Odds & Ends: Nash, Nuggets, Weems, Smith, Kidd

Congratulations to Paul Pierce, who moved past Larry Bird on the Celtics' list of all-time leading scorers in tonight's win over the Bobcats.  Pierce, with 21,797 points, is now second only to John Havlicek, who retired in 1978 with 26,395 points across his 16-year career.  Here's a look at tonight's links..

• Suns guard Steve Nash should seek a trade to a contender, opines Eric Koreen the National Post.  Nash is a free agent at the end of the season and Phoenix could potentially lose him while getting nothing in return.
• It's possible that the Nuggets could look for some outside help as Danilo Gallinari could miss up to a month with an ankle injury.  Gallinari hopes to come back sooner, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post.
• If his Zalgiris Kaunas squad doesn't qualify for the Euroleague Top 8, then Sonny Weems writes (for HoopsHype) that he'll likely return to the NBA.
• Within his article regarding the Celtics' interest in Pau Gasol, Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld writes that multiple sources say that the J.R. Smith is looking for an opportunity to showcase his talents and be a primary option on offense.  This could make teams such as the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, and Pacers poor fits for the 25-year-old.
• Veteran point guards Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are going to be in high demand on the open market this summer, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
• The timing of Jeff Adrien's release from the Rockets may seem odd, but it was the only way that the club could sign Greg Smith before the center was scooped up by another team, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.  Adrien pulled down nine rebounds in just 17 minutes of play Monday night against Denver.