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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.

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

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• 76ers: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Central

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• Bulls: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Southeast

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• Hawks: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
• Heat: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
• Magic: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Southwest

• Grizzlies: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
• Hornets: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Northwest

• Jazz: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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• Thunder: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
• Timberwolves: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
• Trail Blazers: Facebook / Twitter / RSS

Pacific

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• Lakers: Facebook / Twitter / RSS
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Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

We've been keeping up with the number of players on each team's roster during preseason, with separate posts for the East and West. As we move into the regular season, the numbers won't be moving quite so quickly, without the comings and goings of training camp invitees. Nonetheless, we'll consolidate the roster counts into a single post, with some updates and added information. This gives you an idea of a team's flexibility at a glance, so you can see whether a team has room to add one of the remaining free agents on the market without having to waive someone.

The total number of players on each team's roster is listed first, followed by the number of fully guaranteed contracts and, where applicable, the names of anyone on a partially guaranteed deal. For players on non-guaranteed contracts and details on the amounts of the partial guarantees, check out this post. If you notice any omissions, please let us know.

Updated 4-17-13

Atlantic Division
Celtics: 15
Knicks: 15
Nets: 15
Raptors: 15
Sixers: 15

Southeast Division
Bobcats: 15
Hawks: 15
Heat: 15
Magic: 14
Wizards: 15

Central Division
Bucks: 15
Bulls: 15
Cavaliers: 15
Pacers: 15
Pistons: 14

Southwest Division
Grizzlies: 15
Hornets: 15
Mavericks: 15
Rockets: 15
Spurs: 15

Northwest Division
Jazz: 15
Nuggets: 15
Thunder: 15
Timberwolves: 15
Trail Blazers:15

Pacific Division
Clippers: 15
Kings: 14
Lakers: 15
Suns: 15
Warriors: 15

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

A host of rookies are making their debuts this week, including several who not long ago seemed unlikely to do so. First-round picks are usually locks to make their teams, but second-rounders face a struggle, and undrafted players have the most daunting challenge of all, having to scrap just for training camp invitations, much less regular-season roster spots.

Several of the players on this list spent years developing overseas after they were passed over in their respective drafts, but a few who were left on the draft board this June managed to quickly overcome the snub and make it to the league for opening night. Many of them are on non-guaranteed deals, so their stays might not be permanent, but for now, they've made it to the big time. 

The undrafted rookies are listed below by team, with their draft years in parentheses. 

• Sixers: Maalik Wayns (2012)
• Hornets: Brian Roberts (2008)
• Knicks: Chris Copeland (2006), Pablo Prigioni (1999)
• Magic: DeQuan Jones (2012)
• Nets: Mirza Teletovic (2007)
• Pacers: Ben Hansbrough (2011)
• Pistons: Slava Kravstov (2009)
• Rockets: Scott Machado (2012)
• Suns: Diante Garrett (2011), Luke Zeller (2009)
• Timberwolves: Alexey Shved (2010)
• Warriors: Kent Bazemore (2012)

In the weeks leading up to Halloween's deadline for fourth-year extension-eligible players to ink new deals, the prevailing wisdom suggested that teams were increasingly reluctant to lock up their players prior to free agency. TNT's David Aldridge and Sean Deveney of the Sporting News were among those who wrote stories attempting to explain why we were seeing fewer and fewer rookie scale extensions.

When the dust settled after October 31st, however, it turned out that clubs weren't all that reluctant to extend their fourth-year players after all. Ty Lawson, James Harden, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, and Taj Gibson signed extensions during the last two days of October, joining Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka as players avoiding restricted 2013 free agency by re-upping this offseason. It's the first time that many players have finalized rookie scale extensions since 2008, when NBA teams committed about $372MM to eight contract extensions.

In 2012, the amount of money committed to extensions blew away that 2008 figure, exceeding $400MM. We don't know specific amounts of the summer extensions yet, so we can't nail down the exact amount that teams spent. But if we use the base salaries reported to date and assume that next year's maximum salary will stay the same as this year's (it will likely increase), 2012's eight extensions add up to more than $424MM in commitments.

Here's a breakdown of the rookie scale extensions that have been inked over the past five seasons:

In addition to being the deadline for fourth-year players to extend their rookie scale contracts, October 31st also represented the last day that teams could exercise their players' third- and fourth-year options for the 2013/14 season.

For the most part, these options were exercised without much fanfare. The Cavaliers weren't about to turn down their third-year option for Kyrie Irving, for instance. However, not all of the 55 players with options had their contracts guaranteed for the '13/14 season. Some were waived by their current teams, making them unrestricted free agents immediately. Others simply had their options turned down, meaning they'll play out the year under contract and become free agents at season's end.

Here's the complete list of the players whose '13/14 options were not exercised, along with their teams and the salaries they would have earned:

• Cole Aldrich (Rockets), $3.25MM
• Al-Farouq Aminu (Hornets), $3.75MM
• Luke Babbitt (Trail Blazers), $2.9MM
• Christian Eyenga (Magic), $2.12MM (Waived)
• Lazar Hayward (Rockets), $2.12MM (Waived)
• Xavier Henry (Hornets), $3.2MM
• JaJuan Johnson (Rockets), $1.14MM (Waived)
• Wesley Johnson (Suns), $5.42MM
• Dominique Jones (Mavericks), $2.3MM
• Nolan Smith (Trail Blazers), $1.42MM
• Elliot Williams (Trail Blazers), $2.37MM

For the complete list of 2013/14 option decisions, be sure to check out our tracker.

Beginning on July 1st, fourth-year players on rookie scale contracts were eligible to sign contract extensions with their respective teams and forgo the chance to hit restricted free agency next summer. Most of the players to sign new deals didn't do so until the October 31st deadline approached, which means we saw a flurry of activity yesterday.

Here's a recap of the extension-eligible fourth-year players that signed contract extensions this offseason, removing themselves from 2013's free agent market:

• Blake Griffin (Clippers): Five years, maximum salary
• James Harden (Rockets): Five years, maximum salary
• Serge Ibaka (Thunder): Four years, $49MM*
• Ty Lawson (Nuggets): Four years, $48MM
• Stephen Curry (Warriors): Four years, $44MM
• Jrue Holiday (76ers): Four years, $41MM*
• DeMar DeRozan (Raptors): Four years, $38MM*
• Taj Gibson (Bulls): Four years, $32MM*

Here are the extension-eligible players that didn't sign new deals and will become free agents next summer:

• Rodrigue Beaubois (Mavericks)
• Omri Casspi (Cavaliers)
• Darren Collison (Mavericks)
• Austin Daye (Pistons)
• Toney Douglas (Rockets)
• Wayne Ellington (Grizzlies)
• Tyreke Evans (Kings)
• Tyler Hansbrough (Pacers)
• Gerald Henderson (Bobcats)
• Brandon Jennings (Bucks)
• James Johnson (Kings)
• Eric Maynor (Thunder)
• Byron Mullens (Bobcats)
• Jeff Teague (Hawks)

(* Incentives could increase the value of the deal)

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' 2012 Free Agent Tracker. Using our tracker, you can quickly browse the offseason's contract agreements, sorting by team, position, contract length, total salary, and a handful of other variables.

For instance, if you want to see all the Celtics' summer signings, you can sort by team and find all of Boston's free agent additions listed here. If you're curious to see how many players signed five-year contracts, you can sort by contract length and bring up that list right here.

Contract amounts are based on what's been reported to date, and aren't necessarily fully guaranteed. This is especially true for players who signed summer contracts, most of whom were cut before earning their non-guaranteed salaries.

Now that the regular season is underway, we'll no longer be updating our Free Agent Tracker regularly, but it can still be accessed anytime on the right sidebar under "Hoops Rumors Features." All of the free agent contracts signed over the offseason can be found using the tracker. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

With the NBA's 2012/13 regular season just underway, Hoops Rumors' writing team has weighed in with predictions for the coming year. We've made our picks for the top eight seeds in each conference, the Conference and NBA Finals teams, and the winners of the league's major awards.

Click on the link below to see predictions from Luke Adams, Chuck Myron, Zach Links, Alex Lee, Ryan Raroque, Sean Highkin, Michael Pina, and Daniel Seco. And be sure to chime in below in the comments section with your own selections!

2012/13 Hoops Rumors Writer Predictions