According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Hawks sources say the team would be open to working out a sign-and-trade involving Josh Smith this summer if it meant getting something of value in return for the unrestricted free agent. It appears there are still a number of possibilities though for Smith, who could end up returning to the Hawks or signing outright with another suitor. Here's more from Kyler:

• Since less than a third of Paul Pierce's $15.33MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed, the "basketball move" may involve trading him or buying him out, but Pierce's history with the Celtics complicates the team's decision, says Kyler.
• Andre Iguodala seems likely to decline his player option for next year in favor of re-signing a long-term contract with the Nuggets that reduces his cap hit for '13/14.
• There's also mutual interest between Corey Brewer and the Nuggets in a new deal for the veteran, though Denver's cap situation may make it tricky for the club to give him much of a raise.
• Carlos Delfino and Chandler Parsons both have deals with the Rockets that aren't fully guaranteed, but are good bets to be back in Houston unless the team needs to move them to make room for a star.
• Sources tell Kyler that the Clippers would like to re-sign Lamar Odom, albeit for a significantly lesser salary than he's making now. Considering Odom is unlikely to receive huge offers on the open market, a multiyear offer from the Clips could get it done, says Kyler.
• Mike Dunleavy's future in Milwaukee may depend on how much the Bucks spend to retain their bigger-name free agent guards.
• According to Kyler, league sources have "openly questioned" how much longer Robert Sarver intends to own the Suns, leading to speculation that after the Kings sale is finalized, the Suns could be the next NBA franchise on the market.

A matchup of fourth-place teams, as the Mavs travel to take on the Suns, is the only Western Conference tilt on a two-game night in the NBA, but the action off the court is much juicier. We delivered the latest on the Pau Gasol saga earlier this morning, and now here's more from the West.

• Slumping as he begins his third season, DeMarcus Cousins is nonetheless coveted by several teams around the league, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that the Kings remain uninterested in trading the 22-year-old center.
• Mike Brown, still owed $10MM from the Lakers after the team let him go just five games into the season, tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he'll eventually get back into coaching, but is in no rush.
• Andre Iguodala, who can exercise an early-termination option this summer, is a safer bet to remain with the Nuggets than Carmelo Anthony was as his deal neared an end, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
• Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com, after examining all the other options, believes the Mavs' signing of Derek Fisher was sound (Insider only).
• The Blazers have already declined their 2013/14 option on Luke Babbitt, but they might have to give him another look as an unrestricted free agent next summer now that he's jumped into the rotation, observes Mike Tokito of The Oregonian. 
• Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson reached out to Carlos Delfino during the summer and touted the ability for the Argentinian swingman to play a significant role with Houston, helping convince him to sign with the team. Jason Friedman of Rockets.com has the details.

• Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets gives an injury update from Houston, writing that the team is without Donatas Motiejunas (due to an infection) and Shaun Livingston (groin muscle injury). In another piece, Feigen pointed out how Carlos Delfino's veteran experience will significantly help the team's young core of players. Lastly, Jason Friedman of Rockets.com relayed his observations from the team's third day of camp, specifically highlighting Delfino, Kevin Martin, and Jeremy Lin. 
• Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com sheds light on New Orleans forward Hakim Warrick, who hopes to replicate the same success he had as a key reserve with the Grizzlies after recent subpar seasons in Phoenix. Separately, Eichenhofer writes about how Roger Mason will be relied on for his leadership and three-point shooting ability. John Reid of the Times-Picayune discusses his take on what will be expected from both Warrick and Mason this year. 
• Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com provided a brief rundown of the sixth official day at Mavericks camp as the team prepares for its first pre-season game in Berlin. Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDay DFW thinks that while the team will be fun to watch this year, they won't be in the discussion for title contention. 
• Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Edge notes his observations from the Grizzlies practice session today after an emotional Wednesday in which the team learned that VP of Basketball Operations Dana Davis had passed away.  

AUGUST 20TH, 1:32pm: The Rockets have officially signed Delfino, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 15TH, 2:57pm: Delfino's deal with the Rockets is worth $3MM in year one, with a second-year option also worth $3MM, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Since that amount exceeds the $2.575MM room exception, Houston is using leftover cap space to complete the deal.

The team has reportedly waived Josh Harrellson to clear a spot for Delfino, so the signing should become official any time now.

AUGUST 13TH, 7:29pm: The Rockets have agreed to a two-year deal with swingman Carlos Delfino that includes a team option for 2013-14, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. It's unclear how much the contract is worth, but it's likely for more than the minimum salary, as last week's reports suggested. The Rockets have their $2.575MM room exception available, so the deal could be for all or most of that amount, but that's just my speculation.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Thursday that the Rockets were "actively chasing" Delfino, who said he would sign with a team after the Olympics. The Celtics, Hawks, Pacers and Cavaliers were all reportedly in the running for Delfino at times this summer. The 6'6" Argentinian seemingly had his heart set on a multiyear deal, so the two-year pact with the Rockets offers a compromise of sorts, giving the team an out after this season.

Delfino, who spent the last three seasons with the Bucks, saw his role in the offense diminish last year after two straight seasons of double-figure scoring. His points per game went from 11.5 in 2010/11 to 9.0 in 2011/12, as his shots were cut from 10.5 a game to 8.4. Delfino played with an injured groin the last month of the season that required surgery in May, and was disappointed the Bucks didn't show more interest in re-signing him after he played hurt for them. The Bucks held his Bird rights, so they would have had no trouble bringing him back if they had interest. Milwaukee originally brought him aboard for three years and $10.5MM on a sign-and-trade from the Raptors in 2009.

The addition of Delfino gives the Rockets 21 players on the roster, Zach Lowe of SI.com notes via Twitter. That would seem to make them prime candidates to pull off a trade sometime between now and the start of the season.

Carlos Delfino agreed to sign with the Rockets tonight, and it's no surprise he's leaving the Bucks, who never made a push to retain their incumbent starting small forward. His departure opens up minutes at the three for Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Dunleavy and gives 2011 19th overall pick Tobias Harris a chance to crack the rotation, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We've got more on the Bucks and their Central Division rivals here:

• John Hollinger of ESPN.com wonders if the Bucks will try to turn Delfino's deal with the Rockets into a sign-and-trade, which would create a trade exception for Milwaukee (Twitter link). The Bucks, who hold Houston's 2014 second-round pick, could entice the rebuilding Rockets by offering it back to them, while the Bucks could take back one of the 21 players Houston is slated to bring to training camp. There would have to be a third season tacked on to Delfino's two-year deal per sign-and-trade rules, but that wouldn't be hard for the Rockets to do if they made it a non-guaranteed year, Hollinger tweets.
• The Pistons may look to move Charlie Villanueva or Austin Daye to free up roster space for Ben Wallace to return to the team, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. The team could also use Villanueva as a trade chip next summer, when he'll be entering the final season of his five-year, $37.7MM deal, but the 6'11" power forward is determined to prove he's worth keeping around.
• The Indianapolis Capitol Improvement Board and the Pacers are in the early stages of negotiations on a new deal to provide money for the day-to-day operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the board's approval of a new budget that doesn't specify any payment to the Pacers complicates the issue, as Jon Murray of the Indianapolis Star writes. 
• Former Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa is still looking for a job, but Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld argues that he'll be a valuable addition where ever he winds up.
• The Bulls aren't bringing back Brian Scalabrine next year, but the 11-year veteran refuses to end his unlikely NBA career, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com chronicles. He has an offer from a team in Europe, and the Celtics want him to do some TV work, but Scalabrine is holding out for one more chance to play in the NBA. 

In his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler turns his attention away from yesterday's Olympic final in London and touches on a few NBA items of interest. Here are a few of the highlights from Kyler's piece:

• Jodie Meeks' deal with the Lakers appears to be worth about $2.97MM over two years -- $1.45MM in year one, with a team option for the second year worth 104.5% of that amount ($1,515,250).
• Having signed Meeks, the Lakers are now expected to finalize Devin Ebanks' deal today, putting 14 contracts on their books. With just one roster spot left and having spent close to $100MM already, the team is likely finished with its summer moves, despite having been linked to Kenyon Martin and others, says Kyler.
• Examining how the new CBA has affected free agent deals, Kyler notes that the NBA's "middle class" has been hit hard. He points to players like Meeks and C.J. Watson, who signed for less than expected, as well as players still on the market and struggling to find offers, such as Leandro Barbosa and Carlos Delfino. Kyler predicts Barbosa and Delfino may get their best offers from their former teams at reduced rates.
• Antoine Walker, who has played in the D-League the last couple years, acknowledges that his playing career may be over, as he indicated back in April. However, he tells Kyler that he intends to remain close to the game, and hopes to find a role as a coach or analyst at some level.

Carlos Delfino is focused on helping Argentina beat the USA tomorrow in the Olympic semifinals, but tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com he'll sign with an NBA team after the Olympics. Stein adds that the Rockets are "actively chasing" Delfino, and says the Celtics would like him but can't afford him, as we heard earlier this week (Twitter links). 

The Cavs have also been linked to Delfino recently, but their interest may have cooled after signing C.J. Miles. Delfino has reportedly been seeking multiple years on a deal, and the notion that the Celtics can't afford him suggests he'll sign for more than the minimum salary, and likely more than the $1.957MM biannual exception as well.

Delfino averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season with the Bucks, with an 11.7 PER. He's said he was playing through an injury for part of the season, and expressed disappointment that the Bucks haven't pursued him with more vigor after he was willing to play hurt for them. The 6'6" swingman is putting up 15.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.5 APG in six Olympic games this summer. 

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter) points out that the Bulls are specifically $758,642 below the luxury tax apron and that the league minimum salary for sophomore players is $762,195. This definitely factors into the situation of Malcolm Thomas, who put on a standout performance as a member of their summer league roster and more importantly is entering his second year in the league. Deeks still doesn't think that Chicago is willing pay the tax, adding that the team isn't in any rush to make moves that would incidentally put them over the apron. Here are more of tonight's links from around the NBA...

• Matt Moore of CBS Sports gives the Bobcats a grade of "C" for their work this offseason. 
• Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com talks about the plenty of backcourt options that the Mavericks have for the upcoming season. 
• Australia's David Andersen hopes that Wednesday's game against Team USA is enough to make an impression as he hopes for an opportunity to return to the NBA, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The 6'11 forward/center played in Italy last year and was a member of the Hornets during the 2010-11 season. Andersen says he will continue to play in Europe if he doesn't receive an offer from an NBA team. 
• Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the top 20 remaining free agents and groups them by position. 
• Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz are expected to re-engage in talks with free agent Josh Howard soon. 
• Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN LA clarifies that although the Lakers are interested in Jodie Meeks, the shooting guard isn't quite open to signing for the veteran's minimum. Also, Kamenetzky notes that while the team has placed a priority on adding a backcourt or wing player, they won't use their mini-mid level exception to overpay for a player they feel isn't worth that much. Earlier today, Brian joined his brother Andy to discuss some names in free agency that are worth considering, including Carlos Delfino, Tracy McGrady, and Terrence Williams in addition to Meeks. 

• According to Ian Whittell of ESPN Chicago, Luol Deng has made it clear that he does not plan to have surgery to repair injured ligaments in his left wrist before he reports toBulls training camp. 
• In a brief Q&A with fans, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel said that Heat forward Udonis Haslem may see a decrease in playing time but will still play quality minutes, unrestricted free agent Carlos Delfino is not on Miami's radar and will probably end up returning to Milwaukee, and that there weren't many other options in filling out the roster other than offering a minimum salary to Dexter Pittman.  
• Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at the Hawks as a dark horse candidate to land Dwight Howard. Kennedy mentions that aside from Dwight being an Atlanta native, the team currently has enough cap space to offer a maximum contract next summer and two of Howard's closest friends, Josh Smith and Anthony Morrow, are members of the team. On another note, Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld briefly caught up with Arron Afflalo to talk about his workouts this summer and the expectations for the Nuggets next season.    
• When asked if this was this year's Olympic Games are the last that he'll be participating in, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant replied, "This is it" (ESPN's Marc Stein tweets).
• HoopsHype cites two sources who say that the Timberwolves' 2012 second round pick Robbie Hummel (58th overall) is close to an agreement to play for Obradoiro of the Spanish ACB league.

It's not uncommon for NBA players to own a stake in other sports. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are joint owners of a racehorse, and LeBron James is a part of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of baseball's Boston Red Sox and English soccer club Liverpool FC. Nonetheless, the NBA will not permit Kevin Garnett to invest in AS Roma, an Italian soccer team, because Celtics minority owner James Pallotta is already one of the club's owners, as Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reported this weekend. We've got more on the C's and their Atlantic Division rivals here:

• Celtics coach Doc Rivers tells the Argentinian website Ole (translation via HoopsHype) that the team has looked into signing Carlos Delfino and wishes they had the money to get a deal done. The Hawks, Pacers, Rockets and Cavaliers have also been linked to the 6'6" swingman, who's reportedly seeking a multiyear deal.  
• Frank Isola of the New York Daily News hears Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson is nearing a deal to take a similar position with the Hawks. Atkinson is the lone remaining holdover from the staff of former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni. Jeremy Lin credited Atkinson for helping him to his sensational play this past season.
• Nets signee Mirza Teletovic spoke to Drago Perko of Kosarka.si, a Slovenian website, about his decision to come to Brooklyn (translation via NetsDaily). The 6'9" forward said he held off on jumping to the NBA for two or three years, and is focused on winning championships. He paid a $2MM buyout to Caja Laboral of Spain to get out his deal overseas and sacrificed close to another $2MM to sign for the taxpayer's mid-level exception instead of the full mid-level with the Nets so the team wouldn't be hard-capped this season.

As Olympic basketball is underway this Saturday morning, Hoopsworld.com's Alex Raskin takes a look at a few international prospects who could someday make it to the NBA.

Here's a look around the rest of the league. 

• With almost all of the market's free agents already signed to contracts, Hoopsworld.com's Lang Green takes a look at a few unsigned players, such as Andray Blatche, Jermaine O'Neal, and Carlos Delfino, who could still have an impact next season. 
• CSNPhilly.com has a piece asking whether or not the Sixers, a team that was minutes away from an Eastern Conference finals berth a few months ago, have an uncertain season ahead of them. 
• ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg writes that the Celtics have done a great job of re-tooling their roster in spite of Ray Allen's departure. 
• Sun-Sentinel.com's Ira Winderman explores Heat president Pat Riley's recent comments regarding the belief that his team doesn't need a true, dependable center. Is Riley right? 
• NBA.com's Josh Cohen writes that no matter what the Magic do moving forward, they shouldn't rush any important decisions.