The Lakers announced yesterday that Metta World Peace underwent successful surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus, and will miss six weeks. Whether or not the Lakers make the playoffs, World Peace's season could be over, and Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News wondered yesterday if the veteran forward has played his last game as a Laker.

World Peace isn't necessarily in the final year of his contract, since he has a player option for next season. However, if he exercises that option, he becomes a prime candidate to be amnestied. If he declines the option, he'll hit unrestricted free agency. Either way, the man formerly known as Ron Artest may sign a new contract before he plays in his next NBA game.

A number of players are in the same situation as World Peace, with potential free agency looming and an injury keeping them off the court. Here are a few guys who we may not see play for their current teams again, and whose free agent stocks could be affected by their current injuries:

• Leandro Barbosa (Wizards): If you'd forgotten Barbosa was on the Wizards' roster, you're probably not alone. Acquired for salary purposes in the deal that sent Jordan Crawford to Boston, Barbosa is on an expiring minimum-salary contract, and his ACL/MCL injury may hurt his chances of signing another deal this offseason. Having suffered the season-ending injury in February, he probably won't be healthy in time for fall camps.
• Rodrigue Beaubois (Mavericks): Eligible for restricted free agency this summer, Beaubois underwent surgery on his hand last week, and is unlikely to return this season. I doubt the Mavs will make him a qualifying offer, and there's a good chance he doesn't return to Dallas.
• Andrew Bynum (76ers): As well-documented as any non-Derrick Rose injury this season, Bynum's ongoing knee troubles will certainly hurt his earning potential in free agency this summer, and may also ensure he never plays a game with the Sixers.
• Richard Hamilton (Bulls): While Hamilton remains optimistic that he'll play again this season, his ongoing health problems will likely lead the Bulls to part ways with him this summer. Hamilton's $5MM salary for 2013/14 is partially guaranteed, so he figures to receive a $1MM buyout and hit the free agent market.
• Sasha Pavlovic (Trail Blazers): Pavlovic's quad injury has kept him out of action for more than a month, but even if he were healthy, he doesn't appear to be part of the Trail Blazers' plans. Although he's under contract for two more seasons, both years are non-guaranteed, so he may find himself seeking a new deal this July.
• A.J. Price (Wizards): Price earned 22 starts this season for the Wizards, so perhaps the team will have interest in bringing him back next year. He's eager to return to the court to try to improve his free agent stock, but for now, groin issues are keeping him out indefinitely.
• Brandon Roy (Timberwolves): All the time Roy has missed this season with knee problems ensured that the second year of his contract with the Timberwolves became non-guaranteed, and there's virtually no chance the Wolves will retain him and his $5.33MM salary. If Roy is forced to call it a career at season's end, it would be an unfortunate way for him to go out, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's where we're headed.
• Brandon Rush (Warriors): After going down during the season's first week, Rush underwent knee surgery in January that ended his year. Fortunately for him, he's got a $4MM player option for 2013/14, so he figures to be returning to the Warriors rather than looking for work next year.
• Jason Smith (Hornets): Out for the season with a torn labrum, Smith, like Hamilton, has a partially guaranteed contract for 2013/14. The price to keep him wouldn't be exorbitant - $1MM of his $2.5MM salary is guaranteed - so we'll have to wait and see what the Hornets decide.
• Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace (Knicks): A pair of aging Knicks bigs on expiring contracts, it would be a little surprising to see both Thomas and Wallace playing in the NBA next year, even if they return in the playoffs. Even if Thomas and Wallace wanted to extend their playing careers, their latest foot issues would raise red flags for any interested teams.
• Elliot Williams (Trail Blazers): Unlike some other players on this list, Williams is no lock to receive an NBA contract, especially if he can't show that he's healthy before the fall. That's probably why, even after surgery on his achilles, he talked about wanting to return to the court in '12/13 and auditioning in the Summer League.

Although Jason Kidd and the Mavericks didn't seem to part ways on the best of terms this summer, Mavs owner Mark Cuban had kinder words for Jason Terry, who also left Dallas over the offseason. Cuban said Monday that the club looked at the possibility of a multiyear deal for Terry, but "couldn't make the numbers work," according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.

"I would have liked for him to stay," Cuban said. "But I understood what his goals were. He’s always going to be special and hopefully when his career is over he’ll come back and work with us."

As Terry and his new club, the Celtics, prepare to host Cuban's Mavs tomorrow, let's round up a few more updates out of the Western Conference:

• Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee examines the next step for the city of Virginia Beach after the state tentatively rejected a request for $150MM of funding to help build a new arena and lure the Kings to Virginia.
• Although he was something of an afterthought in the three-way trade that sent Courtney Lee to the Celtics this summer, Sasha Pavlovic has shown real value for the Trail Blazers, writes Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
• Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic looks at what's gone wrong for the Suns so far this season.
• Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld hears from Suns sources that the system changes implemented at the start of the season have created major problems for the team's roster.

The Thunder are the only Northwest Division team in action tonight, as they take on the Bulls, and after that, every team in the division will have just one more preseason game before final roster decisions must be made. Clubs are offering a few clues about their plans, and we round them up tonight along with other news out of the Northwest. 

• The Wolves are unlikely to deal for Raja Bell, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). The Jazz are reportedly trying to trade Bell after failing to come to an agreement on a buyout.
  
• Wolves coach Rick Adelman said the team won't make any cuts until after the team's last preseason game on Friday, Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. The team has 17 players on the roster, with Will Conroy, Mike Harris and Chris Johnson the only guys without fully guaranteed deals.
• Kevin Love's injury has pressed Wolves offseason signee Andrei Kirilenko into the starting power forward spot, but the 31-year-old Kirilenko isn't planning on changing his game to make up for Love's absence, as Richardson writes.
• Adam Morrison, Sasha Pavlovic and Coby Karl have the best chance to make the Blazers opening-night roster among the team's six players on non-guaranteed deals, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, though Karl expects to be cut. Haynes reported earlier that fellow camp invitees Demonte Harper and Dallas Lauderdale are destined for the D-League.
• Gordon Hayward is poised to take on a more significant role for the Jazz this season, as Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune examines. As our Rookie Contract Option Tracker shows, the Jazz have until the end of the month to pick up his $3.45MM option for 2013/14, but there's no real chance they'd turn it down.

• Mike Tokito of The Oregonian takes a look at Joel Freeland, the 25-year-old NBA rookie who has made a name for himself in camp through his physicality, athleticism, and being vocal on defense. 
• Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge focuses on the background of David Vanterpool, the team's assistant coach who has been specifically tabbed to aid with the learning curve of rookie point guard Damian Lillard. In a separate article, Golliver writes that while Sasha Pavlovic is "strange fit" for this team, the 28-year-old forward looks ready to help his younger counterparts develop and compete for a significant role on the roster. 
• In this video from CSNNW.com, Wesley Matthews mentions the importance of LaMarcus Aldridge and J.J. Hickson's impact defensively, the activity level of rookie Meyers Leonard, and the mindset he uses to improve every day. 
• Will Barton talks to Chris Haynes of CSNNW about the strained hamstring he's been dealing with, the positions that he's capable of playing on the court, and a few more brief thoughts on training camp. 

5:49pm: The second-round picks the Blazers will get are both for 2013, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. They'll receive the Celtics' own selection, along with the Timberwolves' pick that the C's acquired in an earlier deal. Freeman also passes along word from Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who says he is hopeful Pavlovic will make the team out of camp (Twitter link). Freeman confirms, via Twitter, that the Celtics will send the Blazers cash to cover Pavlovic's salary, which will likely be the veteran's minimum. Pavlovic's 2012/13 contract is non-guaranteed, so he could be waived without the Blazers taking a cap hit, Freeman confirms in an email to Hoops Rumors.

4:05pm: In making their own official announcement about the trade, the Trail Blazers noted that they'll acquire two future second-rounders from the Celtics, rather than just one (Twitter link).

2:12pm: The Rockets have officially announced the Lee sign-and-trade agreement in a press release. Based on the team's announcement and a tweet from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the deal looks like this:

• Celtics receive: Courtney Lee (sign-and-trade from Rockets)
• Rockets receive: JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams, Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick (from Celtics), and the rights to Jon Diebler (from Trail Blazers)
• Trail Blazers receive: Sasha Pavlovic, second-round pick (from Celtics)

According to ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter), Lee will earn exactly $5MM in his first year, making his total contract worth the same as the maximum mid-level exception (four years, $21.35MM). The Rockets, meanwhile, are expected to waive Moore and Williams in the very near future. Diebler, the player whose rights Houston receives from Portland, was selected by the Blazers 51st overall in 2011 and spent last season overseas.

12:01pm: Lee will receive a fully guaranteed four-year, $21.5MM contract in the sign-and-trade, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. That's a little more than he could have earned with the mid-level exception, so his starting salary figures to be slightly over $5MM.

11:30am: Lee figures to earn a first-year salary of about $4.6MM, while the Celtics will pay Pavlovic's salary for Portland and will also send the Blazers a second-round pick, tweets John Hollinger of ESPN.com. It's unclear what exactly the Blazers are giving up in this deal, but it doesn't seem like it'll be anything of significance.

FRIDAY, 12:17am: The Trail Blazers are expected to step in as a third team to facilitate the Lee sign-and-trade, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). It sounds as if Portland will receive Sasha Pavlovic from the Celtics.

THURSDAY, 9:50pm: Even though the deal has yet to be completed, Lee will join the Celtics and the Rockets' end of the sign-and-trade will not change, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.  The Rockets will receive JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and Sean Williams, but do not plan on keeping the latter two.  Houston will also get the Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick in the deal.

9:30pm: The Suns and Hornets are the teams that were, and still may be, involved in the trade talks, tweets Bulpett.

7:35pm: JaJuan Johnson hasn't requested a trade from Houston, but would welcome it if he winds up there given the number of power forwards the Rockets have, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. 

6:19pm: If the trade goes down, it will involve at least three teams, Bulpett tweets.

5:52pm: JaJuan Johnson will request a trade if he is sent to the Rockets, a source told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).

5:42pm: The trade for Lee still expected to go through, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.  Blakely adds that the Rockets will waive Moore upon acquiring him.

5:05pm: The trade appears to be in trouble but both sides are working to keep it alive, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald tweets.

4:30pm: The deal will send E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, Sean Williams, and a second-round pick to the Rockets, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

3:41pm: The Celtics have agreed to acquire Courtney Lee in a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Details are still being worked out, but JaJuan Johnson will be heading to Houston, says Spears.

As John Hollinger of ESPN.com points out (via Twitter), for salary-matching purposes, it's "inconceivable" that the Celtics could acquire Lee for Johnson alone. It's likely that the non-guaranteed contract of E'Twaun Moore will be involved as well, along with at least one other player, and perhaps cash or draft picks. The deal figures to require some maneuvering from the Rockets, who are already shuffling their roster around to create a spot for Omer Asik's offer sheet.

The Timberwolves, Bulls, and Suns were also believed to be in the running for Lee, and the Rockets could have re-signed him as well, since they'd yet to renounce his rights. The 26-year-old averaged 11.4 points per game for the Rockets in 2011/12, on 43.3% shooting (.401 3PT%).

With a loss tonight against the Heat, the Pacers' season will end. Hoopsworld.com's Joel Brigham believes that even if that happens, Indiana has established themselves as a franchise to contend with. 

• With Celtics guard Avery Bradley out for the playoffs, CSNNE.com's Rich Levine asks if the team could get any production out of Sasha Pavlovic. 
• ESPN.com's J.A. Adande writes that in order for them to arrive back at the elite level they're most familiar with, the Lakers need to move away from their current strength (size) and shift towards the league's current trend (speed).
• Hoopsworld.com's Eric Pincus discusses some serious tax issues the Lakers are facing in the immediate future, and how it could shape important personnel decisions. 
• Through conversations with several NBA general managers and scouts, FoxSports.com's Sam Amico takes a look at North Carolina big man John Henson, a possible lottery pick in this year's draft.