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The NBA's players association wants the draft age limit to return to 18 years old from 19 but will listen to commissioner David Stern's desire to increase it to 20 only in exchange for significant concessions, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz.  For that to happen, the union will seek changes to the rookie wage scale and an incentive program for players who stay in school longer.

"The NBPA's position on the age limit has been consistent," said union spokesperson Dan Wasserman. "An overwhelming majority of the NBPA's members support the ability of potential NBA players to freely pursue their livelihood by allowing high school graduate-age players to apply for the draft. As a practical matter, we recognize that any change to the current rule must sufficiently balance both the league's and players' interests."

The NBPA would love for the minimum age to return to 18 but knows that it would have to concede something to the owners.  Because that is unlikely to happen, they will look to gain ground in other areas if they agree to the age being bumped up to 20.  The NBPA wants the owners to give first-year players more money and a quicker path to free agency if they stay in school.

The minimum age for draft eligibility was raised from 18 to 19 in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. 

Columbus mayor Michael B. Coleman has informed NBA commissioner David Stern that his city is interested in adding an NBA franchise, according to Lucas Sullivan and Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Coleman sent a letter to the league Thursday expressing a desire to move a team to Columbus or add a new franchise if the league expands.

The city recently completed the public purchase of the Nationwide Arena, the home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, and is looking to add a basketball team now that the arena is on "sound financial footing."

"Up until recently, our arena situation was not stable," said Coleman spokesman Dan Williamson. "Now that that changed, the mayor felt it was time to position ourselves to be on the NBA’s radar. The NBA needs to know more about us, so he has had conversations with NBA officials."

Co-existing with the city's NHL club, finding money to buy an NBA team, and receiving approval from the Cavaliers are among the roadblocks Columbus would face if it seriously pursued an NBA franchise. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said he'd "have to think about" whether he would oppose having another NBA team in Ohio. Additionally, Stern has maintained that expansion beyond 30 teams is unlikely, a view echoed today by Tim Frank, the league's vice president of communications.

"At the moment, we have no plans to expand, and no teams have applied for relocation," Frank said. "So it wouldn’t be prudent to comment on the possibilities of another market."

Currently, the Sacramento Kings seem like the team most likely to consider relocation, after the city's proposal for a new arena fell apart last month. However, the Kings' owners continue to insist they want to make things work in Sacramento; and even if that stance were to change, cities like Anaheim, Seattle, and Vancouver, among others, would be vying for the franchise.

As the Dispatch report points out, Columbus should have the population to support an NBA franchise, since seven teams play in cities with smaller metropolitan areas: Charlotte, Indianapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City. Still, I expect Columbus will trail at least Anaheim and Seattle in the pecking order for an NBA team, so this figures to be a long shot for the city.

Computer scientist Larry Coon is probably the foremost expert on the NBA's collective bargaining agreement among those who've never worked for the league or a team. Today, he updated his CBA FAQ website with the details of the latest CBA. We've heard plenty about the agreement over the past several months, including Coon's summary of the changes for ESPN.com. Some components of the new CBA haven't been widely reported until Coon's update today, though, so let's check out the highlights:

• Teams can now rid themselves of the cap hold for a first-round draft pick if the player and team agree in writing not to sign a contract for the season. This applies mostly to European players that teams sometimes draft before they're ready to play in the league.
• There is a new formula used for calculating whether teams are eligible for mid-level exceptions or eligible to receive a player in a sign and trade.
• While the salary cap is set at 44.74% of basketball related income, maximum salaries are based on 42.14% of BRI, meaning that max deals will be slightly lower than 25%, 30% or 35% of the cap, depending on the player's years of service.
• Players will receive their yearly salary over a 12-month period unless they request to have it doled out in larger chunks over six months or smaller payments over 18 months.
• Teams may defer up to 25% of a player's salary, down from 30% in the last CBA. 
• Cap holds are as much as 50% larger, depending on whether the player is coming off a rookie scale contract.
• Certain criteria related to playing time will affect the size of the qualifying offers for players coming off their rookie contracts.
• Teams can now only load contracts with unlikely bonuses that total as much as 15% of the base salary, instead of 25%.
• A larger amount of money can be used to buy out a player's contract from overseas without counting against the cap.
• Non-taxpaying teams can trade for as much as 150% of the salaries they send out, plus $100K, when trading $0 to $9.8MM worth of salary. The amount is 100% plus $5MM when trading $9.8MM to $19.6MM, and 125% plus $100K when trading more than $19.6MM. This rule is more nuanced than previously reported.
• Teams can't do sign-and-trade deals once the season starts.
• Trade kickers are paid by the team trading the player, and not the other way around as it was in the old CBA.

There are many ways to acquire talent in the NBA: free agency, the draft, trades, and that's just the start of it. Looking at the way this year's playoff teams helps us see the different strategies GMs use to build successful rosters. After the jump is a list of each playoff team, the players who contributed during the regular season, and how each player was acquired. For the sake of clarity and brevity, we've listed everyone who played in at least 10 games, averaged at least 10 minutes per game, and is still on the official 15-man roster. So, that's why Lamar Odom is listed and Jordan Hill isn't. 

Of note:

• Of the 193 players listed, 51 were drafted by their current teams. The Thunder have used the draft to full effect, acquiring their top four players in minutes-per-game that way.
• Free agent acquisitions make up the largest category, with 65 players. The Hawks and Heat brought in several role players via swaps.
• Sign-and-trades brought in 10 players, including the top two minutes-per-game players for the Heat, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
• Simple trades netted 45 players. Eight of the Nuggets' contributors were brought in via trade.
• Teams acquired the draft rights of 19 players before they signed. It's easy to forget that Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Rajon Rondo and others weren't drafted by the teams they've played for their entire careers. No team used the draft rights trade quite like the Grizzlies, who brought in Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo in those types of deals.

To see the full list for every playoff team, click to continue:

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Before the 10-day contract signing period got underway in February, we outlined the details on how the contracts worked, and which teams and players you could expect to make use of them. With the regular season in the books, it's time to take a look back at the 10-day deals signed this year, with the help of our 10-day contract tracker.

By our count, 35 players signed at least one 10-day contract in this lockout-shortened season. Of those 35 players, 16 ended up being signed to rest-of-season contracts by the same team, while Donald Sloan signed for the remainder of the season with the Cavaliers after a pair of 10-day contracts from the Hornets.

15 teams, nearly half of whom qualified for the postseason, signed at least one player to a 10-day contract. Although most playoff squads signed just a single player or two for bench depth, a number of lottery teams took full advantage of the 10-day deals, auditioning a handful of players over the second half. The Cavs, Raptors, and Rockets each signed three players to at least one 10-day contract, while the Wizards, Nets, and Hornets inked four, five, and six players respectively. No team added more 10-day recipients to its permanent roster than Washington, who finished the year with Cartier Martin, James Singleton, and Morris Almond on rest-of-season deals.

I outlined a few of the year's top 10-day contracts a few weeks ago, but if we're naming a single best 10-day signing, the honor would have to go to the Nets for bringing Gerald Green to New Jersey. Green appeared in 31 games, averaging 12.9 points and shooting .481/.391/.754 in 25.2 minutes per contest. After not playing in the NBA since the 2008/09 season, the former first-rounder now seems like a good bet to land a decent-sized contract from the Nets or another club, as I noted when I examined his free agent stock.

Green's case is a perfect example of how the 10-day contract can benefit both a team and player. The Nets, at minimal risk, discovered an NBA contributor that could become a long-term fixture in Brooklyn. Green, meanwhile, got the chance to show he belongs in the league and took full advantage of it. Success stories like his are why plenty of teams will continue to use 10-day contracts in the hopes of landing the next Gerald Green.

With the regular season behind us and the draft and free agency fast approaching, there are a number of different ways you can follow Hoops Rumors to keep tabs on the latest NBA news and rumors.

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The regular season isn't over quite yet, but several writers went on record today with their picks for the league's awards. Since media types are the ones whose votes count, their opinions matter. Let's take a look at some players who could be in line for a trophy:

• SI.com's Chris Mannix and Ian Thomsen agree on LeBron James for MVP, Kyrie Irving for Rookie of the Year, and James Harden for Sixth Man of the Year.
• David Aldridge of TNT goes with James for MVP as well, and picks Ersan Ilyasova over Jeremy Lin for Most Improved Player.
• Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio picks Kevin Durant as his MVP, and selects Shawn Marion to unseat three-time winner Dwight Howard as Defensive Player of the Year.
• Sam Smith of Bulls.com goes with darkhorse Kobe Bryant for MVP, and thinks former MVP and Coach of the Year Larry Bird should get to add Executive of the Year to his resume as well.
• Hoops Rumors doesn't have a vote (yet), but I'd go with James for MVP, Gregg Popovich as Coach of the Year, Irving as Rookie of the Year, Tyson Chandler as Defensive Player of the Year, Harden as Sixth Man of the Year, Lin as Most Improved Player, and R.C. Buford as Executive of the Year.

A recap of all the NBA's news from the past week.

• After undergoing back surgery, Dwight Howard will miss the rest of the season. 
• Bobcats head coach Paul Silas was involved in a physical altercation with forward Tyrus Thomas. 
• Sixers guard Lou Williams will exercise his early termination option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent. 
• Given the recent issues he's had with his ankles, Stephen Curry's next contract could come with an injury clause. 
• The Cavaliers signed D.J. Kennedy. 
• Unrestricted free agent center Marcus Camby says he'd like to stay with the Rockets next season. 
• The Celtics signed Sean Williams and waived Jermaine O'Neal.
• The Knicks signed Dan Gadzuric and waived Bill Walker. 
• Reported earlier this week, the NBAPA wants Derek Fisher out as president.
• The Jazz re-signed guard Blake Ahearn. 
• The Nets re-signed Armon Johnson. 
• The Grizzlies signed Lester Hudson. 
• Knicks guard J.R. Smith is expected to decline his player option for next season. 
• The Hornets signed Darryl Watkins and waived Chris Johnson. 
• Gerald Green says he will give the Nets a hometown discount this offseason. 
• The Celtics nearly traded Ray Allen to the Grizzlies O.J. Mayo and a first round draft pick. 
• The Suns will pursue Jamal Crawford this offseason. 
• The Raptors re-signed Ben Uzoh and Alan Anderson. 
• The Wizards signed Morris Almond, and waived Roger Mason. 
• The Warriors signed Mikki Moore. 

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

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As Hoops Rumors' 10-day contract tracker shows, 30 different players have signed at least one 10-day contract this season. In many cases, that first deal led to a second 10-day contract or a rest-of-season signing.

Many of these players see their 10-day auditions pass without getting the opportunity to make much of an impact — in Keith Benson's brief stint with the Warriors, he played about nine total minutes in three games, totaling two rebounds and failing to score a point.

For other players though, that first 10-day deal gives them the chance to show they deserve to be part of an NBA rotation. The players listed below started out this season on a 10-day contract, and are either still on a 10-day deal or received a rest-of-season contract due to their strong play. These are my picks for the best 10-day signings of the season, but if you think I've missed any notable ones, feel free to point them out in the comments section.

• Gerald Green, Nets: Watching Green tear up the D-League, it was clear the former 18th overall pick deserved another shot at the NBA. He earned that chance from the Nets, and made a great first impression by scoring double-digit points in his first two games. Green's production has been up and down since then, but his play earned him a rest-of-season guarantee, and it doesn't look like he'll be heading back to the D-League anytime soon. The 26-year-old poured in a season-high 32 points against Cleveland on Sunday and appears poised to draw interest in free agency this summer.
• Terrence Williams, Kings: Playing for his third NBA team in three seasons, the former 11th overall pick looks better in Sacramento than he did in New Jersey or Houston. Williams has been filling up the stat sheet in 11 games for the Kings, averaging 9.4 PPG on 47.8% shooting to go along with 4.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.3 SPG. The 24-year-old has expressed interest in returning to the Kings next season.
• Alan Anderson, Raptors: Anderson's numbers with Toronto aren't exactly eye-popping. In nine contests, he's averaging just 6.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game. But what's been impressive is Anderson's shooting efficiency — his .465/.556/.833 rates all represent career highs, albeit in a small sample size. Anderson is on his second 10-day contract, so it'll be interesting to see if the Raptors re-sign him, perhaps with an additional non-guaranteed year, when his deal expires with a week and a half left in the season.
• Lester Hudson, Cavaliers: Another player on his second 10-day deal, Hudson has been tearing it up recently, scoring 24.7 PPG in 32.4 MPG over his last three contests. In his seven games with the Cavs, Hudson has averaged 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, for a PER of 19.5. If the Cavs don't hang on to him for next season, I'd be surprised if his late-season surge doesn't earn him an NBA job elsewhere.
• Cartier Martin and James Singleton, Wizards: Martin and Singleton have propelled the Wizards to a pair of wins this week, averaging a combined 30.5 points and 14.5 rebounds off the bench against the Magic and Bobcats. Both players are on 10-day contracts (Martin's second and Singleton's first), but at the very least, they'll stay on the Wizards' radar this offseason if they keep playing like this.