Week in Review News & Rumors

Here's a look back at some important stories from last week:

• After being released from the Knicks to make room for J.R. Smith, Renaldo Balkman has drawn interest from the Nets. 
• The uncertainty surrounding the Kings' tenure in Sacramento seems to be increasing by the week. 
• With Drew Gooden's recent injury combining with Andrew Bogut's, the Bucks are incredibly thin in the front court right now. In an effort to help stop the bleeding, the team is looking at Kyrylo Fesenko and D.J. Mbenga to come aboard. 
• Allen Iverson declined an offer to play professional basketball in Venezuela. 
• As mentioned earlier, the Knicks signed the much sought-after J.R. Smith. 
• Wilson Chandler will join former teammates Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith by returning to the United States as early as this week. He's expected to return to Denver, although it hasn't been confirmed whether it'll be on a short or long-term contract. 
• On Thursday, the Hornets re-signed Lance Thomas to a second 10-day contract. 
• Lakers forward Devin Ebanks was assigned to the D-league's Los Angeles Defenders.
• After being cut by the Clippers, Solomon Jones was signed to a 10-day contract by the Hornets.
• Knowing they'd be without the reigning MVP for the immediate future, the Bulls signed 36-year-old guard Mike James to a 10-day contract. 

Here's a look back at some important stories that were covered last week:

• Former Nuggets guard J.R. Smith will be returning from China this week after playing professional basketball in China for several months. 
• Chuck Myron went in depth with several links on Jeremy Lin's mystical journey. 
• Bucks guard Brandon Jennings caused a minor—and silly— uproar after announcing with reason that he would explore all of his available options upon becoming a free agent. 
• We heard that the Cavaliers were not shopping Anderson Varejao, who later fractured his wrist.  
• Keith Bogans was lost for the season after fracturing his ankle, while Chauncey Billups went down for the year with a torn Achilles.
• The Rockets signed Greg Smith to a three-year deal.
• The Jazz signed DeMarre Carroll for the remainder of the season.
• The Hawks signed Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract. Other 10-day contracts included Ben Uzoh to the Cavs, Donald Sloan to the Hornets, and Lance Thomas to the Hornets.
• In a rare interview, Magic owner Rich DeVos announced he has no intentions of trading Dwight Howard.
• According to Stephen A. Smith, there were conversations between the Lakers and Allen Iverson about bringing in the future Hall of Fame guard to add some backcourt depth. Iverson appears ticketed for Venezuela or Puerto Rico though.
• After having his heart broken by David Stern's decision to revoke the original deal that would send Chris Paul to the Lakers, Rockets GM Daryl Morey still has his eyes set on acquiring Pau Gasol.
• Former NBA veterans Jerome James and Kareem Rush both signed with the D-League in hopes of making NBA comebacks.
• A number of players on non-guaranteed contracts were either cut or had their contracts guaranteed on Tuesday. We tracked all the decisions right here.

Here's a look back at the past week of activity:

• The Dwight Howard saga continues, with the latest significant development being Kobe Bryant's apparent message to Howard that he would be a third option on the Lakers, which seems to have turned the 26-year-old superstar center off from the idea of playing in Los Angeles. The Nets appear to be the frontrunner to land Howard at this point, although he is said to be interested in the Bulls as well.
• The biggest transaction of the week was Kenyon Martin's FIBA clearance to return to the NBA, and subsequent agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers on a one-year contract worth the $2.5MM room exception.
• Martin's former Nuggets teammate J.R. Smith is also set to return to the NBA soon after a stint in China, and has been linked in recent days to the Clippers and Knicks.
• The Hornets took Chris Kaman off the market after shopping him aggressively in recent weeks. New Orleans also signed Lance Thomas to a 10-day contract following Carl Landry's sprained MCL.
• The Lakers have discussed acquiring Gilbert Arenas or Ramon Sessions to solve their point guard issues, but questions of Arenas' health and the prospect of giving up a first-round pick for Sessions has made them hesitant to pull the trigger on either one. The Knicks also have interest in Sessions.
• Washington forward Andray Blatche is on the trading block, with the Bobcats a possible match, although nothing is close.
• Veteran center Joel Przybilla has received offers from Miami and Chicago and is expected to decide between them soon.