Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News writes that as the Lakers are trying to get into the top eight in the Western Conference, and thus the playoffs, they may be looking in the direction of Knicks forward Latrell Sprewell as a possible key.

L.A. is trying to find a third scorer to help relieve some of the burden from stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, and they have gone as far as holding internal discussions about trading for the Knicks' small forward, even asking Shaq for his input.

Two names mentioned from the Lakers have been Derek Fisher and Samaki Walker, but combined the Lakers are roughly $8M short of arriving at a deal which would be accepted by the league.  The Knicks, however, continue trying to find other teams who might be interested in Sprewell.

"They've got maybe one player I like - Kurt Thomas - because his money matches his talent," said one Western Conference VP, citing the $5 mil Thomas makes this season, and the $5.4 mil for next. "But who wants Spree at his money?"