Mavericks owner Mark Cuban takes the blame for his team's subpar season, saying he failed to construct an adequate roster and promising he'll be more attentive this summer, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "I'm not making any predictions," the owner said. "All I'm saying is we're not going to do a traditional rebuild. That's (why) we got all this cap room, so we wouldn't. We're going to be opportunistic." 

Cuban also made headlines this evening for his desire to keep Vince Carter for years to come, but there are plenty of other newsmakers tonight:

• Contradicting a report from earlier this week, John Finger of CSNPhilly.com writes that Sixers management wants to keep Doug Collins for as long as he has a desire to coach. 
• Collins will still receive his $4.5MM salary for next season if the Sixers fire him, but he won't get the money if he quits, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• Stephen Jackson's discontent, which was apparently at the root of his release from the Spurs, didn't stem from the lack of a contract extension, but simply a desire for more playing time, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News.
• Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan is nearing a deal to become the next head coach at Rutgers, tweets Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington.com. Jordan is willing to take the job even if it means he'd have to leave the Lakers right away, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
• Mike Woodson has interest in Kurt Thomas rejoining the Knicks as an assistant coach next season, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal notes via Twitter.
• North Carolina announced sophomore swingman P.J. Hairston is returning to school, tweets Andy Katz of ESPN.com. Hairston is No. 40 on Chad Ford's list of prospects for ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has Hairston at No. 14 on his 2014 mock draft.
• Before he gets into the latest edition of his mock draft, Chris Mannix of SI.com discusses Louisville's Russ Smith, whom coach Rick Pitino now says is "50-50" to go pro after it seemed earlier that he would enter the draft. At least one scout who spoke to Mannix thinks Smith would go undrafted in June.

Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.

Usually, roster moves this time of year involve tweaks to the end of the bench, so San Antonio's decision to waive Stephen Jackson, who averaged close to 20 minutes per game this season, comes as a surprise. We're beginning to hear some of the reasons why the team let Jackson go, as well as some reaction from the locker room.

• The timing of the move was strategic, according to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. Jackson and the team had discussed a release prior to the trade deadline, but the Spurs preferred to wait until after the March 1st deadline for him to have been eligible to play for another team in the postseason.
• Jackson has made just one appearance of at least 20 minutes in the last month, so his lack of minutes made it easier for the team to make the move. Still, it was a risk, since Jackson was popular with his Spurs teammates, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
• Danny Green, one of Jackson's now-former teammates, expressed shock as he explained his feeling about the move. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio News-Express has the details in three Twitter links.
• Gregg Popovich addressed the move with reporters this evening, and fellow Express-News scribe Jeff McDonald shares some of his remarks. "Tough decision, because on a personal basis, I’ve known him a long time and I enjoy him very much," Popovich said of Jackson. "But you’ve got to make decisions that are tough sometimes. We thought this was best for our group." (Twitter links)
• Popovich also called the move "a basketball decision and a family decision." Jackson took the news in a "classy" manner, Popovich added, though the coach wouldn't answer whether he thought Jackson had been disgruntled (Twitter links).
• The move caught Jackson off-guard, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Spurs felt Jackson had begun to have a negative influence on the team's younger players, and the team's brass didn't feel like Jackson's play of late was justifying the disruption.
• The Spurs front office knew what it was getting with Jackson and had wanted to add "edge" to the locker room when the team acquired him last season, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.

5:13pm: The Spurs have sent out a press release officially announcing that they've waived Jackson.

4:50pm: Jackson and head coach Gregg Popovich had been "sparring" about Jackson's role with the Spurs all season, according to Wojnarowski. The two sides discussed a potential release prior to the trade deadline, but agreed to move forward for the rest of the season. However, the disagreements resurfaced this week, says Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

4:24pm: With just over a week until the postseason gets underway, the Spurs have waived Stephen Jackson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's not clear yet why the Spurs are parting ways with Jackson, but one source tells Wojnarowski that it's been "brewing for a few days" (Twitter link). Art Garcia of FOX Sports Southwest first tweeted word of the roster move.

Jackson, 35, hadn't been having a strong season on the court, with his averages of 6.2 PPG and 8.1 PER the lowest he has posted in over a decade. Nonetheless, given the timing of the move and his place in the Spurs' rotation, I would assume he's out of work for off-the-court rather than on-court reasons.

Jackson had been playing out the final year of his contract, earning more than $10MM this season. He won't lose any of that money by being waived, though he will hit free agency a few months earlier than expected. Since he was released after the March 1st buyout deadline though, he'd be ineligible for the postseason, making it unlikely that he catches on with another team next week.

As for the Spurs, they had been carrying a full roster of 15 players, so the move opens up a spot for a free agent, should they choose to make an addition.

As ESPN.com's Chad Ford noted in his chat this afternoon, the Jazz are one of the league's most close-to-the-vest teams, which may explain why we haven't heard a ton of rumors about trade candidates and soon-to-be free agents Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. However, according to Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops, one team has emerged as a frontrunner to acquire Jefferson: the Spurs.

Sheridan points out that various members of San Antonio's and Utah's front offices used to work for the other club, strengthening the relationship between the two teams. As one source tells Sheridan: "Those teams are practically incestuous, they are on such good terms internally."

The Spurs don't have a ton of obvious trade assets, but Stephen Jackson's $10MM+ expiring contract could be used in an offer for Jefferson, who makes $15MM. From there, Sheridan suggests that a package including Tiago Splitter, Patrick Mills, and the rights to European prospects Erazem Lorbek could make some sense for both sides, though he cautions that he's not sure whether that specific deal has been discussed. Like Jefferson and Jackson, Splitter will be a free agent after this season, while Mills has a 2013/14 player option for a modest $1.13MM, so the Jazz wouldn't be giving up much future flexibility in that hypothetical trade.

Some reports have suggested the Jazz would prefer to move Millsap rather than Jefferson, while others have indicated the team would be fine with simply standing pat and keeping both big men. Given the club's secrecy when it comes to trade talks, we likely won't know for sure what Utah's intentions are until a move is made or the deadline passes.

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald blames Cavs GM Chris Grant and coach Byron Scott for the team's struggles this season, and calls on the team to take a more aggressive approach and pull the trigger on a deal for a "good, young piece" at the trade deadline if someone like that is available. The Cavs should carry that aggression into free agency, Finnan believes, and use their cap space for better assets than they've pursued recently. Finnan has more on the team, which we'll round up along with other notes from their Central Division rivals.

• We've heard before that the Cavs and Wolves have had brief discussion about an Anderson Varejao trade, and Finnan confirms those talks, speculating that Minnesota would probably want to include Derrick Williams, a potential deal-breaker. Finnan believes the Cavs may have interest in taking back Nikola Pekovic instead.
• There's been little talk of Scott's job security this season, but if the losing continues, Finnan doesn't foresee that immunity lasting into 2013/14.
• Former Bucks swingman Stephen Jackson said he spoke with GM John Hammond about a contract extension during his time in Milwaukee, but never took a confrontational tone, as Jackson told Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Jackson expressed respect for Hammond and said he can envision working for him someday, though I'd guess he's referring to a front-office role rather than a return to the Bucks as a player. Jackson said Hammond was the only person from the Bucks organization he still spoke to, and balked at the suggestion that he'd reached out to coach Scott Skiles, with whom he feuded last season.
• Andre Drummond has improved as the season has gone on, but he's content with the Pistons' plan to bring him along slowly, MLive's David Mayo observes.
• Mayo and fellow MLive scribe Brendan Savage debate who got the better of Detroit's offseason trade with the Bobcats that swapped Ben Gordon for Corey Maggette.
• Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com writes that Daequan Cook understands that he must earn playing time with the Bulls after signing in Chicago this morning.

Dirk Nowitzki says that despite his team's poor place in the standings, their goal is still the playoffs, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. If Nowitzki's thoughts are shared by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, this could indicate that the team is a buyer, instead of a seller, before the trade deadline. 

• According to a tweet from NBA.com's Earl K. Sneed, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle says that any evaluation of Nowitzki's play should be held off until the middle of January. Nowitzki made his season debut last week after undergoing knee surgery earlier this year. 
• The Spurs love the "edge" guard Stephen Jackson gives them, according to Star-Telegram.com's Dwain Price. 

We normally don't cover injuries here at Hoops Rumors, but when a star player goes down or there's an absence that could prompt a roster move, we're on it. After news earlier today that Brandon Roy, Kyrie Irving and Tyrus Thomas will miss significant time, Stephen Jackson has become the latest injury victim, as he'll miss four to six weeks with a fractured pinky finger, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman notes that it's a non-displaced fracture to his right pinky (Twitter link).

The timing is unfortunate for the Spurs, who are already without Kawhi Leonard for several more days. Jackson had been filling in for Leonard at small forward. The Spurs have limited options at the three with both out, though they could use Danny Green and Manu Ginobili, both 6'6", at the position. They have 14 players on the roster, so there's an open spot if they want to sign someone. It probably has to be a minimum-salary deal, since they're over the salary cap and have only $500K left on their mid-level exception. The Spurs are also about $1MM below the tax line. 

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News suggests Derrick Brown, one of the team's training camp invitees, could get a look (Twitter link). Wesley Witherspoon, who was also with the team in camp, is on the roster of the Spurs' D-League affiliate and may also receive consideration, though I'm only speculating. The biggest name on the Hoops Rumors list of remaining free agent small forwards is probably Mickael Pietrus, but he may not want to sign for the minimum. As I explained when news of Irving's injury broke, the trade market isn't a likely path, since most teams aren't looking to deal at this point in the season, and the Spurs might not want to tinker too much with their roster just to solve a short-term problem.

Over the summer, the Rockets were aggressive in trying to facilitate a trade for then Magic center Dwight Howard. Multiple reports at the time said Howard was reluctant to play in Houston, and that if a trade were to occur he wouldn't be happy. Earlier today, Howard told the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen that he "didn't have a problem" with the Rockets heavy pursuit, but his two most desired teams were still the Lakers and Nets. 

• With Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard out 10-14 days with tendinitis in his left quadriceps, veteran swingman Stephen Jackson has been selected as his replacement in the starting lineup, writes San Antonio Express-News reporter Dan McCarney. 
• With Kevin McHale on indefinite leave from the Rockets as he tends to a family emergency, Kelvin Sampson has been thrust into the role of head coach, writes Feigen. 

Last season, Stephen Jackson forced his mid-season exit from Milwaukee as he demanded a contract extension from the club.  Now with San Antonio, Jackson says that he is still hoping to land an extension to his deal which expires after the 2012/13 season, writes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.

“I want it, but I can’t control it,” said the 34-year-old.  “Every day when I walk in here I’m hoping they’ll call me in and say, ‘Jack, here’s your extension.’"

Jackson went on to say that he won't let the contract situation or his off-the-bench role affect his play going into this season.  While the veteran's demands for a contract extension ultimately pushed the Bucks to send him to Golden State as a part of the Monta Ellis blockbuster, his deteriorating relationship with coach Scott Skiles also played a measurable role in his exit.

The small forward arrived in San Antonio two days later, where coach Gregg Popovich informed him that an extension was not in the works.  Jackson is set to earn $10MM in the final year of his pact.

The Clippers had a breakthrough season in 2011/12, but their ability to build on that will be compromised by their offseason health issues, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups are expected to miss the entire preseason, while Lamar Odom, who's working his way back into playing shape, and Blake Griffin figure to be limited training camp participants. That means the Clippers will likely start the season having to play catch-up, Markazi says. That's compounded by Vinny Del Negro's task of having to integrate five new free agent acquisitions in the lineup while also juggling part-time GM duties. Here's more from around the Association tonight:

• Stephen Jackson spoke fondly of his return to the Spurs to Jared Ainsworth of the Beaumont Enterprise, saying, "If things work out in San Antonio I wouldn't mind finishing my career there. But you know it's a business and I'm one of those guys that doesn't mind going to play somewhere else. I've been on seven different teams."
• Luis Scola donned his Suns uniform Wednesday for an introductory press conference and photo shoot, and talked about his adjustment to life in Phoenix and his experience with the Argentinian team at the Olympics, as Stefan Swiat of Suns.com writes. 
• The Cavs acquired Jeremy Pargo via trade with the Grizzlies last month, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio expects the Cavs to find another point guard to bring to training camp, with Pargo and Donald Sloan currently the only backups for Kyrie Irving (Sulia link). Amico also passes along word that most coaches and executives he's talked to project the Cavs to win between 28 and 35 games.
• Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com grades every team's offseason. The Clippers, despite their injuries, and Lakers get A+ marks, while the Pistons and Magic get F's.