If the playoffs began today, a team below .500 would make it to the postseason out of the Western Conference, a rare occurance in recent years, when the bulk of the league's better teams have been in the West. Of course, one of the sub-.500 teams right now is the Lakers, who are expected to turn it around sooner or later. The Mavs are another, and there's more news about their expected signing of Derek Fisher and other notes of interest from around the West.
- Darren Collison's inconsistent play had the Mavs thinking about a move for the past week or two, and it appears Fisher will take over as the starter in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle says Fisher isn't a cure-all for the team, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes via Facebook, and Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com believes Fisher's signing is a desperate move that follows a series of mistakes.
- Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms hopes to have a binding term sheet with a pro team, presumably the Kings, by March, which would pave the way for the Kings to file for relocation in April, according to Nick Monacelli of WAVY-TV 10.
- James Harden shared his thoughts with reporters shortly before tipoff of his return to Oklahoma City as a member of the Rockets tonight, and John Rohde of The Oklahoman provides excerpts.
- There's a "decent" chance Nemanja Bjelica, a 2010 second-round pick whose rights are owned by the Timberwolves, winds up in Minnesota next year, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
- Blazers COO Sarah Mensah told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that losing out on the team president job was a factor in her decision to leave.
- The Nuggets promoted a pair of front-office mainstays, observes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.