Odds & Ends: Suns, Courtney Lee, Greene, Mavs

All non-Dwight Howard NBA news is something of an afterthought today, as we wait to see if the four teams involved in Howard trade talks will finally officially consummate a deal, having reached a tentative agreement last night. As we wait, let's round up a few other Friday odds and ends from around the NBA....

• Joking that Howard is now out of the mix for the Suns' backup center and 13th-man opening, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines a few other options for the spot, including Jerome Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, and Shelden Williams.
• Courtney Lee tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com that joining the Celtics was a "no-brainer" for him.
• Former Kings forward Donte Greene was planning a charity game at a college in Sacramento, but the league has forced its cancellation, citing stipulations in the collective bargaining agreeement, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom adds detail, including word from Greene's Twitter account that players who took part without league approval would face suspensions and fines. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was one of the players scheduled to take part.
• Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News argues that there would have been just as much risk for the Mavericks to keep their 2011 title team together as there was in breaking up the roster in an effort to land Deron Williams and/or Howard.