The news today has had a distinctly Southwestern feel, and we've already rounded up a few items from Texas teams. There's still more news from the Lone Star State amid our broader look at the Southwest Division:
- Artur Barbosa, who doubles as the brother and agent of Leandro Barbosa, tells Terra Brasil that the Mavs have offered the veteran guard a contract, and that the Dallas option is preferable to the Bulls, who've also shown interest (translation via HoopsHype). The agent says he's also engaged in talks with the Rockets. The Mavs wouldn't comment last night about a Brazilian report linking them to Barbosa, so perhaps this is the report in question.
- Greg Oden is the top big man on the Mavs' radar following the team's signing of Samuel Dalembert and the release of Bernard James, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who names the Heat, Spurs and Pelicans as the other teams still in the mix for Oden (Twitter link).
- There's a legitimate chance that a team claims James off waivers from the Mavs, Stein writes in the same piece. A source close to James tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he's heard teams are eyeing the big man. The Wolves haven't expressed interest yet, but Minnesota is prepared to waive center Chris Johnson if necessary to make way for a better option, Wolfson reports (Twitter links).
- Spanish club FC Barcelona announced the signing of Kostas Papanikolaou to a four-year deal (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets hold the power forward's NBA rights, but it's unclear what the buyout clauses in his new contract are like. A report last weekend indicated that Papanikolaou "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, but signing a long-term European deal seems to run counter to that.
- Tyreke Evans is ready to embrace a sixth-man role with the Pelicans, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details.