Stephen Curry told Yahoo! Sports he has agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract extension with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Guard Stephen Curry was limited to 26 games last season.

Curry is expected to sign the extension prior to Wednesday's season opener against the Phoenix Suns. A league source told Yahoo! Sports the Warriors initially had contract discussions on a smaller contract extension that would pay Curry $8.5 million in the first year and $10 million in the fourth because of concerns over Curry's lingering ankle issues. But a day after Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract extension, Golden State upped the ante to re-sign Curry prior to Wednesday's midnight ET deadline. Curry would have been a restricted free agent after the season if a deal wasn't reached.

"I'm excited about getting the deal done," Curry said. "Now I can focus on basketball and staying healthy. I always wanted to get it done before the season started. Now I got it done."

Curry was limited to 26 games last

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LOS ANGELES – Microphone in hand, all eyes on him, Kobe Bryant stood in the middle of the Staples Center floor and revealed the only goal his Los Angeles Lakers care about this season. Los Angeles had acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the offseason to load up the league's most talented starting lineup, and yet this much hadn't changed from any of Bryant's previous years in the NBA: The Lakers don't consider a season a success unless it ends with a parade.

"As you know, we got a lot of expectations this season," Bryant told the crowd minutes before the Lakers' opening game against the Dallas Mavericks. "We are working hard to live up to the expectations. We are trying to bring a championship back home where it belongs in Los Angeles. Thank you very much. Let's get this party started and enjoy the show."

About three hours into this supposed Lakers season-opening party, it felt more like the Mavericks and their owner Mark Cuban had popped all the yellow and purple

Read More »from Lakers' opening act falls flat in loss to Mavs

LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant says he's "85 percent sure" he'll play in the Los Angeles Lakers' season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard could both be in uniform for the Lakers' opener. (AP)Bryant has not played or practiced since straining his right foot in an exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 21. Lakers coach Mike Brown called Bryant a game-time decision for Tuesday night.

Bryant said after the Lakers' shootaround Tuesday morning that he thinks he'll play.

"It's just a matter of how sore [his foot] gets from now until I get to Staples [Center]," Bryant told reporters.

Bryant participated in the Lakers' shootaround and is expected to test his foot at the Staples Center on Tuesday night before making a final decision on whether he will play. If Bryant sits, the Lakers are expected to start Jodie Meeks. Meeks averaged 9.1 points as a starter in 50 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season.

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and center Chris Kaman will miss Tuesday's game because of

Read More »from Kobe Bryant '85 percent' sure he'll play in Lakers opener

The Denver Nuggets have reached agreement with point guard Ty Lawson on a four-year, $48 million contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Lawson, who turns 25 on Saturday, agreed to the extension one day before the NBA's deadline. He would have become a restricted free agent at the end of the season if he and the Nuggets hadn't come to terms.

Lawson averaged career highs of 16.4 points and 6.6 assists in 61 games for the Nuggets last season. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

He was the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA's 2008 draft, his talent regarded highly enough that some questioned whether he should have actually been taken first ahead of Derrick Rose. Some 4½ years later, Michael Beasley understands the perception of him has changed.

"I know the public sees me as a monster," Beasley told Yahoo! Sports. "That is what the media paints me as. But I'm me, a monster to some, a nice guy to some, a great father to four, a son, a brother just like everybody. What the media thinks or perceives me as, is not my concern. I'm just doing what I got to do to, first, help the team, second, help myself.

"Five years in, I'm nowhere near where I thought or wanted myself to be. I don't have anyone to blame that on but myself. All I can do is look forward. On the court, off the court, I'm in a better space, better state of mind – the right track so to speak."

The Phoenix Suns can only hope. They signed Beasley to a three-year, $18 million contract in the summer,

Read More »from Michael Beasley hopes to find home in Phoenix

The reigning champion Miami Heat enter the 2012-13 NBA season as the league's elite team, but who knows what the next six months will hold for LeBron James and his teammates as they attempt to defend their title. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are hungrier than ever. The Los Angeles Lakers have reloaded with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, and the Boston Celtics have stocked their roster with new faces.

Here's a look at how the league's 30 teams stand before the season starts on Tuesday:

1. Miami Heat (46-20 last season): Will the NBA see the Dwyane Wade of old or an old Dwyane Wade after his offseason knee surgery?

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (47-19 last season): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder return hungrier after losing in the Finals, but will James Harden's uncertain future with the franchise become a distraction?

3. Los Angeles Lakers (41-25 last season): Dwight Howard's strong play in his preseason debut calmed any worries about his back,

Read More »from NBA Power Rankings 2012: Heat lead pack

Gilbert Arenas is nearing an agreement on a one-year contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, a source told Yahoo! Sports.

Arenas, 30, was a three-time All-Star who averaged 20.7 points over 11 seasons for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. He was suspended for most of the 2009–10 season after bringing guns to the Wizards' locker room. He averaged 4.2 points and 1.1 assists while playing in 17 games for Memphis last season.

[Fantasy Basketball '12: Play the official game of NBA.com]

Arenas hoped to return to the NBA this season while working out in his hometown of Los Angeles, but no teams expressed interest.

The Chinese Basketball Association now has a long list of former NBA players, including former All-Stars Stephon Marbury and Tracy McGrady. By signing with Guangdong, Arenas will join former NBA player Yi Jianlian, who played with the Dallas Mavericks last season.

Yahoo! Sports

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The Los Angeles Lakers have targeted Sunday's preseason game against the Sacramento Kings for Dwight Howard to make his debut, several sources told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night.

Barring any complications with Howard's back over the next couple days, the Lakers are optimistic the All-Star center will make their first appearance for them on Sunday.

[Fantasy Basketball '12: Play the official game of NBA.com]

Dwight Howard has so far been confined to cheering on the Lakers in the preseason. (AP)"He is making progress," one Lakers source told Yahoo! Sports. "There is a good chance he can play Sunday."

Howard has been sidelined since having surgery in April to repair a herniated disk. He's not expected to play against the Kings on Friday in Las Vegas. The Lakers would like Howard to play in two of their three remaining preseason games after Friday, sources said. But they're hesitant to play him in both games of a back-to-back Wednesday and Thursday.

[Related: Kobe's got A-Rod's back]

Howard hasn't had any setbacks in practices since training camp began. If

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