Earl Cochrane wasn't giving too much away when I spoke to him about the re-entry draft for MLSsoccer.com. However, if you look carefully you can find some things of note in the resulting article, which can be read here.
As I expected, Cochrane seemed to suggest that he didn't expect much action in the first phase of the draft. He didn't say it this bluntly, but what is clear is that the players available are so for a reason -- they are overpaid. Although it's possible that some teams might seen value in other teams castoffs, the draft will likely play out as a bit of a chess match. If a team likes a player they might want to gamble on him still being available in the second phase when they can negotiate a new contract. If they are pickled up in phase one the clubs are obligated to take on the player's contract. The majority of players in the draft had the club decline an option year.
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Cochrane also suggested that the big names -- Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Jeff Cunningham, Juan Pablo Angel, Jimmy Conrad, etc. -- are likely to be less appealing than some of the mid-level guys in the draft. Taking on a player that you think might be useful at a lower number (say $60-70,000) is far less risky.
In practice it's likely that the player's agents are letting clubs know if they are interested in going there. Guys like Toronto's Nick Garcia could be attractive to teams, but only at a much lower salary. As fans we sometimes forget that we are talking about middle class guys here. Personal decisions are likely to dictate where a player facing a 50 per cent pay cut might end up. The re-entry draft makes it easier for those players to find their way to preferred destinations.
It's possible that a lot of action could take place after the draft. Those players that aren't selected at all are free to negotiate with any team. MLS wanted to avoid a free agent bidding war, but it's possible that some forgotten veterans could create just that when a couple injuries or signing/draft busts in February suddenly makes them more attractive.
It's difficult to know exactly what is going to happen since we haven't gone through the process just yet. However, you can reasonably expect that the real action will happen after tomorrow's first phase.
In other words, don't expect a press conference at BMO Field with Juan Pablo Angel holding a red strip tomorrow.