HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

After one of the busiest free agency periods in the NBA’s history, teams are expecting similar chaos prior to this year’s trade deadline. While it will be tough to live up to this past offseason in terms of activity, don’t be surprised if teams continue to shuffle their rosters in the coming months.

Multiple league sources are predicting that plenty of trades will be completed prior to February’s deadline, especially once recently signed players become eligible to be traded on December 15.

With names such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Gilbert Arenas, Andre Igoudala, Steve Nash, and Tayshaun Prince showing up in trade rumors, there’s no shortage of star power or teams willing to put together packages to acquire them.

Each day, new rumors have surfaced involving these players and others, a trend that will continue and only get worse as February approaches.

Early in the season, discussions were extremely limited as newly assembled teams evaluated their rosters and recently signed pieces were off limits. While two trades were completed, there were very few players being openly shopped and there weren’t nearly as many rumblings from around the league as usual.

But by December 15, teams will have had nearly a third of the season to figure out their needs, replace injured players, and determine the direction of their team.

In the past, this date has come and gone with little attention focused on it. But because so many players signed new contracts over the summer, teams have been limited in their discussions up until this point and December 15 could ring the opening bell for what’s expected to be an extremely active trading season.

{AUTHOR_BOX}One source expects old deals to revived and put back on the table with the new pool of available players. It will now be easier for teams to package players and offers that were previously thrown away may be reconsidered due to new circumstances or new tweaks to the deal.

Another source suggested that some trades may have already been consummated with the involved teams just waiting for December 15 to iron out the details or make them official. Even though newly signed players cannot be traded, teams can still discuss the framework of deals prior to finalizing them on that date.

After a summer of big changes, many teams are still trying to make their big move or retool their roster which will keep the rumor mill churning as the trade deadline approaches.

Bucks To Waive Hobson: The Milwaukee Bucks have decided to waive rookie shooting guard Darington Hobson, according to sources close to the situation. With Hobson out for the season after undergoing hip surgery, Milwaukee will cut him to open a roster spot and an announcement is expected today.

Hobson’s contract would have become fully guaranteed on January 10, but the Bucks would like to add a player that can be available to them as they make a playoff push.

Sources believe that the team will sign center Brian Skinner shortly after releasing Hobson. Skinner was released in Milwaukee’s final round of training camp cuts, but will be re-signed to give the team frontcourt depth.

Hobson had surgery on his left hip in October and once he completes his rehab, he will undergo a similar procedure on his right hip. He will be ready to play next season and sources say Milwaukee will likely try to re-sign him over the summer. The team has been very high on Hobson since drafting him with the thirty-seventh overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

NBA News and Notes: Here are some items from this week’s news and notes bin.

•  Aaron Brooks is expected to return to the Houston Rockets lineup early next week, according to sources. Since spraining his left ankle on November 6, Brooks has been in rehab. He progressed quickly, but the team didn’t want him rushing back too early to avoid further injury. Now, it appears he may be able to play against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, the same night that Yao Ming is targeting to return. If not, Brooks will suit up against the Bucks on Friday.

•  With Joe Johnson sidelined until January after undergoing right elbow surgery, expect rookie Jordan Crawford to receive an increase in his minutes. Crawford has played in just nine games and averaged 11 minutes per contest, but this is an opportunity for him to step up and get into a rhythm with Johnson out four-to-six weeks.

•  Michael Jordan has purchased a new mansion and pictures of the home are now surfacing on the internet. The house has eleven bedrooms, a two-story guard house, a basketball court, workout facility, and ‘cigar-friendly’ media room. The home is in The Bears Club, a community of billionaires developed by golfer Jack Nicklaus.  Jordan is already enjoying the club’s golf course, playing from "sunrise to sunset." Must be nice.

•  With Reggie Evans out eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a bone in his right foot, the Toronto Raptors are hoping that rookie Ed Davis can step up and log some meaningful minutes in his absence. Davis made his NBA debut on Wednesday night, logging 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in twenty-four minutes of action. Amir Johnson will likely start in Evans’ place but Davis will still get the opportunity to play more minutes as he comes back from a knee injury.

•  Teams have been finding some very creative ways to use the NBA Development League this season. Rodrigue Beaubois won’t play a single game in the D-League, but he was still sent down as "marketing support" for the Texas Legends. Terrence Williams is currently serving the league’s version of timeout with the Springfield Armor after repeated tardiness and issues with head coach Avery Johnson. On Wednesday, it was announced that Jonny Flynn will play as many as three games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce as he rehabs his hip after undergoing surgery over the summer. Franchises are putting their NBADL affiliates to use, even if they’re not filling the rosters the traditional way.