The Washington Wizards are in the middle of the play-in chase and could look to upgrade their roster before the deadline.

Like the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, the Wizards have shown interest in Crowder. The Phoenix Suns have been attempting to find a workable trade of Crowder since the offseason.

"There's been some chatter about them looking at a guy like Jae Crowder," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. "I'm pretty confident there's been some discussions between the Wizards and the Suns.

"We've been talking about Jae Crowder now for about two months. It's obvious it's a hard trade to pull off. The Wizards have a bunch of guys who make decent salaries on their roster they can use in a trade."

The Suns are looking for a power forward in return for Crowder, according to Windhorst. The Wizards have multiple young power forwards in Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija. 

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan were once best friends off the court, despite being fierce rivals on it. Now, the two haven't spoken in a decade.

Barkley said the rift was caused by Jordan being upset over Barkley's criticism of how Jordan has run the Charlotte Hornets.

“It’s a really unfortunate situation for me and him. But I’m going to do my job first and foremost. I can’t criticize other coaches and general managers and give him a pass because he’s my best friend,” Barkley said. “I just can’t do that. What I said was, ‘Michael’s got to surround himself with better people. And I worry about him being successful.’”

Barkley said he and Jordan had a conversation that "wasn't pleasant" after those comments 10 years ago. The two haven't spoken since, despite regularly crossing paths at various NBA events. But Barkley says he'd like to make amends with his former friend.

“I probably would say, ‘Hey, you know, what I said, I believed. I’m sorry you took offense to it, and let’s get past this bull---- and go back to playing golf and having fun.’”

The Chicago Bulls signed Billy Donovan to a contract extension before the start of the season.

Donovan had two more seasons remaining on his original four-year contract.

Donovan was hired by Arturas Karnisovas as head coach in 2020 shortly after he parted ways with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kemba Walker will sign a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

Walker is not expected to play immediately as he last played in an NBA game in February.

Walker was traded by the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons and subsequently waived.

The Mavericks waived Facudno Campazzo to create a roster spot for Walker. 

When De'Aaron Fox changed agents to Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, many assumed it was a precursor to forcing his way out of Sacramento. Fox said that was never a thought as he switched agencies.

“When you're an athlete who has any notoriety and you make a major change, it's going to circulate, and people are going to speculate. But for me, I love being in Sacramento,” Fox told Bleacher Report. “This move had nothing to do with wanting to be traded or wanting to move on. This has more to do with myself and the business of basketball, and I feel like they're able to help me in ways that I've never been able to be helped before. It was really a level up."

Fox went on to compare Sacramento to Kentucky, where he played his college basketball.

“The fan interactions, it’s kind of like being at Kentucky. No matter how good the other sports are, it's always going to be about basketball whenever you're in that city," Fox said. "If you're able to win here, I feel like it's just a different feeling. And obviously being able to stay with the team that drafted you, somewhere you're comfortable as far as life goes.

"Being in this city, in one place for a long time plays a major part in it. If I'm able to help this team go to the playoffs and hopefully win a championship at some point in my career, I feel like nothing would ever top that. Being able to say that you won a championship for the Sacramento Kings, like, that's unheard of, right? People would say that you're crazy.

"And if I was able to do that at any point, that would be the best thing ever in my career.”

The Los Angeles Lakers backed away this offseason from a proposed trade of Russell Westbrook and draft capital to the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Budy Hield, sources tell Dave McMenamin.

The Lakers concluded that giving up both their 2027 and 2029 first round picks for Turner and Hield was too exorbitant of a price given it wouldn't automatically turn them into contenders.

The Lakers also believed that the trade would remain available to them by the Pacers further along in the season.

The Lakers also expect more teams to be open for business beginning December 15th when players who signed offseason contracts become eligible to be traded.

Sources say there is a belief by the leaders in the Lakers' locker room that they are only a couple of players away from turning the roster into a legitimate contender. 

Carmelo Anthony, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas have so far shown no interest in signing overseas, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

The three veteran players remain committed to playing in the NBA this season.

Dwight Howard recently signed in Taiwan and teams have also been interested in Anthony, Cousins and Thomas.

Anthony, in particular, would like to sign with an NBA team for what would be his 20th season in the league.

The Dallas Mavericks have waived guard Facundo Campazzo.

Campazzo (5-11, 165) first joined the NBA by signing with the Denver Nuggets in November of 2020 after a decorated international career playing in Argentina and Spain. He signed with the Mavericks on Oct. 18, 2022, and played in eight games this season with 10 points, nine assists and six steals.

The Mavericks will incur a $464,299 cap hit on the waiver, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.

The Mavericks are waiving Campazzo to create a roster spot to sign Kemba Walker.

Jerami Grant has only logged 20 games with the Portland Trail Blazers, but the veteran forward is already hinting at sticking around after the season.

“I’m satisfied right now,” Grant told HoopsHype. “I’m really happy with what we’re doing. We’ll just talk about it when it comes.”

Grant is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, if no contract extension is reached with Portland before then. The eight-year veteran is eligible to sign an extension worth up to four-years and $112.6 million. Or Grant can wait until free agency and sign a first-year salary of up to a projected $40.2 million.

Portland acquired Grant from the Detroit Pistons this past offseason. The Blazers sent the Pistons a 2025 Milwaukee Bucks first-round pick and two future second-round picks in exchange for Grant.