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The 2012 NBA trade deadline date is March 15.

NBA Rumors for Friday, Feb. 3

InsideHoops NBA rumors updated 4:00 p.m. ET.
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Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure today in Vail, Colo. to remove debris from his right knee, the team announced. It is his fourth knee surgery since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Blazers interim general manager Chad Buchanan said it's too early to say today's knee procedure will end Oden's season. "That would be speculation at this point,'' Buchanan said. "We are going to continue to stand by and support Greg and listen to what the doctors have to say after the surgery.'' Oregonian

The right knee has not given Oden problems since 2007, when he had microfracture performed before the season started. His left knee was the knee in question during his December visit in Vail, Colo., when the team deemed he had suffered a setback because of an issue with a non-weight bearing ligament in his knee. Oregonian

The Clippers and free-agent forward Kenyon Martin have agreed on a mini-midlevel deal that will be finalized as soon as Martin passes a physical, according to an NBA individual familiar with the negotiations. Martin, who played for the Xinjiang Tigers in China and had been required to wait until their season was over before rejoining the NBA, was cleared to return to the NBA by FIBA, the international basketball federation, Thursday. LA Times Blog | Fan Discussion

Martin has a home in Los Angeles and is a friend of Clippers guard Chauncey Billups, a teammate with the Nuggets. Other teams that had been interested in Martin were the Lakers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. LA Times Blog

The Los Angeles D-Fenders have acquired guard Rafer Alston, it was announced today. The acquisition comes one day after Ishmael Smith signed with the Orlando Magic to become the D-Fenders’ fourth NBA Call-Up of the season and the seventh Call-Up in franchise history. “We’re excited to add a player with as much experience as Rafer to the D-Fenders’ backcourt and believe he will undoubtedly help us continue towards our ultimate goal of an NBA Development League Championship,” D-Fenders Head Coach Eric Musselman said. InsideHoops.com

The NBA fined Mark Cuban $75K for criticism of NBA officiating, & fined Rick Carlisle $35K for kicking ball into stands. InsideHoops Twitter

Outside the arena before a recent game, nine ticket scalpers clustered near the Gallery Place Metro station exit on F Street NW, scanning for potential buyers. There were few nibbles. “It’s easier to sell the circus than the Wizards,” one scalper said. “We used to go get seafood after,” said another. “Now we get Oodles of Noodles. It’s all we can afford.” “Nobody wants to see this team,” complained a third. The scalpers declined to give their names. Inside the arena, an announcement boomed over the public-address system: “It is illegal to buy or sell tickets outside the Verizon Center.” Washington Post

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that forward Marcus Morris will be re-joining Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. “Marcus’ ankle has healed and he has been cleared to practice and play,” said Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey. “With limited practice time available, we have decided to send Marcus to Rio Grande Valley to give him an opportunity to play and recondition his ankle.” InsideHoops.com

MAIN MORNING NBA RUMORS STORIES

A source tells InsideHoops editor Jeff Lenchiner that Rafer Alston will join the LA D-Fenders of the D-League. InsideHoops Twitter

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $75,000 for his criticism of NBA officiating, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has been fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the spectator stands with 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Mavericks' 95-86 loss to Oklahoma City on Feb. 1 at American Airlines Center, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. NBA.com

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was voted as a starter to the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday but said he doesn't plan on defending his slam dunk contest title during All-Star weekend. "As of right now I don't plan on being in it," Griffin said Thursday night. "Those dunk contests aren't my thing, I said that last year. There's a lot of guys that can put on a great show and do some good stuff." ESPN LA

Griffin's teammate, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, could take Griffin's place in the slam dunk contest, but Jordan said he has not been contacted by the league yet. "He's got some stuff that people definitely want to see," Griffin said of Jordan. ESPN LA

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, winner of the last three NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, is this year’s leading vote-getter in the 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting program with 1,600,390 votes. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, a four-time All-Star MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011), is the leading vote-getter in the Western Conference with 1,555,479 votes. Bryant ties Jerry West, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O’Neal for the most consecutive All-Star nods in NBA history with 14. InsideHoops.com

Joining Howard in the Eastern Conference starting lineup at the forward position are the Miami Heat’s LeBron James (1,360,680), the 2006 and 2008 All-Star Game MVP, and the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony (1,041,290). The starters for the East at guard are the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose (1,514,723) and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade (1,334,223), the 2010 All-Star Game MVP. InsideHoops.com

Bryant, who joins Hall of Famer Bob Pettit (1956, 1958, 1959 and 1962) as the only four-time All-Star Game MVPs in NBA history, is joined in the Western Conference starting backcourt by the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (1,138,743). The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (1,345,566) and the Clippers’ Blake Griffin (876,451), making his first All-Star Game start, are the starting forwards. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, a first-time All-Star, gets the nod at center (1,051,945). This marks the first time since 1997 (Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, and Seattle’s Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton) that two pair of teammates have been voted to start for one conference. InsideHoops.com

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this before: The Nets view their chances to eventually land Dwight Howard as anywhere from “favorable” to “confident” to plain old “good.” All those who remember the Knicks’ pursuit of Carmelo Anthony last season, put your hands down. But the Nets like where they are. The Magic have tried everything to keep Howard, 26, but little suggests the franchise center is amenable to remaining in central Florida. NY Post

The Orlando Sentinel reported that, despite Howard’s recent endorsements of the Bulls and Celtics, his preferred landing spots remain the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks. There will be talk, but the Nets do not expect Howard to be dealt before All-Star weekend, Feb. 24-26 in Orlando. NY Post

Several persons claiming knowledge of some of Howard’s thinking insist he does not look that favorably upon the Lakers because of the mega-shadow cast by Shaquille O’Neal, who left Orlando and won three titles in Los Angeles. NY Post

At least one person around the Magic feels Dallas is a bigger free-agency threat than the Nets. The speculated scenario has both Howard and Deron Williams landing there as free agents. The Mavericks trail in any trade scenario because they lack assets. Again, the Nets are favored. NY Post

One possible reason for the Magic to let Howard become a free agent is the belief he won’t walk away from money in the $25 million range — what he could lose signing for four years with another club. But the thought Howard would risk that fifth-year cash for the lure of Brooklyn and its business opportunities could force Orlando to make a deal which would bring assets and also allow the Magic to unload Hedo Turkoglu’s $11.8 million contract. NY Post

Warriors guard Monta Ellis finished seventh among Western Conference guards in the balloting for All-Star starters, receiving about 30,000 fewer votes than Houston's Kyle Lowry, who was sixth. No Warriors were among the top 10 vote-getters at center or forward. The reserves will be announced Feb. 9. "His numbers speak for themselves," Jackson said. "He has great numbers, and he's had a great first half. It will be interesting to see what he does and what we do going forward, but he's certainly playing at an All-Star level." San Francisco Chronicle

Coach Mark Jackson reflected on late "Soul Train" host Don Cornelius: "He is a legend who changed the game. He gave so many people opportunities and impacted so many people's lives. He was a risk-taker when it wasn't easy to be a risk-taker." San Francisco Chronicle

Kenyon Martin wasn't necessarily in the plans for the Nuggets, but now it's official: A league source said Thursday that the unrestricted free agent will not return to the Nuggets this season. The power forward played in China but is looking to sign with an NBA team. Yahoo Sports reported that FIBA has cleared Martin to sign with a team now. Originally, he would have had to wait until his Chinese team finished its season later this month or in March, depending on the playoffs. Martin had already left his team in December to return to the States. Denver Post

Chinese Basketball Association officials are fighting FIBA’s decision to allow Kenyon Martin to immediately return to the NBA, demanding that Martin be forbidden to play until later this month, sources told Yahoo! Sports. China has forwarded an affidavit to FIBA and the NBA – signed by Martin upon his departure in late December – that stipulates he wouldn’t play in the NBA until his Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers’ season had ended. China is demanding the contract be honored and Martin have to wait until the Flying Tigers finish their season. Yahoo

Chinese Basketball Association officials are insisting the clearance letter request was deliberately sent to their office over the New Year when they wouldn’t be available to respond. After seven days without a response, FIBA’s guidelines allow it to issue the letter of clearance that all international leagues – including the NBA – need to validate that a player has fulfilled contractual obligations elsewhere. Yahoo

What’s more, there’s been a strong belief within the global basketball community that the NBA discouraged China from signing its players under contract during the lockout. Several teams were close to negotiating deals with such stars as Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and Tony Parker before the CBA declared its teams would only sign free agents. Yahoo

Martin has visited with several NBA teams interested in signing him, including the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, and will huddle with agent Andy Miller in New York over the weekend to reach a decision. The Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are leaders for Martin, but the Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs remain in pursuit of him. Yahoo

New York has faded from contention in recent weeks, sources said, because of more pressing guard needs. The Clippers can pay Martin the mini midlevel exception for a pro-rated $2.5 million for the season. Yahoo

For now, China’s letter-of-clearance rule still stands for Smith, Chandler and Aaron Brooks. Smith’s team has slumped, and could miss the playoffs. If so, Smith could return to the NBA by the All-Star break in February. Chandler and Aaron Brooks are on teams that could make playoff runs well into March. Yahoo

A.J. Price ended the past two seasons as the Indiana Pacers backup point guard but has spent the majority of this season watching from the bench. Lance Stephenson is a talented second-year player and a favorite of team president Larry Bird. The 21-year-old is still considered raw, however, when it comes to learning the NBA game. Now both players are seeing their roles increased because of the injury to teammate George Hill. Indianapolis Star

Hill hopes to miss no more than three weeks. The Pacers will have a better idea of a timetable after they return to Indianapolis following tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks. Price will be Darren Collison's backup at point guard and Stephenson will back up Paul George at shooting guard. Hill backed up both positions. Pacers coach Frank Vogel wants to play Price about 12-16 minutes a game. Indianapolis Star

Price has had to make the toughest transition of any player on the roster. The third-year guard ended the past two seasons as the backup to Earl Watson and Collison. But the addition of Hill and the playing time given to Stephenson made Price the odd man out. Indianapolis Star

Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins has left Thursday night's game against Memphis after he sprained his left elbow. The Hawks say he won't return, dealing another blow to Atlanta's short-handed center position. The team is already without All-Star Al Horford, who is expected to miss most, if not all, of the regular season after undergoing surgery for a torn left pectoral muscle. AP

One of the central figures in what is shaping up to be a season for the record books for CSKA Moscow is center Nenad Krstic. The big man added to his stellar campaign this week by picking up Top 16, Week 3 [Euroleague] MVP honors and thus joining teammate Andrei Kirilenko among only three players to claim that title twice this season. Krstic was worth maximum production in minimum time in Thursday’s 85-70 home win over GS Medical Park. Euroleague.net

He came off the bench for 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal en route to a performance index rating of 31, which ironically was the same index rating he achieved when he was previously named [Euroleague] MVP after Week 9. Krstic was also named Euroleague Basketball’s MVP for November. The team with the second-most wins in the Euroleague this season, FC Barcelona Regal, produced the player with the second best index rating of the week in two-time All-Euroleague big man Erazem Lorbek. Euroleague.net

As confirmed by the club, CSKA Moscow forward Viktor Khryapa will be out for approximately one month, due to a dislocation on his index finger. Khryapa is expected to be back in March, which means that he will miss the rest of the Top 16. Khryapa has been one of the main pillars of the great CSKA performance this season, which keeps the team still unbeaten. Euroleague.net

A lawyer has entered a no contest plea for Kyle Lowry in a bid for dismissal of a misdemeanor battery case alleging the Houston Rockets guard threw a basketball at a female referee and threatened her during a game at a Las Vegas gym last September. A court clerk said the 25-year-old Lowry didn't appear Thursday with his lawyer, Patrick McDonald, before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman. AP

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