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Hoops Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NBA player movement 365 days a year, but those aren't the only updates you'll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you'll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here's a rundown of a few of them:

• Our Free Agent Tracker gives you the opportunity to look back on this summer's free agent signings, with data sortable by team, position, contract years, and contract amount. For a quick look at which players remain unsigned, you can check out our list of 2012/13 free agents.
• We also have free agent lists for both next summer, and the summer of 2014, which will continue to be modified as needed.
• Throughout the season, we'll be keeping tabs on roster counts for each NBA team, the year's D-League assignments and recalls, and all the trades consummated in-season.
• Using our 10-day contract tracker, you can find any 10-day contract signed since 2007, sorting by player, team, year, and other variables.
• Our offseason in review series continues to gain new installments, as we look back on the moves made by each of the NBA's 30 teams over the summer.
• On Thursdays at 4:00pm CT, I answer readers' questions in a live chat. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there won't be a chat this week, but you can check out transcripts of our past live discussions here.
• Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions is updated whenever a trade exception is used or expires.
• We're also tracking teams' amnesty provisions — using our complete list, you can check to see which clubs have used the amnesty clause and which will carry it into next summer.
• The Hoops Rumors glossary helps explain some of the more complex concepts in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Zach Links rounds up the best of the blogosphere every Saturday in his weekly Hoops Links feature.
• If you're looking to catch up on a few days worth of content, our Week in Review posts round up the week's news and rumors, while our Hoops Rumors Originals posts recap the site's original content for the week. Both round-ups are published every Sunday.
• Be sure to check out the Featured Posts section on the right sidebar for more original pieces from the Hoops Rumors writing team. Recently, we examined the money teams spent on rookie scale extensions, submitted our predictions for the 2012/13 season, and listed the longest-tenured GMs in the NBA.

Unlike last year, when No. 5 overall pick Jonas Valanciunas remained in Lithuania, all 30 first-round picks from the 2012 draft are in the NBA this season. Only 20 of the 30 second-round picks from this June have NBA contracts. We looked at the status of the second-rounders back in September, when many of them remained unsigned, but now that the season is under way, all 30 are playing pro basketball somewhere, even if it's not in the Association. This list tells you where those players wound up, and also provides contract details for each of the second-rounders with NBA deals. 

1. Bobcats: Jeff Taylor (SF, Vanderbilt) — Signed for three years, $2.279MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
2. Wizards: Tomas Satoransky (SG, Czech Republic) — Remains with Cajasol Banca Civica in Spain, the team he played for before being drafted.
3. Mavericks: Bernard James (C, Florida St.) — Signed for two years at the minimum salary. The second year is not guaranteed.
4. Mavericks: Jae Crowder (SF, Marquette) — Signed for three years, $2.305MM. The third year is a team option.
5. Warriors: Draymond Green (SF, Michigan St.) — Signed for three years, $2.640MM. The third year is partially guaranteed for $250K.
6. Pacers: Orlando Johnson (SG, UC Santa Barbara) — Signed for three years, $2.254MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
7. Raptors: Quincy Acy (SF, Baylor) — Signed for three years, $2.369MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
8. Nuggets: Quincy Miller (SF, Baylor) — Signed for three years at the minimum salary. The second and third years are not guaranteed. Currently assigned to the D-League.
9. Pistons: Khris Middleton (SF, Texas A&M) — Signed for three years at the minimum. The third year is not guaranteed.
10. Trail Blazers: Will Barton (SG, Memphis) — Signed for three years, $2.254MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
11. Nets: Tyshawn Taylor (PG, Kansas) — Signed for two years at the minimum.
12. Bucks: Doron Lamb (SG, Kentucky) — Signed for three years, $2.354MM. The third year is not guaranteed.
13. Hawks: Mike Scott (PF, Virginia) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
14. Pistons: Kim English (SG, Missouri) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
15. Heat: Justin Hamilton (C, LSU) — Signed with Cibona Zagreb in Croatia.
16. Hornets: Darius Miller (SF, Kentucky) — Signed for two years at the minimum. The second year is not guaranteed.
17. Jazz: Kevin Murphy (SF, Tennessee Tech) — Signed for two years at the minimum. This year is partially guaranteed for $200K and the second year is not guaranteed.
18. Knicks: Kostas Papanikolaou (SF, Greece) — Rights traded to the Blazers in July as part of the Raymond Felton sign-and-trade deal. Remains with Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece, the team he played for before being drafted.
19. Magic: Kyle O'Quinn (C, Norfolk St.) — Signed for three years, $2.493MM. The second and third years are not guaranteed.
20. Nuggets: Izzet Turkyilmaz (C, Turkey) — Remains with Banvit in Turkey, the team he played for before being drafted.
21. Celtics: Kris Joseph (SF, Syracuse) — Signed for two years at the minimum. Neither year is guaranteed. Currently assigned to the D-League.
22. Warriors: Ognjen Kuzmic (C, Bosnia) — Playing with FIATC Joventut Badalona in Spain, on loan from Unicaja Malaga, another Spanish club. 
23. Clippers: Furkan Aldemir (PF, Turkey) — Rights traded the day after the draft to the Rockets in the four-team swap that sent Lamar Odom to the Clippers. Remains with Galatasaray Medical Park in Turkey. He signed a four-year deal with Galatasaray last year.
24. Nets: Tornike Shengelia (SF, Georgia) — Signed for two years at the minimum. 
25. Lakers: Darius Johnson-Odom (SF, Marquette) — Signed for one year at the minimum, with no guarantee. Currently assigned to the D-League.
26. Raptors: Tomislav Zubcic (SF, Croatia) — Remains with KK Cibona in Croatia. Last year he signed an extension with KK Cibona that runs through 2014.
27. Nets: Ilkan Karaman (PF, Turkey) — Signed with Fenerbache Ulker Istanbul in Turkey.
28. Timberwolves: Robbie Hummel (SF, Purdue) — Signed with Obradoiro in Spain.
29. Spurs: Marcus Denmon (SG, Missouri) — Signed with Elan Chalon in France.
30. Lakers: Robert Sacre (C, Gonzaga) — Signed for one year at the minimum, with no guarantee. 

Storyteller's Contracts, ShamSports, Sportando and RealGM.com were used in the creation of this post.

The minimum salary in the NBA is something of a misnomer, since there are actually 11 different minimums based on a player's years of experience. The rookie minimum is $473,604, while the minimum for a veteran of 10 or more seasons is $1,352,181. To offset that disparity and ensure teams don't discriminate against qualified veterans simply based on price, the league compensates teams who sign one-year contracts with veterans who have three or more years experience for the difference between their minimum and the two-year veteran's minimum.

As long as a team hasn't put itself up against a hard cap, it can sign as many minimum-salary players as it wants, up to the 15-man roster maximum. Every team in the NBA has at least one player on a minimum-salary deal, though teams with deeper pockets seem to employ more minimum-salary guys, ironically. 

• Hawks: Anthony Tolliver, Mike Scott
• Celtics: Leandro Barbosa, Jason Collins, Darko Milicic, Chris Wilcox, Kris Joseph
• Nets: C.J. Watson, Andray Blatche, Keith Bogans, Josh Childress, Jerry Stackhouse, Tornike Shengalia, Tyshawn Taylor
• Bobcats: Cory Higgins
• Bulls: Nazr Mohammed, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nate Robinson
• Cavaliers: Samardo Samuels, Jon Leuer, Donald Sloan
• Mavericks: Brandan Wright, Troy Murphy, Bernard James
• Nuggets: Julyan Stone, Quincy Miller
• Pistons: Kim English, Khris Middleton
• Warriors: Jeremy Tyler, Charles Jenkins, Kent Bazemore
• Rockets: Greg Smith, Scott Machado
• Pacers: Sam Young
• Clippers: Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Ronny Turiaf, Trey Thompkins
• Lakers: Antawn Jamison, Darius Johnson-Odom, Robert Sacre
• Grizzlies: Josh Selby
• Heat: Rashard Lewis, Dexter Pittman, Terrel Harris, Josh Harrellson
• Bucks: Marquis Daniels, Joel Przybilla
• Timberwolves: Chase Budinger, Louis Amundson, Malcolm Lee, Josh Howard
• Hornets: Roger Mason, Lance Thomas, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts
• Knicks: Kurt Thomas, Ronnie Brewer, Rasheed Wallace, James White, Chris Copeland, Pablo Prigioni
• Thunder: Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins
• Magic: E'Twaun Moore, DeQuan Jones
• Sixers: Royal Ivey, Damien Wilkins, Maalik Wayns
• Suns: Jermaine O'Neal, P.J. Tucker, Diante Garrett, Luke Zeller
• Blazers: Ronnie Price
• Kings: Isaiah Thomas
• Spurs: Gary Neal
• Raptors: Dominic McGuire, Alan Anderson
• Jazz: Jamaal Tinsley, DeMarre Carroll, Kevin Murphy
• Wizards: Earl Barron, Cartier Martin, A.J. Price, Shaun Livingston

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

When you think of players vetoing trades, you probably think of a guy who has a no-trade clause. In the NBA, however, a greater number of players have the ability to veto trades for reasons other than a standard no-trade clause.

The CBA stipulates that players who accept a qualifying offer or sign for a one-year contract that would allow them to have early Bird or full Bird rights at the end of the deal can veto trades as they see fit. If one of these players consents to a trade, he would only have non-Bird rights, giving him plenty of incentive to use his veto power. Players who sign an offer sheet, only to have it matched by their original team, can also veto a trade for one year after they sign.

Below is a list of the players with veto power in 2012/13, including the only four in the league to have negotiated no-trade clauses in their contracts, a privilege reserved only for long-tenured superstars, as you can see. The players listed under the last two categories would give up either early or full Bird rights if they consent to a trade. If there are any omissions from this list, please let us know in the comments. 

No-trade clauses

• Kobe Bryant, Lakers
• Tim Duncan, Spurs
• Kevin Garnett, Celtics
• Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks

Players whose offer sheets were matched

• Nicolas Batum, Blazers
• Eric Gordon, Hornets

Players accepting qualifying offers

• Ivan Johnson, Hawks (early Bird)
• Devin Ebanks, Lakers
• Darius Morris, Lakers (early Bird)
• Luke Harangody, Cavs

Players re-signing for one year

• Chris Wilcox, Celtics (early Bird)
• Keith Bogans, Nets (early Bird)
• Terrel Harris, Heat (early Bird)
• J.J. Hickson, Blazers
• Aaron Gray, Raptors (early Bird)
• Cartier Martin, Wizards (early Bird)
• Brandon Rush, Warriors
• Chauncey Billups, Clippers
• J.R. Smith, Knicks (early Bird)
• Boris Diaw, Spurs (early Bird)
• Patrick Mills, Spurs (early Bird)
• Alan Anderson, Raptors (early Bird)

ShamSports and Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.

Put together a squad of eight NBA players, and you'll have a chance to win part of a $300 prize pool in DraftStreet's latest freeroll for Hoops Rumors readers! You've got nothing to lose by signing up and making your picks, as there's no entry free. Here's how it works:

The NBA freeroll begins Friday at 7:00pm eastern time, so you have until then to create your team.  You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet. You'll select eight players — two guards, two forwards, two centers, and two utility players. Then you'll accumulate fantasy points based on how your squad performs in categories like points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and more in Friday night's games. The teams that rack up the most fantasy points on Friday will split the $300 prize pool.

I've put together a balanced squad led by Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. Here's a screenshot of my roster:

If you're interested in trying to top my team and others, sign up and create a roster prior to Friday's games (7:00pm eastern time). It's quick, easy, fun, and the Hoops Rumors league gives you a free chance to win some of the $300 prize pool. If you enjoy the competition, you can try other leagues for free and earn credits, or deposit real money.

Please note that this post is a paid advertisement by DraftStreet.

Over the summer, eight free agents signed contracts that were worth a guaranteed $40MM or more — in some cases, such as Deron Williams' $98.77MM deal, they were worth a lot more.

Since all these contracts were for either four or five years, it will be a while yet before we can determine whether they'll be bargains, busts, or something in between. Still, with the season well underway, it's not too early to look at how these eight guys are handling the pressures of their big new deals so far.

Because Ersan Ilyasova's $40MM contract with the Bucks isn't fully guaranteed in its last year, he isn't included here. Extended players like Blake Griffin, James Harden, and others aren't on our list either, since their new contracts won't officially kick in until next season. Here's a look at the early returns on this summer's top eight free agents:

• Deron Williams, Nets (Five years, $98.77MM): Williams has helped lead the Nets to a 4-2 start in Brooklyn, averaging 17.7 PPG and 7.7 APG to date. The Nets' wins have come against some mediocre competition in the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Magic, and Williams' numbers across the board are slightly below his career averages, including an ugly .258 3PT% on over five three-pointers per game. But as D-Will continues to adjust to all his new teammates, I expect those numbers to improve.
• Brook Lopez, Nets (Four years, $60.83MM): Like his aforementioned Nets teammate, Lopez has taken advantage of a few early-season contests against Eastern Conference lottery teams to get off to a good start, including a 24.0 PER. Even more encouraging than Lopez's stats though is his health — after a lost 2011/12 season, Lopez will have a much easier time living up to his maximum-salary contract if he returns to the 82-game form he displayed in his first three years.
• Eric Gordon, Hornets (Four years, $58.37MM): While Lopez has started strong after injuries wiped out his 2011/12 campaign, Gordon hasn't bounced back quite so nicely from an injury-plagued '11/12. After a summer in which he essentially urged New Orleans not to match his offer sheet with the Suns, Gordon didn't seem to be on the same page as the Hornets when it came to his health. There's still plenty of time for this contract to work out, but when it's newsworthy that Gordon is expressing a commitment to the Hornets and hasn't requested a trade, that's not a great sign.
• Roy Hibbert, Pacers (Four years, $58.37MM): With Danny Granger out of action, the Pacers have struggled as a team, getting off to a 3-6 start. Hibbert hasn't exactly stepped up in Granger's absence, shooting 38.6% from the floor in his first nine games, with his PPG, RPG, and PER all well below last year's marks. For his part, Hibbert says his contract isn't weighing on his mind, and figures his shots will start falling eventually.
• Nicolas Batum, Trail Blazers (Four years, $46.12MM): My pick for 2012/13's Most Improved Player, Batum is making me, and the Blazers, look good through eight games. On Portland's new-look roster, Batum is playing more minutes (38.8 to 30.4), taking more shots (14.6 to 10.9), and shooting more threes (7.3 to 4.6) than he did a year ago, and his overall numbers reflect that, with career-high averages virtually across the board so far.
• JaVale McGee, Nuggets (Four years, $44MM): The Nuggets are off to a bit of a slow start, winning just four of their first eight games, and they'll likely need more of a contribution from McGee to become an elite team. The former Wizard is coming off the bench and averaging less than 20 minutes per contests so far, which isn't something you want to see from a guy making an eight-digit salary. McGee has been productive in limited action, so we'll see if his minutes increase as he gets more comfortable in George Karl's system.
• George Hill, Pacers (Five years, $40MM): Like Batum in Portland, Hill is earning more minutes and taking way more shots after signing a lucrative new contract. Part of that can be attributed to Granger's injury, but the Pacers are leaning on Hill heavily with Darren Collison playing in Dallas, and he's been handling the extra pressure in Indiana better than Hibbert has so far.
• Gerald Wallace, Nets (Four years, $40MM): Wallace has appeared in just one game this season for the Nets, having been forced out of action with a sprained ankle. The 30-year-old forward misses a few games every season with various ailments, so hopefully he's just getting that out of the way early this year. If he's plagued by injuries for much of 2012/13, this four-year contract will be off to an ominous start.

As we've outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Hoops Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don't want to follow all the site's updates, you can follow team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don't have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, you can also easily follow all our updates on your favorite player.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Mickael Pietrus as he weighs his free agent options, you can visit this page. If you're interested in whether the Raptors may consider trading Jose Calderon to your favorite team, all Calderon-related updates are located here.

Every player we've written about has his own rumors page. You can find your player of choice by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post where he's discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Calderon's page is located at hoopsrumors.com/jose-calderon.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags we use at the bottom of posts. Early updates on the 2013 NBA draft, for instance, can be found on its rumors page. If you want to check out updates on Chris Hansen's quest to bring the NBA back to Seattle, those are all available here.

The James Harden trade was finalized a day before the 2012/13 season began, but since it came almost three months after the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum deal went down, it makes sense to classify it as the first of the 2012/13 in-season trades. The Bobcats and Hornets pulled off another swap yesterday, and now that we have multiple trades, we'll list them here in a post you can bookmark and reference throughout the season, along with our recap of the trades from this past offseason. For up-to-the-minute news on trades as well as other roster moves, like signings, cuts and coaching changes, follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.

February 21st

• The Bucks get J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ish Smith.
• The Magic get Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb.

February 21st

• The Celtics get Jordan Crawford.
• The Wizards get Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.

February 21st

• The Trail Blazers get Eric Maynor.
• The Thunder get the rights to Giorgio Printezis.

February 21st

• The Thunder get Ronnie Brewer.
• The Knicks get the Thunder's 2014 second-round pick.

February 21st

• The Magic get Hakim Warrick and cash.
• The Bobcats get Josh McRoberts.

February 21st

• The Mavericks get Anthony Morrow.
• The Hawks get Dahntay Jones.

February 21st

• The Raptors get Sebastian Telfair.
• The Suns get Hamed Haddadi and a 2014 second-round pick.

February 21st

• The Grizzlies get Dexter Pittman, the Heat's 2013 second-round pick, and cash.
• The Heat get the rights to Ricky Sanchez.

February 21st

• The 76ers get Charles Jenkins and cash.
• The Warriors get a future second-round pick.

February 21st

• The Hawks get Jeremy Tyler and cash.
• The Warriors get a future second-round pick.

February 20th

• The Rockets get Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, and Tyler Honeycutt.
• The Kings get Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas, and $1MM in cash.

February 20th

• The Suns get Marcus Morris.
• The Rockets get the Suns' 2013 second-round pick.

January 30th

• The Raptors get Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi.
• The Grizzlies get Tayshaun Prince, Ed Davis, Austin Daye, the Raptors' 2013 second-round pick and cash.
• The Pistons get Jose Calderon. 

January 22nd

• The Cavaliers get Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and the Grizzlies' 2015 first-round pick.
• The Grizzlies get Jon Leuer.

November 13th

• The Bobcats get Hakim Warrick.
• The Hornets get Matt Carroll.

October 29th

• The Rockets get James Harden, Daequan Cook, Cole Aldrich and Lazar Hayward.
• The Thunder get Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, the Mavericks' 2013 first-round pick, the Raptors' 2013 first-round pick and the Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick.

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If you prefer to receive updates only on roster moves such as signings, cuts, and trades, you can follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.

FIBA announced sweeping changes to the schedule for the World Cup of Basketball, formerly known as the World Championships, that will take place after the next World Cup in 2014. FIBA hopes the changes will appeal to NBA teams concerned about players taking part in annual summer competitions, according to The Associated Press, but Tom Ziller of SB Nation writes that the new schedule could make it more difficult for NBA players to participate in the World Cup, since qualification will take place during the season.

After the 2014 competition, the next World Cup will be in 2019, with the field increased from 24 teams to 32. Qualification for the 2019 World Cup will be held in November 2017, and in February, June, September and November of 2018, with a final period set for February 2019. Qualification will take place in a home-and-home format, allowing each team to play in front of its own fans. 

Teams will qualify for the 2020 Olympics via the 2019 World Cup and separate tournaments in each of FIBA's four geographic zones. In the past year, NBA commissioner David Stern has expressed a desire to make the World Cup the primary international stage for basketball, and the league has pushed for an age limit that would curb NBA participation in the Olympics.