's got a nice stroke there.  The second think that I question is why he is only owned in 61 percent of Yahoo! leagues and (can this be right?) 23.4 percent of ESPN leagues.  Go get Scola.  He's center-eligible and if there is any chance that Artest AND McGrady miss time you are looking at a guy who is going to get more touches and 20-and-10 might be a nightly stat-line.      

 Disgruntled Kevin Durant (SG/SF, OKC) owners are pleased to see his scoring outburst tonight, dropping 29 points against the Rockets and picking up a hefty number of steals (4).  The one three-pointer isn't anything to write home about.  Neither is the fact that he's made only four all season.  But, take this game as an indicator of what Durant can do if he remains consistent.  He did this against a Houston team who is leading the league in team defense allowing only 88.1 points per game coming into tonight.

Finally, Russell Westbrook (PG, OKC) continues to impress.  He had five steals tonight and put in a modest 14 points, but showed he was aggressive going to the hole and not intimidated at all by the Rockets defense.   Though, I should note that he's got a tough back-to-back matchup at the point against Chris Paul (PG, NOH) later this week.  That should be an indicator as to how ready he actually is.  Still, I was mightily impressed with the rookie and he's shown that he can be a solid option at the point this year.  

-Lorenzo 

Still a WIP here, but check out our projected rankings for this season as of today. Feedback? Comments? Think we're idiots? Comment below!