• Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com wonders if it may be time for the 76ers to make a drastic move the way Brooklyn did in order to right their ship. Although firing Doug Collins may not be the answer, dealing Thaddeus Young might be a painful-but-necessary move worth considering. 
• Several months removed from telling the Hornets that he wanted to be in Phoenix, Eric Gordon is ready and willing to take on the leadership role expected from him in New Orleans (Steve Kyler of USA Today reports). 
• Ronald Murray has signed with Azovmash Mariupol of the Ukraine, according to Basket-Planet.com (credit goes to HoopsHype for the translation). The 6'3 guard's resume includes an eight-year stint in the NBA from 2002 to 2010, last playing for the Bulls and subsequently the Bobcats during the 2009-10 season. 
• Zach Lowe of Grantland explains why Scott Skiles was not the Bucks' main problem and looks into the bigger decisions ahead with regards to the futures of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings.  Lowe mentions that if Ellis decides to opt-out this summer, Milwaukee could have max-level cap room to work with at that point. 
• Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside examines Demetris Nichols and Sean Evans, two former standouts from New York colleges who have started to make some waves in the D-League. Schlosser thinks that both have shown some characteristics of being possible contributors in the NBA. 
• Emilio Carchiano from Sportando.net notes that Gary Forbes has officially signed a deal with Atleticos de San German. 

Lakers coach and former Knicks boss Mike D'Antoni was a little thrown by Amare Stoudemire's recent assertion that he was never taught defense before this year, as Newsday's Al Iannazzone documents. D'Antoni, who coached Stoudemire in New York and Phoenix, said he didn't think Stoudemire meant to be malicious, but still found the comment "mind-boggling" and implied that Stoudemire threw him and his assistant coaches with the Knicks under the bus. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.

• We heard earlier today that the Magic, unsurprisingly, will not try to sign Dwight Howard in the offseason, and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the team isn't interested in acquiring fellow Dan Fegan client DeMarcus Cousins, either.
• Schmitz also writes that Nikola Vucevic is off the market unless a team "blows away" the Magic with a proposal (and a Cousins offer wouldn't qualify). Still, Schmitz wonders if Orlando could swap him for a marquee talent when he gets closer to the end of his rookie deal in 2015.
• HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis checks in with Nets interim coach and former Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo, who has admiration for the San Antonio model but doesn't think it's one that can be applied in Brooklyn.
• In a video attached to the same piece, Nets swingman MarShon Brooks, who's been seeing more playing time under Carlesimo, predictably gives the coach his stamp of approval, and brushes off trade rumors. 
• Former Raptors small forward Gary Forbes had his sights set on an eventual return to the NBA when he signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in China in November, but his next move will be to Puerto Rico, where he'll play for Atleticos de San German, reports Manolo Rodriguez of Tiro Al Blanco (translation via Sportando).

Gary Forbes signed to play in China this year for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, but he still has his eyes set on an NBA contract when the CBA season is over, agent Greg Nunn informs HoopsHype. The 6’7” forward was one of the last cuts by the Rockets at the end of training camp. The Chinese season ends in February, so there will be plenty of time for Forbes to return to the NBA if any team shows interest.

Forbes, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Nuggets and Raptors, respectively, after going undrafted out of UMass in 2008. He spent time in Italy, Israel and the D-League before making the Nuggets out of camp in 2010. He signed a two-year, $3MM contract with the Raptors after the lockout, but was sent to Houston in the Kyle Lowry deal. The contract was fully guaranteed for 2012/13, but the Rockets waived him when the James Harden trade left them with more guaranteed contracts than available roster spots.

Forbes has averaged 5.8 points in 13.5 minutes per game in the NBA, with a 12.4 PER. He’ll join former 14th overall pick Al Thornton, who signed with the Lions in September.

MONDAY, 2:27pm: The Rockets have waived Forbes and Brockman as well, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter).

SUNDAY, 12:11pm: The team has waived Johnson, according to his agent, Kevin Bradbury, Mark Berman of FOX 26 reports (Twitter link).

11:20am: The Rockets are expected to waive Gary Forbes, Jon Brockman and JaJuan Johnson on Monday, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). All three have fully guaranteed salaries, with two more cuts necessary to get down to the regular-season roster limit of 15 by Monday's 4:00pm Central time deadline.

Forbes is set to make $1.5MM, Johnson $1.089MM, and Brockman $1MM this season, all of which the Rockets would have to pay regardless of whether they're waived. Houston has three players with partially guaranteed contracts, but no one on a non-guaranteed deal.

Perhaps the most surprising training camp cut was Quentin Richardson, whom the Magic waived despite $5.438MM worth of guaranteed money on his contract for the next two seasons. The surprising play of DeQuan Jones, who appears to have made the team on a non-guaranteed deal, pushed Richardson out the door, writes John Denton of Magic.com. There's plenty of other news about players coming and going today, in advance of the 4:00pm Central time deadline for teams to let go of camp invitees so that they clear waivers before rosters must be down to 15 players.

• While an earlier report indicated the Lakers were expected to waive Darius Johnson-Odom, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com believes the guard still has a shot to make the team (Twitter link).
• The Heat are at the regular-season roster limit of 15 players, but Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't rule out the possibility that the team could pick up one of the guys that other teams let go in the past few days (Twitter link). 
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman shares insight from Thunder coach Scott Brooks on the team's cuts and its decision to keep DeAndre Liggins. "With DeAndre, we felt that his size, his athleticism, his defensive toughness is something we are intrigued with and we like," the coach said.
• Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio saw Hollis Thompson play Thomas Robinson evenly while both were in college last season, and believes Thompson, whom the Thunder let go today, should wind up with another NBA team (Twitter link).
• The Rockets still must waive three players, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle points to reasons why Jon Brockman, JaJuan Johnson and Gary Forbes could be the ones to go.
• HoopsWorld's Derek Page checks in with Mavs waiver claim Eddy Curry, and wonders whether his 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in Friday's preseason game against the Bobcats might have been enough for him to win a roster spot.
• Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray are likely out of the discussion to make the Wizards opening night roster, but Earl Barron is making a late push for a spot, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post examines.

WEDNESDAY, 10:36am: The Raptors officially announced in a press release that they have acquired Kyle Lowry in exchange for Gary Forbes and a first-round pick.

THURSDAY, 2:38pm: The pick going to the Rockets will be top-three protected in 2013, top-two protected in 2014 and 2015, and top-one protected in 2016 and 2017, tweets Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle. Solomon adds that if the pick isn't in the lottery, the Raptors will keep it until the next season. If the pick doesn't meet these criteria for five seasons, Toronto's 2018 first-rounder will be sent to Houston no matter where it lands.

1:30pm: The Raptors and Rockets are working on something "innovative" involving the first-rounder headed to Houston, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. My guess is that it could involve reverse protection -- for instance, if the pick falls outside of the top 10, Toronto keeps it, and if it's in the top 10, it's sent to the Rockets. That's just my speculation though.

1:25pm: The Rockets will also acquire Gary Forbes in the deal, tweets Jonathan Feigen.

1:05pm: The Raptors have agreed to send a first-round pick to the Rockets for Kyle Lowry, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Twitter link). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that the first-rounder will likely be a lottery pick, and is part of a package (Twitter links).

After heading into the offseason with one affordable young point guard under contract and another one entering free agency, the Rockets have parted ways with both players. When Goran Dragic agreed to a contract with the Suns yesterday, it appeared Houston may hold on to Lowry, even though he had publicly expressed displeasure with his situation in Houston. But now the team has apparently turned its point guard focus to Jeremy Lin, who is expected to be re-signed by the Knicks.

For the Raptors, who missed out on Steve Nash, Lowry is a younger, more affordable alternative. The 26-year-old, who averaged 14.3 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 18.9 PER in 2011/12, is under contract for two more years for about $12MM total. As Zach Lowe of SI.com tweets, it's one of the more attractive non-rookie contracts in the NBA.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were "on the verge" of an agreement, after reporting yesterday that Toronto was still making a push for Lowry. Chad Ford of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) that the Rockets tried to acquire the Raptors' 2012 first-rounder in a deal for Lowry, since they were targeting Andre Drummond or Austin Rivers. The pick in the trade figures to come in the 2013 draft, which will have a weaker class.