Hinrich and Salmons Available? Martin Fined

Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin has been fined $35,000 for actions surrounding his ejection from last night’s game vs. the Charlotte Bobcats, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter of Denver’s 104-93 win over the Bobcats at the Pepsi Center. - NBA

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired guard Bobby Brown from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for a 2014 conditional second round draft pick and cash considerations. In a related move, the Clippers released guard JamesOn Curry from his 10-day contract. Brown, 25, has appeared in 25 games for the Hornets this season and is averaging 6.6 points and 2.1 assists in 14.9 minutes per game. - NBA

By his own estimation, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich never has tinkered with player rotations more than he has this season. “No, never,” the Spurs coach said before tipoff of Monday's 43rd game of the season, against the Chicago Bulls at the AT&T Center. The experimentation continued Monday, as Popovich used only eight players in a third straight home loss, the Bulls winning 98-93. - San Antonio Express-News

Management, including Karl, is hoping the possibility of a suspension might scare Smith straight. Then again, Smith has already had two suspensions for off-court behavior, served 24 days in jail last summer for his role in a fatal car crash and had countless pep talks from the coaching staff. Karl is open to anyone helping Smith realize he needs to be more coachable. - The Denver Post

While it's obvious that the Hornets made this move to shed salary, Chicago's motivations require a little more digging and imagination. It's possible that this trade could be an attempt to shore up the Bulls' backcourt should they be able to find a taker for either Kirk Hinrich or John Salmons before the trade deadline. Chicago would like to head into this offseason with enough money to pursue a big name free agent and possibly have the option of extending Tyrus Thomas. - HoopsWorld

Reggie Evans, the long-injured Raptors defensive specialist, returned to full-contact practice on Monday, banging with his teammates for the first time in more than three months. "Today was a fun day for me," he said. "I finally got to a good stepping stone. ... I've got some work to do." - Toronto Star

Green, the fifth overall pick in 2007, is struggling through a season-long slump that he can’t seem to find a way out of. His points, rebounds, assists and shooting percentages from the field, 3-point line and foul line are all down from a year ago. Green’s 12.7-point average this month is his lowest in a month since February of his rookie season in 2008. - The Oklahoman

The MRI taken on the right wrist of Devin Harris came back negative, the Nets announced Monday. The team, however, still lists Harris as day-to-day, so he is questionable for Wednesday’s home game against the Los Angeles Clippers. - The Star-Ledger

While the summer free agent class is expected to include the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, a well-placed source said because neither is likely headed to New Jersey, the Nets have had conversations with Phoenix about trading for Suns All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire. - New York Post

Jackson, speaking before facing Denver at the Pepsi Center, claims to know this because "they were talking about that when I was there'' regarding Nelson retiring after this season. Jackson, who was dealt last November from the Warriors to the Bobcats after playing under Nelson since January 2007, wouldn't specify individuals who said that. Nelson begged to differ. "I'm going to coach until my contract is up next year,'' Nelson said in a phone interview. "Ask Jack if he's going to leave with one year left on his contract. ... I'm going to honor my contract next year and then that will be it.'' - FanHouse

With Nate Robinson likely to miss tonight's Minnesota game with his strained hamstring and rookie Toney Douglas looking lost Sunday, Hughes may be D'Antoni's best option -- even if the veteran recently called D'Antoni's methods "a joke." D'Antoni wouldn't commit yesterday to rolling with Hughes again, but it seems likely. - New York Post

It’s highly unlikely Allen would earn the $19 million he’s making in the final year of his current deal, but he does have market value. He would enter this summer’s free agent bonanza as a second-tier choice behind LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. He could be pursued by teams seeking a shooter and a durable player. The Celtics are Allen’s first choice but he realizes the feeling may not be mutual, especially since he will turn 35 during the free agency period in July. - Boston Globe

Declaring himself fit for a change, Glen Davis said before Monday's Boston Celtics game that he's dropping the "Big Baby" moniker and is searching for a new nickname. When a reporter suggested the Chad Ochocinco-like "Uno Uno" to match Davis' No. 11 jersey, he instantly fell in love with it. - ESPNBoston



Kiki Vandeweghe couldn’t speak specifically about Amar’e Stoudemire but was presented with the scenario of trading for an established player rather than weight for free agency and reiterated the Nets would do that. “If you’re saying, ‘Can you shortcut the process and get a super player in a trade?’ I think you would always try to do that,” Vandeweghe said. “You have to weigh that against all your options. But you’ve got to be open to everything. You can’t close your mind to any option at all.” - Bergen Record

Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester accused his team today of not playing with passion every night. “The biggest thing, to me, is that you have to play hard all the time,’’ said Kuester. “If you watched our last two games -- the second half of the Portland game we played with intensity. You have to play this game with passion. For four quarters against Indiana and the first two quarters against Portland, we didn’t play with the passion you saw in the third and fourth quarter against Portland. - Detroit Free Press

Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson, who has played in 21 games and has career-low numbers, was voted a starter. Guard Tracy McGrady, who has played a total of 47 minutes and is on a leave of absence from the Houston Rockets, was in line to be a starter before the final tally. Although Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash passed McGrady in the final two weeks of voting, it spotlighted flaws in the system. "There have been a huge number of suggestions of how we might improve it," Stern said, "and we're all ears." - USA Today

“Let’s pray Cleveland doesn’t get everybody that I’ve heard rumored is going there,” Rivers said. “My goodness, they would have a logjam at every spot. But they’re clearly active and they’re clearly looking to improve their team. I think we all are, but it’s very difficult to make moves. “I don’t know who we call elite - us, whoever. But in the East there’s four teams right there, and they’re all close. Everyone sees themselves with a chance to win it. I don’t blame them.” - Boston Herald

Trade talks close to the deadline often involve a team's highest-paid player, leaving Jason Richardson next up for debate after Stoudemire. Richardson is making $13.3 million this season and gets $14.4 million next season. "After that first trade from Golden State, I realized it's a business," Richardson said. "After the trade from Charlotte (to Phoenix), I knew it was a business. You don't really worry about it. You just focus on winning games. I'm a high-paid player. We're struggling a bit. Unless you're a guy like Steve (Nash) or LeBron (James), there's always going to be rumors about being traded." - Arizona Republic

Knicks president Donnie Walsh would not guarantee he will make a trade by the Feb. 18 trading deadline. But Walsh admitted scenarios will be explored at this week's scouting meetings, as he expressed bitter disappointment with Sunday's disgraceful 50-point loss to the Mavericks -- the worst home defeat in Knicks history. "[Sunday] was disappointing to the players, the coaches, the front office, the fans, the press," Walsh said in rare show of anger. "It was a terrible game. Obviously we have to pick it up if we hope to make the playoffs. "This is the time to start to really pushing and playing well to have a good year. We can't play like that." - New York Post

Jefferson knows, though, that the Wolves will consider all options to leverage the vast salary-cap space cleared for this summer now if they can add the correct star player. "He has been honest with me," Jefferson said of Kahn. "We both know you can be traded. He doesn't come telling me, 'Al, we would never trade you.' Last conversation I had with him, he told me he wasn't talking about trading me to Indiana. But he's not going to make a promise that he'll never trade me because this is how the business is. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

By trading center Aaron Gray to New Orleans for veteran guard Devin Brown on Monday, the Bulls are clearly hoping to move John Salmons or Kirk Hinrich before the Feb. 18 trade deadline. The idea is to trade one of those guards for an expiring contract and create even more cap room to pursue free agents this summer. Such a deal won't be easy, because few teams are willing to take on add salary to their payrolls right now, two sources confirmed. - Arlington Heights Daily Herald