Today is January 15th, which means that a number of players who had been ineligible to be traded until this point are now free to be moved by their respective teams. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors outlined last month, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Ersan Ilyasova, and Jeff Green are among the players who weren't eligible to be dealt until today.

However, in addition to rules that keeps players from being traded until December 15th or January 15th, the CBA also includes a stipulation that a team must have a player on its roster for three months before being able to trade him. That means guys who have signed contracts since October 15th are still ineligible to be dealt.

Here are the players who can't be traded quite yet, along with the dates they'll become trade-eligible:

Leandro Barbosa (Celtics): January 18th
Daniel Orton (Thunder): January 31st
Shaun Livingston (Cavaliers): February 15th

Because the trade deadline arrives on February 21st, players signed after November 21st won't become trade-eligible until after the season. Here are the guys who fit that description:

Jeff Adrien (Bobcats)
James Anderson (Rockets)
Patrick Beverley (Rockets)
Daequan Cook (Bulls)
Kevin Jones (Cavaliers)
Mickael Pietrus (Raptors)
Garrett Temple (Wizards)

In addition to recent signees, players who were claimed off amnesty waivers last July are also ineligible to be traded until July 2013. Some amnesty victims, like Andray Blatche, cleared waivers without being claimed and signed new contracts, so they're trade-eligible now, but the following players can't be moved this season:

Elton Brand (Mavericks)
Brendan Haywood (Bobcats)
Luis Scola (Suns)

Finally, players on 10-day contracts, such as Dominic McGuire, Maalik Wayns, and Josh Harrellson, also won't be trade-eligible at any point this season, even if they eventually receive rest-of-season contracts.

While the Pacers didn't necessarily want to cut Sam Young, a recent ankle injury that required several weeks of recovery coupled with the need for more help at the wing position had forced Indiana's hand, says Mike Wells of IndyStar.com. Wells also writes that the team will likely sign someone to a 10-day contract and thinks about Dominic McGuire as a possible fit. Lastly, he believes that guard Ben Hansbrough will remain on the team for the rest of the season. Here are a few more tidbits we've heard from the Central Division tonight: 

• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer looks at how Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson has thrived during Anderson Varejao's absence. 
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Subscribers only) primes his readers on the impact that sharpshooter Daequan Cook is ready to make with the Bulls. 

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald blames Cavs GM Chris Grant and coach Byron Scott for the team's struggles this season, and calls on the team to take a more aggressive approach and pull the trigger on a deal for a "good, young piece" at the trade deadline if someone like that is available. The Cavs should carry that aggression into free agency, Finnan believes, and use their cap space for better assets than they've pursued recently. Finnan has more on the team, which we'll round up along with other notes from their Central Division rivals.

• We've heard before that the Cavs and Wolves have had brief discussion about an Anderson Varejao trade, and Finnan confirms those talks, speculating that Minnesota would probably want to include Derrick Williams, a potential deal-breaker. Finnan believes the Cavs may have interest in taking back Nikola Pekovic instead.
• There's been little talk of Scott's job security this season, but if the losing continues, Finnan doesn't foresee that immunity lasting into 2013/14.
• Former Bucks swingman Stephen Jackson said he spoke with GM John Hammond about a contract extension during his time in Milwaukee, but never took a confrontational tone, as Jackson told Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Jackson expressed respect for Hammond and said he can envision working for him someday, though I'd guess he's referring to a front-office role rather than a return to the Bucks as a player. Jackson said Hammond was the only person from the Bucks organization he still spoke to, and balked at the suggestion that he'd reached out to coach Scott Skiles, with whom he feuded last season.
• Andre Drummond has improved as the season has gone on, but he's content with the Pistons' plan to bring him along slowly, MLive's David Mayo observes.
• Mayo and fellow MLive scribe Brendan Savage debate who got the better of Detroit's offseason trade with the Bobcats that swapped Ben Gordon for Corey Maggette.
• Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com writes that Daequan Cook understands that he must earn playing time with the Bulls after signing in Chicago this morning.

SUNDAY, 10:22am: The Bulls officially announced their signing of Cook, via press release. The move brings the team's roster to 14 players.

FRIDAY, 5:15pm: Cook has cleared waivers and will sign with the Bulls, according to his agent, Mike Conley Sr., Stein reports (Twitter link). Given Chicago's salary constraints, the deal will have to be for the minimum.

4:12pm: Cook has indeed cleared waivers, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Stein.

4:03pm: Daequan Cook was waived by the Rockets two days ago, which means he's set to clear waivers today. While it's possible that a team submitted a waiver claim for him, it's more likely that no club is willing to take on his guaranteed $3MM+ 2012/13 salary. Assuming Cook clears waivers, the Bulls are "firmly in the lead" to sign him, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

The Bulls' roster moves this season have been limited by the club's proximity to the hard cap, which doesn't allow for much flexibility. Still, Chicago has the room necessary to take on a minimum-salary player for the rest of the year. 10-day contracts can also be signed starting on Monday, though it's not clear if Cook would be open to a 10-day deal or whether he's seeking a full-season guarantee.

Cook, 25, headed to Houston in October's James Harden blockbuster, and averaged career-lows in minutes (10.3) and points (3.4) per game in his 16 appearances for the Rockets. He was still effective from three-point range, however, with his 36.7% mark this season right in line with his career average (36.5%).

It's an active Friday for Chicago. The Bulls zeroed in on their first in-season signing, as they're set to bring Daequan Cook aboard, and they're taking on the Heat in Miami tonight. A win and a Pacers loss could leave them in a tie for first place in the Central Division, even with Derrick Rose still on the shelf. Amid that sort of optimism, here's the latest out of the Windy City.

• The Rockets shopped Cook in trades before waiving him, but couldn't find anyone willing to take on his $3MM salary, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reveals.
• Mark Deeks of ShamSports took to Twitter to break down the ramifications the Cook signing will have on Chicago's space under the $74.307MM hard cap. The Bulls will have $235,917 available if, as expected, Cook inks for the prorated minimum salary, enough for four 10-day contracts. They could instead add another minimum-salary player for the rest of the year starting March 3. A third option is to acquire a player via trade, and the Bulls can now only take back an additional $1,235,916 in a swap, which Deeks believes they'll try to use in a deal that sends out Richard Hamilton.
• Sam Smith of Bulls.com dips into his mailbag to answer reader questions, and says he isn't expecting much movement for the Bulls between now and the trade deadline, particularly regarding Luol Deng, who is "probably as solidly entrenched with the team" as he's ever been. Smith notes that the Bulls were offered high draft choices for Deng last season, but they didn't pursue them aggressively.
• With Cook, a shooter, on his way to Chicago, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wonders why the team hasn't given outside-shooting big man Vladimir Radmanovic more playing time. Responding to a question about whether Radmanovic or Nazr Mohammed, both on minimum-salary deals, Deeks says it would complicate the already difficult task the Bulls would have in pulling off a trade, given their proximity to the hard cap (Twitter links). 

Despite Kevin Love leaving last night's game against the Nuggets in the second half, the Timberwolves managed to do something only the Heat had accomplished this season: Win in Denver. The victory pulled the Timberwolves within a half-game of the Nuggets, and into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. As the Wolves continue jockeying for position in the West, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities rounds up plenty of rumors out of Minnesota. Here are the highlights:

• While a trade is a possibility for the Timberwolves, David Kahn figures to wait for a few weeks to make any decisions, as he assesses what sort of impact Ricky Rubio will have.
• With Nikola Pekovic in the final year of his rookie deal, his price figures to soar next year, perhaps to close to $10-12MM annually. As such, Wolfson speculates that the Wolves could explore deals involving Pekovic.
• The Wolves have discussed Anderson Varejao with the Cavaliers, though those talks were "brief."
• Owner Glen Taylor is willing to go into the luxury tax in 2013/14 if the right opportunity presents itself.
• The Wolves like J.J. Redick a lot, but it would probably take Derrick Williams and a future first-rounder to get Orlando's attention. Wolfson adds in a tweet that there are certain teams that might give up more for Williams, but the Magic probably aren't one of those teams.
• The Martell Webster compensation case between the Wolves and Trail Blazers is closed, but it's not known when the league will make an announcement. Minnesota is expected to receive no more than a second-round pick and/or cash.
• Minnesota is expected to release Lazar Hayward before his contract becomes guaranteed. The team has talked to Josh Childress, but he's only interested in a guaranteed deal for now. Daequan Cook, recently cut by the Rockets, isn't on the Wolves' radar.
• If Greg Oden is eventually healthy enough to return to the NBA, the Timberwolves would be among the interested teams.

WEDNESDAY, 10:30am: The Rockets have officially signed Anderson and waived Cook, the team announced today in a press release.

SUNDAY, 4:44pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Anderson's deal with the Rockets will be for three years, the third of which will be a team option. Daequan Cook is expected to be waived in order to clear a roster spot for Anderson.

2:09pm: The Houston Rockets will sign forward James Anderson today, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, via Twitter. It is not yet known whether Anderson's contract is guaranteed.

The timing of the signing is interesting, given the news earlier today that Royce White is refusing an assignment to the D-League on account of his anxiety disorder. The Rockets have previously shown no indication that they are considering waiving White, who has yet to play for the Rockets. The team has 15 players under contract, so waiving a player is necessary to sign him. Of these players, Scott Machado and Greg Smith have nonguaranteed deals, but Smith has been solid in major minutes and the Rockets have shown every indication of wanting to keep Machado. It would seem that White would be next in line to get cut, but the Rockets have yet to make an official announcement on the matter.

In 10 games with the Spurs this season, Anderson averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 9.4 MPG.

With this season's deadline still three months away, the trade market likely won't be too active for at least a few more weeks. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, things could start to pick up on December 15th, when most players who signed over the summer are eligible to be dealt. Kyler looks at a few specific trade candidates in his latest piece, so let's round up the highlights....

• Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson are a few players in the final year of their contracts whose respective teams aren't planning to deal. However, the Hawks and Jazz could reconsider their stances as the deadline approaches, if there's an increasing concern that those players will leave in free agency.
• While there's no urgency in Toronto to move Jose Calderon, the Raptors are expected to explore deals. Kyler suggests that small forwards like Omri Casspi and Wilson Chandler are worth keeping an eye on as potential Raptors targets, adding that Chandler isn't in the Nuggets' long-term plan.
• The Rockets likely aren't done dealing, with players like Daequan Cook, Toney Douglas, and Marcus Morris among the team's possible trade candidates.
• DeJuan Blair continues to be available, but the Spurs are still seeking a first-round pick, and it's unclear if any team would pay that price for a player that could sign elsewhere at season's end.
• Anderson Varejao isn't likely to be moved, but if the Cavaliers were to consider a deal, it would have to include Luke Walton and his $6.09MM salary.
• Similarly, if the Kings explored a Tyreke Evans trade, Sacramento would want to include either John Salmons or Francisco Garcia.
• The Timberwolves would be open to moving Derrick Williams if they could land a good veteran player for him.
• Kyler also names Hedo Turkoglu, Tayshaun Prince, Tyrus Thomas, and Wesley Johnson as trade candidates, though all those players could be tough to move due to their salaries.

MONDAY, 1:30pm: All the physicals and paperwork relating to the Harden trade have been completed, meaning the Rockets can now officially negotiate and sign an extension for Harden, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). As Feigen notes, extension talks shouldn't drag on, since a max-salary offer is expected.

SUNDAY, 1:49pm: According to SI.com's Ben Golliver, Harden has indicated he will sign a maximum extension with the Rockets before Wednesday's deadline. 

10:15am: Harden has expressed interest in the maximum-salary deal that the Rockets will offer him, Mark Berman of Fox 26 hears (Twitter link). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has no doubt Harden will sign the extension, calling it a "slam dunk" (Twitter link).

SATURDAY, 10:42pm: Wojnarowski adds that the Rockets, unlike the Thunder, are able to give Harden a five-year maximum extension. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team is allowed to designate one player to receive a five-year max extension, and the Thunder have already given one to Russell Westbrook. You can view a complete list of teams who have used their five-year extensions here.

10:20pm: Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links) that the Thunder's final offer to Harden was for between $53 and $54MM over four years, and the extension the Rockets will give him once the trade is completed will be worth $60MM over four years.

10:14pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Rockets plan to sign Harden to the maximum four-year contract extension he was seeking from the Thunder before Wednesday's deadline.

10:06pm: Wojnarowski has clarified the draft picks the Thunder will receive in the deal (Twitter links). Oklahoma City will receive 2013 first-round picks from the Rockets belonging to Dallas and Toronto, in addition to a 2013 second-round pick belonging to Charlotte.

10:02pm: Specifics of the picks the Thunder will receive from the Rockets are not clear, but Wojnarowski reports that they will be "significant." He adds that Thunder GM Sam Presti quickly decided to trade Harden after extension talks broke down. Earlier Saturday, Wojnarowski reported that Harden had rejected an offer of four years at $52MM from the Thunder but that the sides were continuing to negotiate.

9:47pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports (all Twitter links) that the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets along with Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward, and Daequan Cook in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and future draft picks.

When GMs were polled recently on their thoughts about the upcoming season, the only two teams who received consideration to win the Western Conference other than the Lakers were the Thunder and Nuggets. The nod to Oklahoma City is no surprise, but the mention of Denver might have raised a few eyebrows, since the Nuggets haven't gotten out of the first round the past three years. Nuggets coach George Karl would be pleased if his team notched 50 wins, but with Andre Iguodala on board, he believes this year's squad has a chance to break the franchise record of 54 victories, as Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes. Here's the latest on a couple of the Nuggets' division rivals.

• The Thunder have 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, and another four with partial guarantees, meaning the team will likely owe money to at least three players who don't make the team. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman gives reasons why he believes Daniel Orton will edge out DeAndre Liggins for the final regular season spot, adding that it's a decision that may pit GM Sam Presti against coach Scott Brooks (All four Twitter links).
• Mayberry also believes there's a chance the Thunder could trade Daequan Cook or Lazar Hayward to free up a spot for both Orton and Liggins, but thinks finding a taker for either would be a tough task (All Twitter links).
• With Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale reportedly about to be waived and sent to the D-League, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian identifies Coby Karl, Adam Morrison and Justin Holiday as other camp invitees the Blazers will probably cut. 
• Nicolas Batum signed for about $12MM less in his four-year deal than Eric Gordon is getting his four-year contract, but Blazers GM Neil Olshey hopes Batum can increase his scoring this year in a manner similar to 5.4 PPG jump Gordon took from his second year in the league to his third, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.