Kevin Love seemed optimistic about being able to bounce back from a difficult season with the best offseason of his life, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. He also spoke about his desire for Rick Adelman to continue coaching the team, saying: "We need to have him back...I know his family comes first, but hopefully we can sit down and talk to him. This year has given us a lot of perspective, and hopefully he can see we have the making of a very good team here. We can make a push and have a special year next year...I think he’ll come back.”  

You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below:

• According to Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press, Rick Adelman has deemed finding a quality shooting guard among the top of Minnesota's priorities this offseason. 
• Garrett Temple hopes to have found a home with the Wizards, telling J. Michael of CSN Washington that he'd "love" to be back with them next year.
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks that the Magic should look to move Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and/or Glen Davis (at least one of them) in order to continue creating cap space for the future.  
• Jan Hubbard of Sheridan Hoops wonders if a 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki will have to endure another season like this one, especially if the Mavericks are unable to hit a home run in free agency for the second straight year after breaking up their championship roster. 
• Though Mark Cuban isn't happy that Dallas is going to miss the postseason, he vouched for coach Rick Carlisle: "Rick’s a great coach...We obviously didn’t have what we thought we would have, but we obviously should have had more. I don’t know if we could have, but we should have, so it’s all on me. If that means I let Rick down, I let Rick down" (Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram reports).  
• Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation writes that Manu Ginobili has been "progressing" in rehab according to coach Gregg Popovich, and that the Spurs veteran shooting guard could be cleared for full contact soon. On a more unfortunate note, Boris Diaw is expected to miss three-to-f0ur weeks (including the start of the playoffs) after the forward underwent a procedure to remove a synovial cyst that had been bothering his spine. 

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.

The Wizards have released Shelvin Mack, the team announced today in a press release. It's the second time Mack has been cut by Washington this season, and it ensures that his salary won't become guaranteed.

Mack inititally received a $300K guaranteed on a minimum-salary contract from the Wizards, but was waived prior to the start of the regular season. He rejoined the team just before Christmas on a non-guaranteed deal and appeared in seven games, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in just over 20 minutes per contest.

The Wizards now have 14 players remaining on their roster, including Garrett Temple, whose contract will become guaranteed for the remainder of the season, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post (via Twitter).

Tomorrow at 5PM EST marks a significant deadline in the NBA, as players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts kept after that point will have their deals guaranteed for the rest of the season. While the official deadline for contracts to become fully guaranteed is listed as January 10, ESPN's Marc Stein pointed out yesterday that teams who decide to release a player on a non-guaranteed contract will have to do so by tomorrow in order for them to clear waivers by Thursday. We've seen quite a handful of teams release some of their non-guaranteed pacts today, and with less than 24 hours left to go, there could be more of those types of transactions to come. With that in mind, you can find tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here: 

• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune talks about the need for Minnesota's Derrick Williams to step up and contribute with Kevin Love sidelined by a hand injury. 
• Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas notes Dirk Nowitzki's feelings of uncertainty with the direction of the Mavericks' franchise and expressed thoughts on whether or not he should be traded. After acknowledging the team's failed attempt of luring Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, Nowitzki didn't seem too enthused about Dallas' chances of adding a marquee name of that caliber in the near future. 
• HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler thinks that Lakers' rookies Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom could be the next in line to be waived in order to avoid paying more luxury tax on their deals. He also thinks that Johnson-Odom would be more likely to be released than Sacre (Twitter links).
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post wrote that tonight's matchup with the Heat and tomorrow's game against the Thunder are critical for Wizards guards Garrett Temple and Shelvin Mack, who are both currently on non-guaranteed contracts. 
• During an interview on NBC's Chris Mannix Show, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports said that there is a very good chance that the Grizzlies move Rudy Gay or one of their high-salaried contracts by the February trade deadline. Also, he does not believe Royce White will ever play in the NBA (Twitter links). 
• Mark Deeks of ShamSports tweets that it's not unusual for teams to waive a player before their contract becomes guaranteed before subsequently re-signing him for the rest of the season. 
• After last night's win at the Target Center, Trail Blazers swingman Nicolas Batum admitted that he drew some motivation from wanting to prove to the Timberwolves and their fans that he was worth the offer sheet that Minnesota presented to him last summer (Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports).

The Wizards have officially signed Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple, the team announced today in a press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported that Washington would bring back Mack, while ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Temple was expected to sign with the Wizards.

Both Mack and Temple had been playing in the D-League, for the Maine Red Claws and Reno Bighorns, respectively. In 10 starts for Maine, Mack had averaged 20.2 PPG and 7.1 APG while playing over 40 minutes per contest. Temple, meanwhile, has started nine games for the Bighorns, averaging 14.7 PPG and 5.8 APG.

The Wizards released Earl Barron and Shaun Livingston over the weekend, clearing a pair of roster spots. At the time, Michael Lee of the Washington Post indicated that Washington would likely bring in backcourt reinforcements to fill those roster spots. Barron's and Livingston's deals were non-guaranteed, and I would expect Mack's and Temple's will be as well, meaning the team will have a couple weeks to decide whether to keep the duo on board, guaranteeing their contracts.

An early roundup of links from around the Southeast Division on Christmas Eve:

• Israel Gutierrez of ESPN.com writes that Chris Bosh has proven skeptics wrong after facing criticism when he teamed with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami in 2010.
• David Aldridge of NBA.com writes that several Wizards players are frustrated with the team's struggles this season and are questioning whether the team has a direction.
• The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman wonders whether the Heat will regret letting Jarvis Varnado sign with the Celtics if he has more success than Miami's Dexter Pittman.
• Winderman has the same question about Wizards signee Garrett Temple, whom the Heat Let go in favor of Terrel Harris.
• Shelvin Mack was surprised the Wizards were the team to call him up from the D-League, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

The Wizards signed Shelvin Mack out of the D-League earlier today and they may go back to the well for another guard.  Word is that the Wizards are getting ready to ink Garrett Temple of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

The 26-year-old has been around the block in his two years of NBA experience, having seen time with the Rockets, Kings, Spurs, Bucks, and Bobcats from 2009/10-2010/11.  In parts of four D-League seasons, Temple has averaged 14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 34.8 minutes per contest.

Temple spent the summer with the Heat but wound up being their final roster cut with Terrel Harris, Josh Harrellson, Dexter Pittman, and James Jones all securing spots instead.  Temple would have served as extra insurance for guard Mario Chalmers, but Miami felt confident enough in Chalmers' health to move on without Temple.

The Heat have cut a pair of camp invitees, waiving Rodney Carney and Jarvis Varnado, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Twitter). The move reduces Miami's roster to 16 players, meaning at least one more player will have to be released before Monday.

As Tomasson adds in a second tweet, the news bodes well for Josh Harrellson, who appears to have made the roster. Guards Terrel Harris and Garrett Temple will likely be battling for the final roster spot, with the odd man out being the last player cut. Nothing is set in stone yet, however, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, noting not to rule out Juwan Howard.

Carney looked strong at times during the preseason with the Heat, finishing with 6.8 PPG in five games. Varnado didn't appear in any of the team's preseason contests due to a hamstring issue. Both players will become unrestricted free agents when they clear waivers.

• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer takes a closer look at the decision the Cavaliers have to make on Sloan and Pargo and lists the pros and cons of keeping both. She also notes that Byron Scott believes one of them currently has an edge over the other, but the coach would not elaborate beyond that. 
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald took to Twitter to speculate on what he calls the Heat's "no-doubt-about-it cut list," listing Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado, Mickell Gladness, and Robert Dozier. He mentions that the last two spots could come down to a competition among Josh Harrellson, Garrett Temple, and Terrel Harris, adding that he would keep the latter two (Twitter link). 
• Interestingly enough, although Juwan Howard is not part of Miami's training camp roster, Goodman points out that the former Heat player still has a locker. 
• Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge shared a transcript of Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's in-game interview with CSNNW on Friday. Some notable comments include Olshey's thoughts on Will Barton's potential, Nicolas Batum and the team moving forward after his contract extension, and landing J.J. Hickson.
• In response to a report that Stephen Curry will sit out the rest of pre-season, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets that Curry's long-term extension talks with the Warriors are on hold.