Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo has built a decent team for himself. The team is second in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Before Colangelo got there, the team had a pitiful 27-win season.

According to Sportsnet Canada, there have been rumors for a long time that Colangelo would eventually take over the New York Knicks once Donnie Walsh decided he had done enough damage there. But now there are rumors that the new owner of the New Jersey Nets, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, may be interested in getting Colangelo to take over a team that is far more pitiful than the Raptors used to be, a team that is on course to become the worst one in NBA history. Wouldn't you want to clean house?

So far, Colangelo will be a free man this summer. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment hasn't picked up Colangelo's option for next year yet. Looks like Bryan could be Jersey Boy before you know it.

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Source: Sportsnet.ca

Lots of teams are apparently calling Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge this week to check on the availability of shooting guard Ray Allen(notes), whose $19.7 million expires this summer, according to the Boston Globe.

Ainge is apparently not going to other teams to shop Allen and told the player that last week. But he can't stop others from asking and making offers. Ainge would only do it for a younger player who is a proven scorer.

Sacramento Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin(notes) has three years left on his contract and may be available because of the stellar play of rookie Tyreke Evans(notes).

However, the Kings might force whoever takes Martin to also take on Andres Nocioni(notes) and the two years left on his contract. If this last part is true, it could kill it for the Celtics, who don't have any desire to add more big contracts.

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Source: Boston Globe

The New York Knicks are apparently trying to find a way to bring Tracy McGrady(notes) and his $23 million expiring contract to the Big Apple before the Feb. 18 trading deadline, according to the New York Post.

Knicks prez Donnie Walsh told the Post it isn't likely that he'll be able to ditch Jared Jeffries(notes), who has another year left on his five-year, $30 million contract, before the deadline in order to clear more space. Any big deal that happens for the Knicks will likely be an exchange of expiring contracts, he said.

The Knicks are really, really hoping that somehow the big-name free agents that are available this summer - LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), Chris Bosh(notes), maybe Amar'e Stoudemire(notes), Ray Felton, etc. - will look beyond how lousy the team has been in recent years and go for the available moulah and the idea of living in the city that never sleeps.

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Source: New York Post

The Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats are apparently talking about a trade that would send Glen Davis(notes) down South and bring D.J. Augustin(notes) to the Northeast, according to ESPN. The deal isn't close to happening but one never knows.

The 6'9" Davis would fill the power forward need that the Bobcats have and perhaps a change of scenery would help him lose the Big Baby nickname he's been trying to shake since he was a kid. You probably wouldn't want to call him that to his face. After all, this is the guy who when he was 15 supposedly body slammed Shaquille O'Neal(notes).

Charlotte Coach Larry Brown isn't happy with Augustin these days so he would fit the Celt's need for a backup point guard.

The problem is that other Celtics players need to be thrown into the deal in order to make it work financially and that may keep it from happening. They've got till Feb. 18 to figure it out.

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Source: ESPN

Just a few weeks ago, everybody seemed pretty set on the idea that Phoenix Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire(notes) would opt out of his contract this summer and join the star-studded free-agent class of 2010. So the Suns began to try and trade the fella, figuring they should get some value back in the process of losing such a talent.

The team apparently got some good interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers but then Stoudemire mucked things up when he said last week that he was leaning toward not opting out and playing a final year in Phoenix. Guess he doesn't want to lose that $17 million the team owes him if he stays.

Due to the financial instability of our world right now, there will only be so many big-money, long-term deals that can be handed out this summer. Some people think Stoudemire is deserving of a big contract and some people don't.

So the teams that thought they were just trading for Stoudemire for the short term are now backing off a little since they don't have that $17 million inked into the budget for next season. A deal could certainly still get done. There is just a new barrier to deal with. Perhaps Stoudemire would agree to opt out if he got traded.

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Source: Arizona Republic

The NBA has sliced $4 million from the Washington Wizards' salary cap this year due to the suspensions of Gilbert Arenas(notes) and Javaris Crittenton(notes). So now the team only needs to get rid of $4 million or $5 million more to get under the salary cap, so it's looking more and more like the team is going to ditch Caron Butler(notes) before the Feb. 18 trading deadline, according to NBA.com.

The rumor is that the team has offers from the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets and will likely decide on one by week's end. However, the Wizards may want any team taking Butler to also take Mike James(notes) or DeShawn Stevenson(notes) in order to clear up some more cash.

The Wizards apparently want a younger player in the deal, which means the Mavs would need to include rookie guard Rod Beaubois. The Rockets have young guard Kyle Lowry(notes) and an expiring contract in forward Luis Scola(notes) to deal along with the massive $23 million expiring contract of Tracy McGrady(notes).

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Source: NBA.com

Kobe Bryant(notes) had some prime seating to watch his teammates maul the San Antonio Spurs Monday night, 101-89. Of course, he couldn't get out onto the court because of a sprained ankle but he seemed to enjoy it all the same.

Still, that severely sprained ankle is bothering him. Right now, he can't even push off on the ankle, which "limits his ability to run and shoot." Just a few crucial little things.
So it is looking likely that he'll end up skipping the game against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and the All-Star Game this weekend.

"I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to run through a wall just to run through a wall," he said. "Injury-wise, if I feel I can play through it, I will. If it can heal while I'm playing, I'll play. But if it's the type of injury that playing will make it worse, I won't play."

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Source: Orange County Register

Can Carmelo make it nine straight? Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony(notes) still has a hurt ankle and, as of Monday afternoon, wasn't sure if he would be ready for tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks, according to the Denver Post.

It'll make nine straight games that Anthony misses if he sits out tonight with the sprained left ankle. If he doesn't play tonight, it seems clear that he'll be back on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.

"Hopefully I can get back out there tomorrow," Anthony told the Post. "It felt good out there today. It's getting better each day. Pretty much I was doing a lot that I could do before I got hurt."

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Source: Denver Post

It was a surprise when Del Harris left the New Jersey Nets as an assistant coach last week. Now word comes from the Newark Star-Ledger that a disagreement between Harris and Nets president Rod Thorn led to Harris taking off from the Garden State.

The agent for Harris apparently told Thorn that his dismal team would be better served if Harris took over as coach and Kiki Vandeweghe was sent back to the front office where he came from.

Thorn supposedly cut the agent off and said, "Hold it right there. All due respect, he will not be the next head coach here. So if he has any delusions about that, you should let him know it's not going to happen."

And then Harris headed to the exit.

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Source: Newark Star-Ledger

Chicago Bulls power forward Tyrus Thomas(notes) lost his temper with coach Vinnie Del Negro on Friday and now he's been suspended from the team. The Bulls will try to trade Thomas trade before the Feb. 18 deadline, according to the Chicago Tribune. After all, this is the third disciplinary measure the team has taken against him in his four seasons in Chicago.

If they can't find somebody to take him, the team will likely renounce his rights this summer. One reason the team is able to think about losing Thomas is because rookie Taj Gibson(notes) has been delivering in his spot while Thomas was out with an injury.

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Source: Chicago Tribune