The Dallas Mavericks are expected to receive competition in signing Goran Dragic should he become a free agent after the trade deadline.

Marc Stein writes that "sources say that multiple teams are expected to pursue Dragic."

The Toronto Raptors have expressed confidence that they will be able to trade Dragic by the deadline. Dragic and his $19.4 million expiring contract could be bought out by the team that trade for him.

The Raptors acquired Dragic as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat.

The Denver Nuggets have been granted a $2.7 million disabled player exception for the loss of Michael Porter Jr.

The deadline to use the DPE is March 10th.

There have been reports that Porter could possibly return before the end of the season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Mamadi Diakite to a 10-day contract.
 
Diakite (6-9, 218) has appeared in eight games for the Thunder this season and averaged 3.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game.

The Miami Heat have re-signed Chris Silva on a 10-day hardship contract.

Silva is on his fourth 10-day contract with the Heat.

Silva has appeared in seven games with the Heat this season, averaging 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game.

Jalen Brunson will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and retaining him may prove difficult for the Dallas Mavericks.

"The Brunson flight risk is real, sources say," writes Zach Lowe. "The Mavs have no cap space to replace them."

Brunson is averaging 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game this season for the Mavericks. The Mavericks turned around their season after moving Brunson into the starting five.

The Mavericks also have the unrestricted free agency of Dorian Finney-Smith to contend with.

Goran Dragic hasn't played for the Toronto Raptors since November 13. It's unlikely Dragic will play for Toronto again, as the Raptors are finding great interest in the point guard ahead of the February 10 trade deadline.

Dragic was given permission to leave the team to tend to a serious family matter. Since that point, Dragic has not returned to the Raptors and the team has ramped up their efforts to trade him.

Finding a trade shouldn't be too difficult, as Dragic is on an expiring $19.4 million contract. Multiple teams have reportedly expressed interest in adding Dragic for backup point guard depth, as well as bench scoring. If Dragic isn't moved by the trade deadline, it's expected he and Toronto will reach agreement on a contract buyout.

After the Boston Celtics win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Marcus Smart was spotted flexing and rubbing his right hand. When asked if his hand was sore, Smart made a startling revelation.

"Yeah, it gets like this ever since the picture frame incident. There's still some glass in there. The doctors said it would cause more issues to take it out, so I still have glass in there. Sometimes I can't really feel my hand."

The "picture frame incident" is from January of 2018. While on a road trip, Smart punched a picture frame in the team hotel. He missed three weeks while recovering from the cut to his right hand.

Smart spoke later that year about how his medical team thought it would be best to leave some of the glass in his hand, as opposed to risking further injury. At the time of the injury, Smart's doctors told him he was lucky to not have severed several key tendons and ligaments that could have ended his career.

Following his team's fifth consecutive loss, Washington Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said former starting center Daniel Gafford has been removed from the rotation for the time being. Unseld said it wasn't about Gafford's play, but that the team had poor flow when trying to play three centers.

Thomas Bryant recently returned after a year-long absence from a torn ACL. He got his first start of the season in Saturday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Montrezl Harrell played his regular minutes as the backup five as well.

In recent weeks, rumors have surfaced that rival teams are looking at Washington's crowded frontcourt for trade options. In addition to Bryant, Gafford and Harrell at center, the Wizards are also stuffed at the four with Kyle Kuzma, Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans.

After a 10-3 start, Washington has lost 23 of 36 games. That's seen the Wizards fall to 11th in the Eastern Conference.

The Washington Wizards have tumbled to 11th in the Eastern Conference after a fifth consecutive loss on Saturday. Following the game, Spencer Dinwiddie was asked if he needs to do more as one of the team's leaders. Dinwiddie didn't mince words with his answer.

"It's an interesting situation. I spoke up a little bit early on. It wasn't necessarily welcomed. And so, like I said, I try to do whatever's asked of me. At the end of the day, everybody has a role to play," Dinwiddie said. "It's about being accountable in your role and doing that to the best of your ability. That's really all I've got."

Trade rumors have swirled around the Wizards regarding star Bradley Beal, but also with several players in the team's crowded frontcourt. Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. revealed after the game that former starting center Daniel Gafford will be out of the rotation for the time being. With Thomas Bryant back from injury, Unseld is scrapping the three-center rotation he had used over the last week or so.

Several teams have expressed interest in trading for Indiana Pacers wing Justin Holiday. One thing impacting Holiday's trade market is his status as an unvaccinated player.

Holiday has stated in the past that he has no plans to get vaccinated. He's called that a personal decision for him and his family.

Several NBA cities are still working with mandates that don't allow for unvaccinated players to play in home games. That could make those teams reconsider trading for Holiday.

Indiana is known to be looking for two second round picks for Holiday. He's one of several Pacers available as the trade deadline approaches in less than two weeks.