NEW YORK – The Cleveland Cavaliers' intrigue with selecting Syracuse guard Dion Waiters with the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft has gathered significant momentum, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Cavaliers haven’t been able to get Waiters to visit Cleveland for a workout and meeting with officials, but it hasn’t extinguished management’s ever-evolving fascination with choosing Waiters at No. 4 – especially if the Cavaliers are unable to secure Florida guard Bradley Beal.

Syracuse's Dion Waiters has quickly climbed into the top half of the draft lottery. (Getty Images)Cleveland has intensified its background checks on Waiters, and sources in direct contact with Cavs officials believe Waiters would be the franchise's choice over Kansas’ Thomas Robinson should the Charlotte Bobcats select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2, and the Washington Wizards take Beal at No. 3.

Because Waiters, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, had a promise later in the lottery, he stopped making visits to teams highest in the lottery. Nevertheless, Cleveland still believes it has strong

Read More »from Syracuse's Dion Waiters drawing interest from Cavaliers at No. 4 in NBA draft

The Houston Rockets have traded center Samuel Dalembert and the 14th pick in Thursday's NBA draft to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 12th pick and three players, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

In addition to the 12th pick, the Rockets will receive guard Shaun Livingston and forwards Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman. The deal allows the Rockets to move up in the draft as they continue to try to compile assets for a possible trade for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Houston now owns the 12th, 16th and 18th picks.

This is the second trade in as many days for the Rockets, who acquired the 18th pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for forward Chase Budinger.

Dalembert played one season for the Rockets, averaging 7.5 points and seven rebounds in 65 games. Only $1.5 million of Dalembert's $6.7 million team option for next season is guaranteed, but the Bucks plan to keep him.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Dwyane Wade could hire a shooting coach
• Clyde Drexler

Read More »from Houston Rockets deal Samuel Dalembert to Milwaukee Bucks, get 12th pick in NBA draft

NEW YORK – The Detroit Pistons have traded Ben Gordon and a lottery-protected draft pick in 2013 to the Charlotte Bobcats for Corey Maggette, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday night.

The deal will save the Pistons approximately $14.7 million on the two years remaining on Gordon's contract. He's slated to make $25.6 million over the term of his deal.

Maggette has $10.9 million left on an expiring contract.

After signing a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract with Detroit in 2009, Gordon struggled in his three years with the Pistons. He averaged 12.5 points per game a season ago. Gordon had been one of the league's prolific young scorers in his first five seasons with the Bulls.

Maggette, 32, will join his sixth NBA team. He averaged 15 points for the Bobcats last season.

The Pistons' draft pick is also protected through the eighth selection in 2014 and No. 1 in 2015. It is unprotected if the deal extends to 2016.  

Other popular content on Yahoo!

Read More »from Sources: Pistons deal Ben Gordon, protected pick to Bobcats for Corey Maggette

NEW YORK – NBA commissioner David Stern has punished the Oklahoma City Thunder, ordering them to send a future draft pick to the Boston Celtics as compensation for the heart problems that Jeff Green suffered with the Celtics, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Jeff Green took a seat for the season in December. (USPW)

Oklahoma City will send Boston the 2013 second-round pick that it controls from Charlotte. Expected to be the worst team in the league again, Charlotte's pick will likely be the 31st overall.

[Draft related: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist overcomes stuttering problem]

After Green had season-ending surgery for an aortic aneurysm in December, Boston's doctors constructed a case to take to the NBA trying to show proof that Oklahoma City owed the Celtics some kind of compensation, sources said. The Thunder had traded Green to the Celtics in February of 2011 as part of a package for center Kendrick Perkins.

In a statement, the NBA said, "Stern found that there was no evidence of bad faith or any intent to withhold information on the

Read More »from Thunder forced to give up draft pick to Celtics as compensation for Jeff Green's health issues

As the Houston Rockets prepare for a run at Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, they've secured another top 20 pick in the NBA draft, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Rockets traded forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 18th overall pick in the draft, giving Houston the 14th, 16th and 18th picks in Thursday's draft.

The Rockets included the rights to Israeli Lior Eliyahu in the deal with Minnesota.

Budinger, a second-round pick in 2009, developed into a solid performer at small forward for the Rockets. At 6-foot-7, he averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds for Houston last season. He'll have a chance to play significant minutes for the Timberwolves.

[Marc J. Spears: Weber State's Damian Lillard will make name for himself after NBA draft]

Houston has been undaunted by Howard's private insistence that he wants a trade to only the Brooklyn Nets or Dallas Mavericks, sources said. Houston is willing to make a deal for Howard, believing it can

Read More »from Sources: Rockets get 18th pick in NBA draft with trade of Chase Budinger to Timberwolves

NEW YORK – As ex-Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy plans his comeback to the NBA, the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as serious suitors to sign the former All-Star guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.Brandon Roy's last game was in a 2011 playoff loss to Dallas. (US Presswire)

Roy's recovery from chronic knee problems has been recently spurred by undergoing the platelet rich plasma therapy procedure that Lakers star Kobe Bryant popularized with NBA players, sources said. The blood spinning procedure gave profound relief to the knees of Bryant, Tracy McGrady and baseball star Alex Rodriguez. 

The Golden State Warriors have also expressed strong interest with Roy. The Warriors' general manager, Bob Myers, was Roy's agent with the Wasserman Media Group.

[Related: Weber State's Damian Lillard top candidate as draft's top sleeper pick]

After Portland doctors pushed Roy to stop playing in 2011, the Blazers used the league's new amnesty provision to pay him the remaining $63 million on his

Read More »from Brandon Roy's top suitors are Bulls, Mavs, Pacers and T'wolves, sources say

Danny Ferry has accepted the Atlanta Hawks' offer to become their general manager job, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Ferry replaces Hawks GM Rick Sund, who had been leaning toward retirement or taking on an advisory role with his contract expiring after Thursday's NBA draft.

A front-office executive with the San Antonio Spurs, Ferry also had extensive talks with the Philadelphia 76ers on their GM position. Ferry traveled to Philadelphia to meet with Sixers ownership two weeks ago, but the 76ers broke off talks with him in recent days, when they were unable to come to terms on a deal, a league source said. Philadelphia will take its time to find a successor to GM Rod Thorn, and Thorn will continue to oversee basketball operations through Thursday's draft and likely the July 1 start of free agency. Ferry was a candidate that coach Doug Collins had pushed to ownership, but the two sides were never able to agree to contract terms.

Between two stops as an assistant GM with the

Read More »from Atlanta Hawks hire Danny Ferry as GM

MIAMI – Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins played with a partially torn groin in the final three rounds of the playoffs, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Perkins mobility was severely limited in the NBA Finals after suffering the injury in Game 4 of the Thunder's opening-round sweep of the Dallas Mavericks.

For the playoffs, Perkins averaged 4.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 20 games. Considered one of the top post defenders in the league, Perkins struggled to jump and move laterally in the Finals against Miami.