As we wait to see if the Warriors can finish off the Nuggets tonight and set up a second-round date with the Spurs, let's check in on a few items out of the Pacific Division....

• Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman remains the frontrunner for the Suns' general manager opening, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Weltman is one of four candidates to have been interviewed by the team so far, according to Coro. Former Pacers GM David Morway, Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, and Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough are the other interviewees so far.
• Potential Kings investor Chris Kelly tells David Bienick of KCRA in Sacramento that the Sacramento group expects to put half of its offer for the Kings into escrow by Friday. At this point, the group is still working with the NBA rather than the Maloofs, Kelly tells Bienick (Twitter links).
• In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Derek Page wonders if it's time for the Lakers to start rebuilding.
• After missing his exit interview earlier this week, Antawn Jamison had it today with GM Mitch Kupchak, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter). Jamison seems highly unlikely to return to the Lakers next season.

The Rockets avoided being the second Western Conference team to be swept out of the first round last night, defeating the Thunder to send the series back to Oklahoma City. While we wait for that series to resume on Wednesday, tonight's schedule features a pair of Western matchups, including a chance for the Warriors to pull off a first round upset and eliminate the Nuggets. Here are a few updates out of the conference as we look forward to the evening's games:

• Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (via Sulia) confirms reports that Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman is the frontrunner to be the next Suns' general manager, adding that president Lon Babby was eyeing Weltman back before the team hired Lance Blanks. Bucher also echoes another rumor we heard recently, writing that the valuation of the Kings has owner Robert Sarver wondering "if it's time to cash out."
• As he continues his look at the Mavericks' free-agents-to-be, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com predicts that Anthony Morrow will sign a veteran's minimum contract this summer.
• Antawn Jamison, who underwent wrist surgery today after missing his exit interview yesterday, isn't expected to return to the Lakers next year, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
• Nolan Smith won't be back with the Trail Blazers next season, but he's looking forward to free agency, as he tells Susan Bible of HoopsWorld.

History was made this morning, as Jason Collins publicly came out as the first active male athlete to announce that he's gay. Collins, who hopes to continue his playing career, will be a free agent this summer, looking for a contract from a team in need of frontcourt help. In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler looked at a few other big men facing free agency, exploring what their respective futures might hold. Let's check out the highlights....

• Andray Blatche is still being paid by the Wizards through next season, so he won't necessarily be seeking the highest salary offered this summer. However, if he can secure a multiyear deal, he may lean toward that opportunity, says Kyler.
• Although he's eligible for restricted free agency, Austin Daye is unlikely to receive a qualifying offer from the Grizzlies. Kyler doesn't expect the ex-Piston to be back in Memphis next season.
• Carl Landry remains likely to opt out of his last year with the Warriors in search of a longer-term contract.
• The Pacers won't hold full Bird rights on David West, but West's Early Bird rights will be more than enough to make him a competitive offer. Kyler thinks West and the Pacers are likely to work out a deal fairly quickly that will keep the power forward in Indiana.
• Kyler notes that trading Danny Granger would help give the Pacers the flexibility to bring back both West and Tyler Hansbrough, who is eligible for restricted free agency. Kyler expects the Pacers to issue a qualifying offer to Hansbrough and match any reasonable offer.
• Antawn Jamison is unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, and if Earl Clark returns, it will have to be for not much more than the $1.24MM he made this year, says Kyler.
• Boris Diaw, who has a player option, and Matt Bonner, whose deal is only partially guaranteed, both figure to be back with the Spurs next season. However, Kyler says DeJuan Blair is "done in San Antonio," which echoes what we heard yesterday.

There aren't very many games left in the regular season, and the playoff picture in both conferences could look drastically different by mid-April with plenty of teams close together in the standings as of today. While it's not usual for us to focus on injuries, we have a few significant notes worth mentioning tonight:

• Pistons rookie big man Andre Drummond could be close to returning after a 21-game absence, says David Mayo of MLive. Although the Pistons aren't in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, a few more regular season games couldn't hurt the former UConn product's development if healthy. 
• Clippers guard Chauncey Billups is still day-to-day with a groin strain but could return on Tuesday against the Mavericks, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles. 
• Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times tweets that Lakers forward Antawn Jamison has ligament damage in his right wrist. Although he'll try to play through it, Jamison probably faces surgery in the offseason. 
• According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports (via Twitter), the Grizzlies have announced that center Marc Gasol will be out indefinitely after re-aggravating an abdominal tear last night against the Hornets. Though they are ahead of the sixth place Warriors by a comfortable margin in the standings, Memphis is separated from the third place Nuggets by one game and the fourth place Clippers by just half a game. 
• Joakim Noah will sit both of the Bulls' games this weekend as he continues to deal with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago. The team is currently one game behind the fifth-place Hawks and a half game ahead of the Celtics.   
• Greg Payne of ESPN Boston says that both Courtney Lee and Kevin Garnett are individually recovering from sprained left ankles. There doesn't appear to be a sense that those injuries are expected to keep either out for an extended period of time, but with just 14 games left and Boston currently on a three-game slide, missing two key rotation players can't necessarily help. 
• Knicks center Tyson Chandler has already missed six straight games due to a neck strain, and is still considered day-to-day (Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York reports). New York still remains atop the Atlantic Division, and while they are only one game behind the Pacers for second place in the East, the fourth place Nets aren't too far behind in their rear view mirror (1.5 games). 

• In that same piece, Sheridan says that former NBA superstar Tracy McGrady is mulling a return to the Qingdao Flying Eagles for another season. 
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says that it's "highly likely" the Magic will part ways with Hedo Turkoglu during the offseason. The 34-year-old forward doesn't appear to fit into the team's long-term plans, and only $6MM of his $12MM contract next year is fully guaranteed.
• Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles report that Lakers reserve Antawn Jamison will play through pain after suffering a slight tear in his shooting wrist during Friday night's loss to the Wizards. 
• Knicks coach Mike Woodson thinks that Jason Kidd could "absolutely" play two years after this one (Ian Begley of ESPN New York tweets). 
• Despite all the media attention converging onto Miami nowadays, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't think that the Heat approaching the NBA's all-time winning streak has created any unneeded pressure.  
• Marc D'Amico of Celtics.com examines Jeff Green's performance against the Heat last Monday, calling it a game indicative of a potential superstar.

Antawn Jamison turned down more years and more money from the Bobcats last summer to sign with the Lakers, in hopes of finally capturing a championship. The season hasn't gone as planned for Jamison or the Lakers, but the veteran forward doesn't expect this to be his last shot at a title, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

"After this year, I got two more years," Jamison said. "Mentally, I’m set for two more years and that’s it."

Jamison, 36, is currently in his 15th NBA season, playing for fifth team, and will be an unrestricted free agent again this summer. Still, this isn't the first time we've heard that he doesn't intend to retire after this season. Three weeks ago, he told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he thinks he can "still compete with these young guys."

It's not clear yet whether the Lakers would be interested in bringing Jamison back next season. While L.A. will likely be wary of adding much salary to a roster that's expected to be well into the tax, the team has to fill out its bench somehow. Jamison signed a minimum-salary contract last offseason, so if he's willing to do that again, I'd expect the Lakers to have some interest.

When I looked earlier this week at teams with open roster spots, only four clubs had more than one opening. Since then, the Celtics have filled their two open spots, leaving the Hornets, Warriors, and Grizzlies as the NBA's only teams carrying just 13 players. Now, the Hornets will find themselves with one fewer player available, as the team announced today that Jason Smith will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum. As one club that took full advantage of 10-day contracts last season, it may be only a matter of time before New Orleans brings in some young players on 10-day deals to add some roster depth.

Here are a few more Friday updates from around the Western Conference:

• Antawn Jamison turned down a three-year, $11MM offer from the Bobcats to sign for the minimum with the Lakers last offseason, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The veteran forward also has no intention of retiring after this season, as Shelburne tweets. "I don't think this is my last run," Jamison said. "I can still compete with these young guys."
• Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks aren't interested in playing the what-if game when it comes to misses in free agency, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. "In free agency, we can’t always get what we want," Nowitzki said of the team's pursuit of Deron Williams. "It’s not a Wish concert. It didn’t go the way we wanted so we have to move on as a franchise."
• After a bounceback 2012/13 season with the Suns, Jermaine O'Neal can count on drawing more interest as a free agent this coming summer than he did last year, says Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld.
• In a piece for Grantland, Bill Simmons lists his choices for the NBA's best contracts, and three of his top 15 belong to the Spurs.

In this morning's column, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld looks at the top trade candidates in the league.  Let's dive in..

• League sources say it would be almost impossible for the Raptors to move Andrea Bargnani and the three years and $32.25MM remaining on his deal until he returns and proves his elbow isn’t going to be a problem. Toronto hopes that he can return sometime in early February so teams can get a good look at him before the February 21st trade deadline and won't seek much in return.  However, club sources say they don't want a ton of long-term salary unless they're getting exactly the right player. 
• The stance from the Lakers is that they are not looking at deals for Pau Gasol and word is that they're not looking at deals at all.  The Lakers have taken stock of the marketplace for the big man and have found it to be somewhat disappointing.  There are deals for Gasol, but all of them either have the Lakers taking back multiple assets, which they cannot do without eating some contracts or taking on bad deals.  Team sources say the goal is to compete for a  championship this year and that Gasol, at this point, gives them the best chance for that. 
• On January 7th, the Lakers will need to decide on guaranteeing the non-guaranteed contracts of rookies Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom.  The Lakers could opt to cut one or both and open roster spots for free agents, other cut players with non-guaranteed deals, or 10-day contracts (which begin on January 10th). 
• There has been speculation that Antawn Jamison wants off of the Lakers because of his decreased playing time, but the forward and sources close to him say that's not the case.
• League sources say Anderson Varejao is one of the more talked about trade targets in the league, but the Cavs are asking the moon for the big man.  If they cling to their evaluation of Varejao as an All-Star type talent, they may not find many buyers.
• League sources openly question if there is a marketplace for Richard Hamilton, who has had a lot of injuries since joining the Bulls and question whether or not he’ll be anything more than a role player on another team.

Antawn Jamison has apologized for commenting negatively on his decreased playing time, writes ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin. Jamison has not played in five straight games, but says he's in it for the "long haul."

• Now that Steve Nash and Pau Gasol have returned to the Lakers, the team is beginning to play with more cohesion and confidence, writes Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Pincus. 
• Darnell Mayberry on NewsOk.com writes that Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook needs to improve his jump shot if the team is to contend late in the season. 
• FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico writes that Hornets guard Eric Gordon is healthy, but is he happy. If Gordon still wants a trade, the Suns, Thunder, and Pacers could all be interested. 

• Sam Amick of USA Today writes that some people close to both Kings GM Geoff Petrie and the Maloof brothers do not think that Petrie's 19-year run with the organization will extend beyond this season. Going further, Amick also writes about how the unilateral decision by ownership to reinstate DeMarcus Cousins went against the wishes of the front office, and that Petrie was not part of the reinstatement process.   
• Stan Van Gundy says that Dwight Howard has not "looked himself" this season, specifically noting the lack of explosiveness and quickness that he had shown before, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. However, the former Magic head coach believes that Howard is more than capable of adjusting to his situation and insists that the two are in good standing with each other.
• Pau Gasol has seemingly found his rhythm within Mike D'Antoni's offense, and the addition of a potent three-point shot has certainly helped expedite that process, writes Janis Carr of the Orange County Register.  
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times believes that the Clippers and their 16-game winning streak face a tough test ahead of them, with four of the next five games against above .500 opponents.