The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Thursday evening:

• Al Iannazzone of Newsday.com is impressed with Amare Stoudemire for accepting a reduced role for the Knicks this season.
• Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports writes that the Rockets and Royce White are beginning to come to terms on a plan for managing the rookie forward's anxiety disorder.
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer praises forward Alonzo Gee's improvement as a defender.
• Stefan Swiat of Suns.com writes that Michael Beasley is beginning to reach his potential with the Suns.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times praises Bulls GM Gar Forman for the team's bench.

Ric Bucher of CSN Bay Area (Sulia link) hears that the trade rumor involving Rudy Gay to the Suns in exchange for Jared Dudley and Michael Beasley was leaked in order to facilitate more offers from around the league. In terms of the Grizzlies dealing Gay for luxury-tax purposes, Bucher notes that the Wizards and Warriors only have trade pieces that would relieve Memphis of the super luxury tax in two years, but not after this season. You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from the Association here:

• David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network tweets that the Celtics covet J.J. Redick as a possible trade target before February's trade deadline. 
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel provides a primer of what the Magic front office has to think about heading into next month's deadline. He thinks that GM Rob Hennigan might want to deal for more young players and draft picks while shedding salary, adding that Redick, Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and Josh McRoberts are among the team's most tradeable assets. Lastly, Robbins thinks that Orlando is unlikely to part with Nikola Vucevic and that the team has almost no interest in dealing for Rudy Gay. 
• Noting that Chris Johnson had been a member of Timberwolves' training camp before the season, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press says that his familiarity with the team provided an advantage during the team's search for help at center. 
• The recent struggles of Nuggets swingman Andre Iguodala prompted him to admit after today's practice that he's "probably behind the curve" and has had trouble finding his comfort level this season (Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post reports).  
• HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy (Sulia link) anticipates a quiet trade deadline for the NBA considering a busy offseason that saw 31 deals involving 96 players. 
• Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld looks at Jeff Teague, one of four players who are guaranteed to remain in Atlanta beyond this season, as a viable long-term investment for the Hawks. 

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com answered some questions from his Twitter followers on Saturday regarding various free agency and trade rumors.

• Just as they plan to make a run at Chris Paul (link below), the Hawks will aggressively pursue Dwight Howard as well, Kyler says.
• Hornets GM Dell Demps tells Kyler he wants to give his roster more time to play together, so New Orleans is unlikely to be active at the deadline.
• The Lakers almost traded for Michael Beasley last year, but Kyler can't see them doing so again (Twitter links).
• Kyler speculates that the Wizards are the most logical destination for Rudy Gay.
• The Magic, who possess a trade exception worth more than $17.8MM from the Dwight Howard deal, aren't likely to use it for a "splashy" move.
• If the Magic deal away J.J. Redick, he'll look to sign with a contender as a free agent this summer.

Earlier updates:

• Kyler tweets that the Hawks intend to make a strong push for Chris Paul this summer. The Bobcats will also attempt to lure him, but Kyler does not think he will leave the Clippers.
• Kyler says that Andrew Bynum will be seeking a max contract on the open market, although there is some doubt that he will get such an offer. He points to the Rockets as one team willing to take a gamble.
• The Magic value J.J. Redick highly, and it would cost several draft picks for them to move him.
• Kyler sees the Grizzlies' recent Rudy Gay trade discussions as an attempt to understand roster value.
• If Derrick Williams continues his strong play, Kyler thinks the Timberwolves may opt to move Kevin Love instead.
• The Celtics may be open to trading Paul Pierce, Kyler writes, if the return makes them more competitive right now.

The Clippers saw their 17-game winning streak finally come to an end last night in Denver, and now sit percentage points behind the Thunder in the Western Conference standings. Still, ESPN.com's Chad Ford gives the Clips the slight edge over OKC as the best team in the West at the moment. Here are a few more Western Conference notes from Ford's chat and from a variety of other writers:

• Responding to questions about trade candidates like DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Love, Ford suggests the Timberwolves should trade Love sooner rather than later (though there's no indication they will), and says the Jazz wouldn't be a logical suitor for Cousins, since Utah isn't the sort of team that would take that risk.
• Elsewhere in his chat, Ford questions whether it's a lock that Dwight Howard will sign a long-term deal with the Lakers, noting that D12 "still pines for Brooklyn." Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld also wrote last night (via Sulia) that it's hard to see a long-term marriage between Howard and the Lakers working. I still think L.A. is the overwhelming favorite to sign Howard, but it's not necessarily the sure thing it seemed to be at one point.
• J.J. Hickson is an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, according to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld. Hickson, who is playing on a one-year deal and could be a coveted free agent next summer, tells Raskin that he's not sure exactly what his future holds: "I don’t know. All I can do is control what I can control and that’s play the game of basketball and the rest will work itself out."
• When Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined some of long-term deals signed last offseason that haven't worked out so far, he didn't mention Michael Beasley's three-year, $18MM contract with the Suns. But as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes, Beasley has "bottomed out" in Phoenix.
• Newly-signed James Anderson talks to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle about what he hopes to bring to the Rockets.
• Having been recalled by the Mavericks from the D-League earlier this week, Jared Cunningham tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that his time with the Texas Legends was "good for me."

Sam Amick of USA Today has posted a new notebook column covering a variety of topics of interest from around the NBA. Among the subjects touched on are the progress of several Western Conference teams and an update on the Rookie of the Year and MVP races.

• Amick is buying the Clippers as a contender, and points out that head coach Vinny Del Negro is making a strong case for himself as deserving of a contract extension. Del Negro appears to have the support of Clippers owner Donald Sterling as the team's long-term head coach.
• Following a slow start to the season, the Nuggets are starting to improve following high expectations in the preseason, Amick writes.
• Amick catches up with top overall pick Anthony Davis, who says that he is 100 percent healthy following missing several weeks with an ankle injury.
• Amick writes that the latest slate of injuries have been a mixed blessing for the Raptors as they attempt to move certain players. Andrea Bargnani has sunk his value on the market by being sidelined with a torn elbow ligament, while Jose Calderon has raised his by doing an excellent job filling in for the injured Kyle Lowry.
• Michael Beasley has seen his role diminish with the struggling Suns since signing a three-year, $18MM contract this summer, Amick writes.

While the defending champs can't kick themselves too much over personnel decisions, the Heat might have benefited if Pat Riley had listened to Dwyane Wade back in 2008, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  Miami took Michael Beasley No. 2 overall, but Wade pushed for the team to draft guard O.J. Mayo.   Other players passed up by Miami include Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook.  Here's the latest from around the league..

• The Lakers are on the hook for about $30MM in luxury tax payments this season, but that's almost nothing compared with what they may pay next season, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.  If the Lakers re-sign Dwight Howard and keep most of the existing roster together, they'll be looking at a $103MM payroll.  If the tax threshold climbs by 5% to $73.8MM, the Lakers would owe approximately $81.5MM in tax.
• The Hornets signed Dominic McGuire today because coach Monty Williams has not been pleased with the play of his small forwards, tweets John Reid of the Times-Picayune.  McGuire was released by the Raptors at the end of November to make room for Mickael Pietrus.
• Bulls rookie Marquis Teague is starting to find his groove as he plays with the starting five, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.  However, the guard will head back to the bench soon as Kirk Hinrich is getting ready to return to action.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein has published his Weekend Dime, and leads off the jam-packed column with a look at a handful of players that are candidates to be dealt before February 21st's trade deadline. Here are the highlights on those guys, and from the rest of Stein's piece:

• The Lakers continue to recognize that they're unlikely to get fair value for Pau Gasol, given his health, salary, and performance, and would prefer to avoid another major shakeup anyway. So for now, they're still not seriously considering a Pau trade.
• Multiple front-office sources view the Raptors as the team most motivated to make a move. The team would like to make Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon in tandem, but Bargnani's elbow injury may force Toronto to deal Calderon on his own. The Lakers and Mavericks have interest, though neither team is an obvious match for Calderon's $10.5MM+ salary.
• NBA teams believe Anderson Varejao is "highly available," but are skeptical he'll be dealt, since the Cavaliers' high asking price is only increasing. Cleveland is seeking multiple young assets for Varejao, according to Stern, who says the Thunder, a potential match, have exhibited little interest.
• Teams around the league aren't sure whether the Jazz would be more inclined to trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson, but the general consensus suggests one of the two will be dealt by the deadline for a front-line point guard.
• Stein lists a few other names that come up repeatedly in talks with sources as trade candidates: Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Williams, Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea, Michael Beasley, Courtney Lee, and D.J. Augustin.
• Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley may already be interested in buying another team, with the Bucks as a potential target, according to Stein.
• Robert Sarver's assurances that Alvin Gentry will keep his job as Suns head coach shouldn't be viewed as a "dreaded" vote of confidence. Sources tell Stein that Sarver likes Gentry "too much personally to make an in-season change."

Most players that signed new contracts over the summer will become eligible to be traded as of this coming Saturday, so Grantland's Zach Lowe took the opportunity to take a look around the league at some potential trade candidates. Here are a few of the highlights from Lowe's piece:

• Even though the Rockets didn't expect to land Jeremy Lin this summer, and didn't expect to acquire another star ballhandler in James Harden, it's still "extremely unlikely" that they'd move Lin.
• There's no indication that the Hornets would consider dealing Ryan Anderson, who Lowe clarifies (via Twitter) becomes trade-eligible this month rather than next month, as we'd previously thought.
• Teams around the league are eyeing the Suns to see if they can extract some value there, but Phoenix almost certainly won't move Goran Dragic and can't trade amnesty pickup Luis Scola. Lowe also notes that "you can count on zero hands" the number of clubs interested in acquiring Michael Beasley.
• It's not out of the question that Courtney Lee could become a trade candidate if the Celtics are seeking a big man.
• Jason Thompson is "coveted around the league" due to his reasonable long-term salary, and is blocking Thomas Robinson in Sacramento, so the Kings could attempt to gauge his value.
• The Mavericks may be a buyer rather than a seller, but they'll be wary of adding any salary that would affect their cap flexibility next summer.
• The Sixers will be in the market for a big man once trade talks pick up.
• Rival executives are wondering if it's too early for GM Neil Olshey and the Trail Blazers to explore the trade market for LaMarcus Aldridge.

We're about a quarter of the way through the NBA regular season, which is enough of a sample size that we can say certain teams have underperformed so far. Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today take a look at the coaching situations for a few of those teams in their latest piece, examining whether any head coaches are in danger of being let go. We touched on Dwane Casey's situation with the Raptors in a post this morning, but here are the rest of Amick's and Zillgitt's updates:

• After Suns owner Robert Sarver told ESPN.com's Chris Broussard yesterday that Alvin Gentry wasn't on the hot seat, Amick and Zillgitt spoke to Sarver as well. Sarver's vote of confidence in this case was even stronger, as he told USA Today that Gentry's job is safe for the rest of the season.
• Like the Raptors, the Suns may explore an on-court change rather than a coaching move, with Michael Beasley a candidate to be involved -- according to USA Today, there's some disagreement between the team and player about what his role should be. However, Sarver still hopes Beasley will work things out in Phoenix: "We're working with him. He's working hard, and we still expect to be able to (salvage the situation)."
• The Wizards are still paying their last head coach, Flip Saunders, so they're unlikely to replace Randy Wittman this year, since it would mean paying three different coaches.
• Pistons owner Tom Gores has high expectations for his club, and wants to see some progress toward the playoffs this year in Detroit, making it a potential make-or-break season for Lawrence Frank.
• Keith Smart's job with the Kings appears safe, though team president Geoff Petrie's future isn't quite so clear.
• The Nets still have faith in Avery Johnson and expect some peaks and valleys with the team's overhauled roster. However, there's an expectation that the team will not only qualify for the postseason but be in position to "make an impact once they get there."
• Despite a slow start for the Pacers, there's still hope in Indiana that Frank Vogel is around to coach the team for years to come.

The Suns lost the face of their franchise this summer when they sent Steve Nash to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade deal that netted them a handful of draft picks. With Nash out of the picture, Phoenix filled out its roster with a number of new faces, including Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, Luis Scola, and Wesley Johnson. However, according to Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth (via Twitter), with the team in a tailspan, another "major shakeup" could be on the way. A Suns source that spoke to Powell singled out Beasley as "toxic."

As I noted earlier this afternoon in examining the important in-season dates on the NBA's calendar, most players that signed new contracts this offseason become eligible to be traded as of this Saturday. That includes Beasley, who inked a three-year, $18MM pact to join the Suns. While it's not clear whether Beasley or anyone else is on the block in Phoenix, trade discussions around the league figure to pick up a little starting on Saturday.

If changes are coming in Phoenix, it sounds as if they won't affect the team's coaching staff. Owner Robert Sarver tells ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that he has confidence in Alvin Gentry and that it's too "early in the season" to make major changes to the coaching staff (Twitter links).