One day after the Atlantic's five teams went 4-1 - only the slumping Sixers failed to pick up a victory - the Knicks will look to continue the division's winning ways against the Thunder at Madison Square Garden tonight. As we look forward to that game, let's check out a few notes from around the division....

• Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com isn't sure why Kenyon Martin has only played five minutes in his first six games with the Knicks. Martin is on his second 10-day contract, so if he's going to remain with the team beyond his current deal, he should be included in an expanded version of the rotation, says Begley.
• Nets CEO Brett Yormark declined comment when asked about P.J. Carlesimo's performance as head coach, which Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News finds interesting.
• According to Bruce Arthur of the National Post, the Raptors' roster is "full of overstuffed contracts and puzzle pieces that won’t fit," which is reminiscent of past Raptors teams.
• With their playoff hopes on life support, the Raptors need to look the future and start playing guys like Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas more, says Eric Koreen of the National Post.
• Former Raptor Solomon Alabi has signed with Ikaros Kallitheas of Greece, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The 7'1" center played 26 games in two seasons with the Raptors, and was in camp with the Hornets last fall.

The latest on various moves and happenings from around the D-League on Sunday afternoon:

• The Los Angeles D-Fenders have acquired former NBA player Lazar Hayward, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin.
• Gino Polato of Ridiculous Upside looks at former Raptors center Solomon Alabi, currently with the Idaho Stampede, as a player who could help an NBA team in need of big-man depth.
• David Scrivenes of Ridiculous Upside lists D.J. Kennedy, Henry Sims, and Keith Benson as D-League players with the potential to be called up to the NBA.

It's a fairly quiet time of year for NBA transactions, but many former NBA players are still involved in the roster carousel with teams overseas. Here's the latest on a few of them:

• According to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link), it will be Chris Daniels, rather than Alabi, who replaces Mbenga for Qingdao. Daniels had been playing for Golden State's D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 7.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in three contests.

Earlier updates:

• The Qingdao Double Star Eagles, Tracy McGrady's team in China, have waived NBA veteran D.J. Mbenga, according to a Sports.QQ.com report (English link via Sportando). Mbenga, who has played for the Mavericks, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, was replaced by Solomon Alabi, who spent the last two season with the Raptors and was in camp with the Hornets this fall.
• Former Texas Tech standout Andre Emmett has signed in Lebanon with Amchit, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Emmett, 30, was drafted by the SuperSonics 35th overall in 2004, but has only played 14 career regular season games with the Grizzlies and Nets.

• Lamar Odom is starting to get in shape and is displaying flashes of his old Sixth Man of the Year form, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News observes.
• The Lakers' decision not to amnesty Metta World Peace before last season is paying off, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that this summer's discovery and treatment of a nerve issue that had been bothering World Peace for four years has reinvigorated his play.
• Nuggets guard Ty Lawson admits he can do better than his slumping performance this season, and Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post outlines what the point guard must do to return to the form that netted him a four-year, $48MM extension in October.
• Despite GM David Kahn's denial of Pau Gasol trade rumors, the Timberwolves "would love" to acquire the big man and play him at center, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
• Finnan also hears from sources within the ranks of media, agents, assistant coaches, GMs and scouts who tell him they are convinced LeBron James will opt out of his contract in 2014. 
• Center Solomon Alabi is close to a deal with a Chinese club, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The 7'1" Alabi was let go by the Hornets at the end of training camp. He spent the last two seasons with the Raptors, but saw little playing time, averaging 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.0 minutes a game over 26 total contests.

John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that the New Orleans Hornets have released center Solomon Alabi and guard Chris Wright. These moves bring the Hornets' roster down to 14, which means it appears their regular-season roster is set barring a late signing.

Alabi played briefly for the Toronto Raptors last season but spent most of the year in the D-League. Wright played in Turkey last season. Both were signed by New Orleans prior to training camp.

The Hornets have added three players to their training camp roster, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (via Twitter). Eichenhofer tweets that Solomon Alabi, Dominique Morrison and Chris Wright will be in camp with the team, clarifying that Wright is a guard from Georgetown, not the Raptors forward of the same name (Twitter link).

Alabi, a 24-year-old center from Nigeria, spent two season with the Raptors before Toronto turned down its option on him for 2012/13. Morrison and Wright, meanwhile, both went undrafted -- Morrison in 2012 and Wright in 2011. A 6'6" forward, Morrison averaged 19.8 PPG in his senior year at Oral Roberts, while Wright 12.9 PPG and 5.3 APG in his senior year as Georgetown's point guard.

The Hornets have at least two other players on contracts without full guarantees -- Brian Roberts' deal is only partially guaranteed for $100K, and Lance Thomas' contract is non-guaranteed. Darius Miller's deal may also not be fully guaranteed. That leaves just 11 Hornets assured of full guarantees, which should give Alabi, Morrison, and Wright the opening to impress in camp and earn a roster spot.

JULY 6th, 3:16pm: There's a "growing sense" around the league that the Raptors will either trade or keep Calderon, rather than amnestying him, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

JULY 1st, 11:52am: The Raptors are trying to trade Calderon so that they don't need to amnesty his expiring contract, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Stein adds in a second tweet that the Raps are seeking a trade partner with a big enough trade exception or chunk of cap space to absorb Calderon's salary. The Nuggets are the only team with a trade exception large enough for Calderon's contract, so finding a deal could be tricky.

4:56pm: Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo told the media today that he plans to use the amnesty clause on point guard Jose Calderon, according to Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.com. The move is expected to be a precursor to the team's pursuit of free agent point guard Steve Nash. It will free up Calderon's $10,561,982 salary for next season from the Raptors' salary cap, though Calderon will still get that money from the team. The team has also declined its $1,112,500 option on Solomon Alabi, freeing even more cap space.

There has been speculation that the Raptors would make such a move, but Colangelo said as late as April that the team intended to hold on to Calderon, who was set to enter the final season of a five-year, $45MM deal he signed in 2008. More recently we heard the Raptors were willing to include Calderon in a deal to acquire a first-round pick. Calderon averaged 10.5 points and 8.8 assists per game with a 16.7 PER last season in his seventh year with Toronto after signing as an undrafted free agent.

Colangelo didn't specifically mention Nash when he spoke with Brotherston and others in the media, but it's clear that Nash, a native of Canada and general manager of the Canadian national team, is the Raptors' primary target in free agency, Brotherston says. Nash has said he's seeking a three-year deal. Colangelo said the team will also look to sign a small forward.

Luke Adams and Chuck Myron also contributed to this post.