US PresswireOrlando Magic center Dwight Howard could remain with his team for the rest of the season and become a free agent this summer or get traded before the March 15 trade deadline.

Either way, the word is that he isn't interested in going to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Sports Illustrated.

"Close friends of Howard say he was, in fact, informed that [Kobe] Bryant sees him as a second or third option on a championship-caliber team if he came to Los Angeles," SI reports. That idea might not sit well with Howard, but it really doesn't sit well with the Lakers' owners, the Buss family.

The family "is said to be irked by Bryant's alleged role in the matter and hopeful that Howard — who they see as the business and basketball draw for the next decade — can still be convinced otherwise," Sports Illustrated reports. However, Howard is still focused on the New Jersey Nets, according to SI.

There is always drama in L.A.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

US PresswireSan Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson won't pitch in a game for two more weeks and hasn't faced a batter since elbow pain forced him from the mound last August, but he's sure he'll be ready for opening day, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"I'll be ready opening day," he said, the paper notes. "I know there's speculation I won't be, but I will be. If there's a save opportunity on opening day, I'll be saving the game. I'm ready."

Wilson spent last season with hip and elbow pain, the paper notes, but he's feeling pretty good these days. "When I go out and pitch to hitters, I'm not going to be surprised when I do well," Wilson said, the paper reports. "I'm going to take the mound and dominate. Any pitcher should think that way. I'm going to pitch pain-free and get the same three outs I always do, and it will be exciting."

Don't forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

US PresswireThe St. Louis Cardinals do not want to wait till season's end to make a deal with impending free-agent catcher Yadier Molina. Instead, it's looking like an extension will be in place soon.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the two sides are "close to agreement on a multi-year extension likely to make Molina the seventh catcher in the game's history to realize a deal with an average annual value exceeding $10 million." The length of the contract is said to be for five years, the Post-Dispatch reports.

Molina's agent, Melvin Roman, has been in Florida for nearly a week in talks with the team, the paper notes, and conversations are continuing. However, if the deal isn't done by opening day, the sides will stop talking, Roman said, according to the paper.

The 29-year-old Molina is a three-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner. Last year, he won the Rawlings Platinum Glove for the league's best defender. He hit .305 with 14 homers and 32 doubles last season as the Cards

US PresswireLinebacker Bart Scott has spent the last three seasons with the New York Jets, but ESPN reports that he isn't likely to be back with the team.

"Team officials met with Scott's agent at the NFL scouting combine to discuss the linebacker's future," the site notes. Agent Harold Lewis told ESPN Monday that he informed the team that his client was "extremely frustrated" with his decreasing playing time last year, a fact that was "destroying [Scott]."

Lewis said Scott would like to stay with the Jets, but "if we can't fix what's broken, there will be other opportunities," ESPN reports. One place the 32-year-old wouldn't mind ending up, the agent told the site, is with the New York Giants.

While the Jets "are prepared to part ways with Scott," the site notes, the remaining issue is that his $4.2 million base salary is guaranteed. The reason for that guarantee, ESPN notes, is because Scott took a $1 million cut last summer in exchange for the guarantee so the team would have more cap space.

US PresswireLeft guard Kris Dielman went undrafted out of Indiana in 2003 but then hooked on with the San Diego Chargers. He's been there ever since, but the San Diego Union-Tribune has it that the 31-year-old could be leaving the team this offseason.

The word is that Dielman "is close to announcing he will retire," the paper notes, though Dielman and the team won't yet confirm it.

Dielman suffered a seizure and concussion in October but "appeared ready to play again," the Union-Tribune reports. But he will hang up his helmet for good "on the advice of doctors, with an eye toward quality of his life several years from now."

The four-time Pro Bowler has appeared in 120 games for the Chargers.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

US PresswireDenver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has been out since Feb. 6 with a fracture in his left foot, but he told La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy that he'll be back in 10 days, according to Sportando.

"I feel better," he said, according to Sportando. "The ankle is not swollen anymore and in the next days I will start again running and jumping. I think that in 10 days I should be able to return to action. Denver Nuggets first half of the season was good, we have a positive record and we all are satisfied. About my future, I have to improve still a lot and I hope to be a better player in a short period. Nuggets believe in me but I know I can give more to them."

The 23-year-old Gallinari, who came to the Nuggets as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal with the New York Knicks, is averaging 17 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for Denver this season.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

US PresswireThe Philadelphia 76ers surprisingly started the year incredibly strong after a .500 year last season that saw them getting pushed out of the playoffs in the first round by the Miami Heat.

The Sixers have lost their last five, but still hold on to first place in the Atlantic Division (and fourth in the conference), 3.5 games ahead of the New York Knicks.

It remains to be seen if the Sixers can turn things around, but they'll have to do it without reinforcements at center for the time being. Center Spencer Hawes, who has missed 19 of the last 20 games with a strained left Achilles' tendon, will be out for at least another two weeks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

That means Philly will have rookie center Lavoy Allen starting for a little longer, the paper notes.

In the 14 games Hawes has played this season, he has generated 10.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game. The 6-9 Allen is averaging 5.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game.

Don't forget to

US PresswireCalf problems have kept Toronto Raptors forward/center Andrea Bargnani out of the lineup for all but two games since Jan. 11. Word came last week that he should be ready to go after the All-Star break, but Raptors PR reports that the 7-0 Italian didn't practice Monday and has "no return date set."

The good news, though, is that Bargnani did do "some conditioning and running off to the side," according to the PR department's tweet.

The 26-year-old, who was selected first overall in the 2006 draft, is averaging 23.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game in the 13 contests he's appeared in this season.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.