Here's a look at the latest out of the Pacific..

• The Sacramento group hoping to purchase the Kings got reinforcements today when venture capitalist Naren Gupta and tech entrepreneur Andy Miller came aboard, writes Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.  Primary investor Vivek Ranadive laid out an ambitious vision for the club to transform it into a "global brand", but offered little in the way of details on their actual purchase offer for the team.  Earlier today, we looked at the latest in the Kings ownership battle.
• Shannon Brown is less-than-thrilled with his bench role in Phoenix, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.  Brown said that the upside of it all is that he's saving his body for next season, a year in which the Suns have him under contract but only $1.75MM of his $3.5MM deal is guaranteed.
• Larry Coon of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) explains how the Lakers can use the CBA to their advantage in the wake of Kobe Bryant's injury.  While GM Mitch Kupchak says that using the amnesty clause on Bryant isn't something that's being discussed, Coon says it's something that will be considered if he will be sidelined for most or all of the 2013/14 season.

FRIDAY, 7:49am: According to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR in Phoenix (Twitter link), the Suns have "zero" interest in trading for Smith. Gambadoro adds in a second tweet that the Suns have not even had a conversation with the Hawks about Smith.

THURSDAY, 5:02pm: Having missed out on Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon, the Phoenix Suns are making an effort to trade for Josh Smith, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports. Kennedy writes that the Suns are intent on acquiring a max-level star to make into a cornerstone of their franchise, and have had preliminary discussions with the Hawks regarding possible trade packages.

Kennedy reports that a Suns package would likely be based around center Marcin Gortat, as well some combination of the expiring contracts of Jermaine O'Neal, Wesley Johnson, Shannon Brown, and Sebastian Telfair. Luis Scola could be involved as well, although since he was claimed off amnesty waivers, any deal including him would have to be a sign-and-trade made after July 1. The Suns also own multiple first-round picks, including their own, one from Minnesota, and two they received from the Lakers in last summer's Steve Nash trade.

In the past week, speculation is growing around the league that Smith's tenure with the Hawks may be coming to a close. Executives believe that he does not intend to re-sign with Atlanta this summer, when he will be an unrestricted free agent.

WEDNESDAY, 3:33pm: Brown has officially signed his contract with the Suns, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

FRIDAY, 5:08pm: Shannon Brown has agreed to re-sign with the Suns, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report by Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports. The deal is for $7MM over two seasons, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports that only half of his second-year salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).

Earlier this week we passed along a report from Gary Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times that Brown was close to signing with a mystery team. He speculated that the team might have been the Bucks, but it appears it was Phoenix all along. Brown said in May that he was interested in returning to the team, but wanted a multiyear deal. He wound up getting two seasons after signing a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the team last year.

Brown averaged 11.0 points on 42.0% shooting last season, compiling a 13.6 PER and starting 19 games. That was enough to keep Brown's salary at the same rate for next season and give him at least a bit of the long-term security he wanted, while allowing the Suns to maintain the flexibility to go after a major free agent next offseason.

Phoenix may have lost star point guard Steve Nash, but don't expect the team to bottom out this season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns have managed to add a few long-term pieces to the roster, including Goran Dragic, Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley, while maintaining spending flexibility for next summer. Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon Suns notes from Coro's piece and elsewhere....

• Having inked the aforementioned players, the Suns appear to be putting the brakes on major signings for the rest of the offseason. It's possible they bring back Shannon Brown, but unlikely they seriously pursue Courtney Lee, according to Coro.
• Signing Brown to a short, affordable deal would keep the team's cap flexible enough to make a run at James Harden or another big-name free agent next summer, says Coro.
• The Suns passed on O.J. Mayo due to "price and a questionable fit," according to Coro.
• Coro adds that teams have made "unappetizing" sign-and-trade proposals to the Suns for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who is still seeking an offer sheet.
• Coach Alvin Gentry tells Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld that he isn't worried about the Suns' roster undergoing changes, and that he'll just focus on getting the best out of the players he has.

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter), Shannon Brown is close to signing a contract with an unknown team. Woelfel notes that the Bucks have been eyeing Brown, who has also drawn interest from the Suns. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown re-sign with the Suns, after the team fell short in its pursuit of O.J. Mayo.

Brown, 26, has played for five NBA teams in his six-year career, most notably appearing in every regular season game for the Lakers in 2009/10 and 2010/11. For the Suns last season, he started 19 of 59 games, setting or matching career highs in PPG (11.0), MPG (23.7), and PER (13.6).

Ever since the Raptors' acquisition of Kyle Lowry, there has been a steady flow of rumors revolving around Jose Calderon's future, or lack thereof, in Toronto.  Calderon, who will run the point for Spain's Olympic team later this month in London, has already expressed his discontent with the thought of being relegated to back up duties, but according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, he may not have a choice. 

Wolstat caught up with Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo who said, “We have had a few more trade inquiries regarding Jose (but) the scenario doesn’t seem to present itself to a trade today, but we’ll continue to monitor that and just try to determine whether it’s going to work in the long run.”  Colangelo also implied that amnestying Calderon is not in the plans.

Here are some more updates from around the league on Sunday night:

• Since the Hornets matched the Suns' offer for restricted free agent Eric Gordon, the Suns have now been linked with Courtney Lee and O.J. Mayo, tweets Marc Stein.  Stein says they're trying to keep Shannon Brown in Phoenix as well. 
• With Brian Shaw and Michael Malone no longer in the running for the Magic job, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that the remaining candidates are most likely Jacque Vaughn, Lindsey Hunter, Jeff Hornacek and Michael Curry. 
• ESPN's J.A. Adande makes a case for why the Rockets could be appealing to Dwight Howard.  General manager Daryl Morey is relentlessly pursuing the Magic center, despite Howard expressing minimal interest in re-signing in Houston.

Jeff Green reached an agreement to remain with the Celtics on Saturday, while Aaron Brooks became an unrestricted free agent after the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer to the guard. What will Sunday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:

• The Heat have interest in unrestricted free agent point guard John Lucas III, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
• Marcus Camby's meeting with the Knicks today was "very positive," a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, and Zwerling hears that Camby is drawn to the Knicks because of his "great relationship" with GM Glen Grunwald.
• "Everything went well" during the Heat's meeting with Rashard Lewis today, as Lewis' agent tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Lewis has yet to make a decision, with the Knicks and Hawks still in the running, Aldridge says.  

Earlier updates:

• Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter) identifies the Nets and Knicks as the frontrunners in sign-and-trade talks to land Marcus Camby. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News says that in addition to meeting with the Knicks in Houston, Camby held a conference call with the Nets (Twitter link).
• Ken Berger of CBS Sports tweets that Brandon Rush could be an option for the Timberwolves or Trail Blazers, whichever team loses out on Nicolas Batum. Also, Berger includes Shannon Brown in the mix of suitors for Courtney Lee, O.J. Mayo, and Lou Williams once the two-guard dust clears (Twitter link). 
• Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas says that the Mavericks will resume talks with Ramon Sessions on Monday. Along with Dallas, the Rockets appear to interest the free agent point guard because of the opportunity to start. 
• According to CBSSports.com's Ken Berger, the Knicks had a "very productive" meeting with Marcus Camby today. 
• The Magic still do not know if Spaniard Fran Vasquez will be joining the team next season,tweets CBSSports.com's Ken Berger. Vasquez was a lottery pick in 2005.
• The Bulls will not pick up C.J. Watson's option, and are attempting to deal him before July 10th, tweets Hoopsworld.com's Alex Kennedy. 
• The Mavericks, Rockets, Knicks, Hawks, Suns, and Bucks are all interested in signing guard Randy Foye, tweets CBSSports.com's Ken Berger. 
• According to a tweet from the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn, Greg Stiemsma's agent said his client did not receive a $3MM offer sheet from the Timberwolves. 
• The Celtics are interested in Courtney Lee after meeting with the free agent shooting guard on Saturday night, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
• Even with the addition of Hinrich, the Bulls have Michael Redd and Gerald Green on their radar, tweets Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. 
• Brooklyn head coach Avery Johnson says the Nets' focus is to re-sign Brook Lopez as trading for Dwight Howard remains out of their control, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. The team has begun negotiating with Lopez on an extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
• With Camby postponing a meeting with the Heat, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel considers the likelihood of signing Greg Oden similar to how the team added Eddy Curry last season.
• The Knicks brass will meet with Marcus Camby in Houston on Sunday with hopes that the big man will land in New York to serve as a backup for Tyson Chandler, says Marc Berman of the New York Post.
• Look for the Celtics to explore internal options to replace Ray Allen rather than spend excess money on players who may not prove to be a good fit in Boston, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
• The Bucks have emerged as a potential landing spot for Kirk Hinrich as they look to improve their backcourt depth, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, but Milwaukee will have to look elsewhere as Hinrich reached a verbal agreement with the Bulls earlier on Sunday.

Fresh off of a career season with the Suns, Shannon Brown has expressed interest in returning to Phoenix next year, according to Paul Coro of AZCentral.com. 

"I would like to come back, (and) I understand it's a business at the same time. Whatever happens, happens, but I've expressed my interest."

Coro writes that Brown's thought process in free agency will be based on the plans of Steve Nash, with whom he enjoyed sharing the back court with.  The 6'4 guard also mentioned that he does not want to play on another one-year contract again, for fear that falling out of the rotation could signal the end of his playing career. In February, Coro documented Shannon's frustration as he struggled to crack Alvin Gentry's rotation. However, Brown was able to find his niche after the All-Star break, earning 23.3 MPG in March and 29.9 MPG in April (compared to 18.8 in February).

The former Michigan State Spartan played on a one-year, $3.5 MM contract with the Suns this season and averaged a career high in minutes (23.7), points (11.0), and shot attempts (10.1), while shooting 42% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range. To his credit, Brown averaged 14.9 PPG and 39.2% from three in the final month of the season, when Phoenix was still playing meaningful games to secure a playoff spot. 

Chris Paul is confident about the Clippers' chances of landing J.R. Smith when the former Nugget returns from China, but Smith's Twitter profile suggests a number of teams are in play, including one he hasn't been linked to yet. Smith's Twitter bio simple reads: "NYK? LAL? LAC? CHI? ORL? iNDI?" While there's no guarantee the 26-year-old is deciding between just those six teams, the Magic are an interesting inclusion, given the uncertainty surrounding Dwight Howard. Hoops Rumors readers voted the Clippers as the frontrunner for Smith yesterday.

Here are a few more items out of the Pacific Division:

• Lakers coach Mike Brown confirmed that he spoke with free agent guard J.R. Smith today over the phone, tweets J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.
• Shannon Brown signed a one-year deal with the Suns prior to the season because he thought he'd get a chance to play and increase his value, but it hasn't been working out that way, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
• In a series of tweets, Ramona Sherburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains why she thinks the Lakers should sign Gilbert Arenas, assuming he's healthy.
• Looking at a few realistic trade destinations for Dwight Howard, ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) evaluated how Howard's potential teammates would complement the star center. Hollinger determined that the Clippers' Chris Paul would be the best partner for Howard, while the Lakers' Andrew Bynum would be the worst.