Marc Berman of the New York Post reports: Did the trade rumors get to Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell on Wednesday night, his head coach thinks so.

Don Chaney said Latrell Sprewell looked distracted in Wednesday's loss to Golden State because of the spate of trade reports flourishing with the trading deadline coming up Thursday.

So, Chaney addressed the team yesterday before showing the game film, telling the players not to let the deadline affect their concentration.

"It's on his mind," Chaney said. "I don't care what he says. He's a strong guy. Nobody wants to be traded. He likes this team. He says all the right things, but it's hard. These guys don't want to leave. He's able to for the most part separate it, but he wasn't able to separate it [Wednesday night]. It bothered him and it bothered some of our other guys, too.

"I mentioned to the guys, we're all pros. You have to be able to just concentrate on the game, not an easy thing to do. In this profession there's going to be rumors if you're a good player. They're a little bit embarrassed after watching the tape of how badly they played."

In the game, which could have been his final home game, against the Golden State Warriors, Sprewell shot 5-of-18 for only 12 points.

In other Knick news, the second-round pick that they acquired in the McDyess deal would be 31st overall if the season ended today.  One league executive called it "a hot commodity" because the pick is nearly a first-rounder and you don't have to give a player a guaranteed deal with it.

Teams are also interested in Charlie Ward and their point-guard-of-the-future Milos Vujanic, but GM Scott Layden will only part with him in a package to net a proven young big-man stud like Memphis' Pau Gasol.