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.

His impending free agency isn't drawing the headlines that players like Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, and Josh Smith are receiving, but David West will be hitting the open market this summer after two seasons with the Pacers. If it's up to West, he and the Pacers will reach an agreement that keeps him in Indiana, as he tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link).

"Oh yeah," West said. "For what I want to do in terms of this point in my career, I want to win and Indiana is going to give me an opportunity to win and compete. And I enjoy being around this group of guys."

West is in the second and final season of a two-year, $20MM contract with Indiana. There's reason to believe that the 32-year-old should land at least a similar deal as an unrestricted free agent this July. Although he saw his scoring average dip last season with the Pacers, he's upped it from 12.8 PPG to 17.5 PPG in 2012/13, and has recorded a career-high 20.8 PER to date. West has also been remarkably durable, starting all but one game for the Pacers over the last two seasons.

Having committed long-term money to Roy Hibbert and George Hill, and with Danny Granger under contract for one more season, the Pacers have about $49MM in guaranteed money on the books for 2013/14. That should still leave plenty of room to re-sign West without approaching tax territory, depending on who else the Pacers want to add or bring back.

With the trade deadline behind us, some teams are already looking toward this summer's free agent class. Here is a roundup of the latest buzz on that front:

• Acknowledging that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard aren't likely to leave their respective Los Angeles teams, Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld looks at a list of free agents who are more obtainable by other teams, including Atlanta's Josh Smith and Utah's Paul Millsap.
• Ben Golliver of SI.com runs down a list of free agents whose stock has risen or fallen this season. He points to Andrew Bynum as someone who has hurt his chances at a big payday, and Smith and David West as likely candidates for a big payday.
• Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer reports that Greg Oden, who is gearing up for a second attempt at an NBA career, recently attended a Cavaliers game and had positive impressions of the organization.
• Valade also profiles Rich Paul, a former member of LeBron James' marketing team who is finding success running his own sports agency.

The Pacers and David West—their soon to be unrestricted free agent power forward—are committed to extending their relationship, according to the Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz. Team President Donnie Walsh declared that Indiana wants to keep West earlier today. 

It's against NBA rules for the Pacers to offer West an extension right now, but both parties have made it known they're interested in getting something done this offseason. Along with Paul George, West has been Indiana's most valuable player this season, and retaining him for off the court reasons are just as important, due to his positive influence with younger players in the locker room. 

The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.

• Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
• Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
• We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.  
• Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
• Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.

With the Cavaliers about to tip off and the Bulls, Bucks and Pacers slated to play later tonight, the Pistons are the only Central division team not playing tonight.  Let's keep all the links from the Central division within this post tonight:

• Jim Cavan of The New York Times explains some of the reasons why Cavs center and trade candidate Anderson Varejao has shown marked improvement this year.
• Todd Jones, for SI.com, writes a long feature on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who is still trying to dig his team out of the hole that LeBron James' departure left.  Gilbert has no regrets about the letter he wrote after James' decision, despite LeBron proving him wrong in his second year in Miami. 
• David West, who'll be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, is the "backbone" of the Pacers, asserts Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, who looks at how West has continually disproved the doubters (link via USA Today).

Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has a new mailbag column that addresses several topics relating to the Pacers, who are off to a disappointing start to the 2012/13 season. Here are the highlights:

• Monteith believes the hot start to the season for Lance Stephenson is sustainable because of the fundamentally sound form to his shooting stroke.
• Despite the hole that Danny Granger's injury creates in the team's lineup, Monteith writes that Donnie Walsh is not presently planning to pursue a trade or free agent as a stopgap.
• The Pacers want to keep forward David West, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. However, Monteith doesn't believe they will discuss an extension before summer.
• Monteith doesn't think rookies Orlando Johnson and Ben Hansbrough will see playing time anytime soon, because it would throw an already-uncertain rotation even further off.

Reaction has been largely negative to FIBA's announcement of changes to the basketball World Cup. John Hollinger of ESPN.com characterizes the moves as a "money grab" that degrades the tournament (Twitter link). With qualifiers taking place in the middle of the season instead of during summer, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com believes Team USA may only have non-NBA pros at its disposal for those games (Twitter link). Tom Ziller of SB Nation tweets that Team USA could simply circumvent the qualifiers by winning the World Cup and Olympic gold every time, though that might prove a difficult standard to maintain. While we await more fallout on the international basketball scene, here's what's going on around NBA. circles.

• David West wants to remain with the Pacers after this year, but he acknowledges the team's other financial commitments could make that difficult, reports HoopsWorld's Lang Greene.
• Ray Allen was open to signing an extension with the Celtics during last season, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn also notes the $12MM final season of the three-year contract Kevin Garnett signed this summer is only guaranteed for $6MM, per ShamSports.
• Greg Stiemsma credits his work with Al Jefferson and Garnett for helping him establish his NBA career, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
• Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside runs down a list of seven-footers in D-League camps, while fellow Ridiculous Upside scribe Keith Schlosser observes that the Warriors affiliate is well-stocked with talent.
• Omer Asik is the primary reason for the strong defensive play of the Rockets so far this season, concludes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com.
• A source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the "odds aren't great" that top 2013 draft prospect Shabazz Muhammad will play for UCLA anytime soon. The NCAA has declared Muhammad ineligible for an unspecified number of games.

Many of the teams currently in the playoffs made key offseason or trade deadline acquisitions with hopes of enjoying postseason success well into June. Some have fared well while others have flopped. Here are the top five playoff contributors who have filed for a change of address in the past year.

• Bulls: With an increased workload in the playoffs, Richard Hamilton has been effective for the Bulls over the first three games against the Sixers. The former Pistons shooting guard has averaged 30.3 minutes per game which has brought an increased offensive output along the lines of 15.3 PPG and 5.3 APG. The Bulls will continue to look to rely on Hamilton's hot hand with Derrick Rose sidelined for the rest of the season and Joakim Noah out for Sunday's game with an injured ankle.
• Heat: Former Duke star Shane Battier has been a defensive stalwart in the playoffs for Miami especially in Game 3 where he shut down Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. While the former Rockets small forward failed to score any points of his own, he kept Anthony to 22 points, which the former Syracuse star had to work for as he shot 7-23. Battier contributed offensively in the first two games of the series where he averaged 9.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG. 
• Pacers: The Pacers have gotten vintage play out of David West in three of their first four games against the Magic. West, who signed with the Pacers in the offseason, has averaged 16.8 PPG and 10.0 RPG during the playoffs this season. Indiana will look to close out the series with a win against the Magic at home on Tuesday.
• Lakers: Looking to upgrade the team's aging backcourt, the Lakers acquired Ramon Sessions from the Cavs at the trade deadline. Sessions has proven his mettle thus far in the playoffs with strong play at the point guard position. The former Nevada star is currently averaging 14.3 PPG and 5.0 APG through three games against the Nuggets.
• Clippers: After willing his team to a stunning comeback victory over the Grizzlies in Game 1, Chris Paul has led the Clippers to a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Monday night's game in Los Angeles. Acquired in the offseason by the Clippers, Paul put up MVP-like numbers during the regular season and has continued to elevate his level of play during the playoffs. The former Wake Forest star is averaging 22.3 PPG and 9.3 APG through three games.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry had shown to be one of the league's most promising young talents after two years into his NBA career, but was limited by lingering ankle injuries during his third season.  Rusty Simmons of SFGate reports that the former Davidson star views his recent ankle surgery as a relief and that he fully expects to be ready for training camp in October. Curry, who feels that backup power forward and depth are the team's biggest needs, also wants to be more involved with Golden State's draft process and plans to attend prospect workouts over the next two months (Sulia link). Here are the other significant links we've gathered up this evening: 

• Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweeted that Bradley Beal from Florida has signed with Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports. Beal is projected to be a top five pick in next month's NBA Draft.
• Michael Kidd-Gilchrist announced via his Twitter account that he has signed with Creative Artists Agency. 
• Following a season that likely included an innumerable amount of facepalms compared to high-fives, the Bobcats are now focused on adding a new head coach after recently parting ways with Paul Silas. Mitch Lawrence of the NY Daily News hears that Charlotte might try to pursue Jerry Sloan as a possible replacement, citing GM Rich Cho and Michael Jordan's admiration for the former Jazz coach. He also mentions that Sloan turned down six head coaching offers last season (among them Golden State and Detroit), which would imply that it will take a compelling proposal to convince him to join the league's biggest re-building project. 
• Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas briefly touches base on the possibility of Rick Carlisle becoming a free agent this summer. Carlisle is finishing up his last year of a four-year contract, and despite president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson continually saying that the Mavericks coach isn't going anywhere, there has been no mention of talks regarding a new deal. Owner Mark Cuban declined to elaborate on the situation today, saying that he "doesn't talk about free agent coaches or otherwise." In a separate article by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, Cuban insists that he does not regret letting Tyson Chandler leave because of the financial flexibility he was able to preserve. 
• David West has been one of the NBA's most significant free agent acquisitions from last year's offseason, helping the Pacers secure the third seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld discusses how West's presence has benefited the culture and confidence of the team. 
• Despite a second straight lottery season for the Cavaliers, owner Dan Gilbert remains a popular figure in Cleveland, writes Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston. With such a close connection to the team's fan base, Livingston sees Gilbert as a more wealthy, modern-day version of legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck.