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Denver Nuggets vice-president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is the Toronto Raptors top choice to run basketball operations, but he is not the only NBA executive on their list. According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, the Raptors have asked the Indiana Pacers to speak with general manager Kevin Pritchard.

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Masai Ujiri was allowed to speak with the Toronto Raptors about returning as head of basketball operations and Denver Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke knows his executive vice-president of basketball operation is in a tough spot.

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New Minnesota Timberwolves president Flip Saunders has a lot on his plate, including hiring a new general manager. However, according to ESPN NBA Insider Chris Broussard, Saunders isn't going to make a hasty call on that matter, even though the draft is just a month away.

"Saunders is quietly doing background checks on potential GM candidates, but isn't planning to make a hire until after the draft, according to sources," Broussard wrote

One decision for Saunders apparently has already been made for him, as it sounds like coach Rick Adelman won't be leaving the team, despite his wife's health issues.

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Luol Deng battled through a torn ligament in his left wrist during the 2011-12 campaign, but he opted against having surgery to repair the damage last offseason so that he could take part in the Olympics. It was a somewhat risky move to skip the procedure and play through another NBA campaign, but he made it through the 2012-13 season without missing any action due to his wrist. With that in mind, he is going to simply rest the joint this offseason, rather than deal with surgery, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com.

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Apparently journeyman NBA coach Alvin Gentry is intrigued by the possibility of returning to L.A. to coach the Los Angeles Clippers for a second stint.

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The Detroit Pistons have had good luck in recent drafts, as Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond all fell further than most expected and landed in the D. Now their frontcourt appears to be set with Monroe and Drummond, and while we don't know yet whether Knight is a starting one, a starting two or a combo sixth man, he figures to be a key to their plans going forward. That leaves obvious needs at guard and small forward as they head toward the draft.

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We've known for a while now that the Toronto Raptors have set their sights on wooing Denver Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri away from his current gig to take over their basketball operations. Since his contract expires June 30, it's always been a possibility that he could move on from Denver, but now it looks like it may be an inevitability.

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The MRI that Tony Parker had on his bruised calf revealed that it "seems to be healing on schedule," according to the San Antonio Express' Jeff McDonald.

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There was a report from the Los Angeles Daily News on Thursday claiming Dwight Howard will consider going to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Golden State if he doesn't re-sign with the Lakers. All those team could be in the mix, except the Warriors since they are way over the cap and a trade is highly unlikely.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers own the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft and at this time no decision has been made on who they will take. Most draft pundits have the Cavs taking Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, but the choice might be a small forward from Georgetown.

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There are currently eight NBA teams -- Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Detroit, LA Clippers, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Phoenix -- with head coach vacancies and ESPN.com's J.A. Adande believes all of them should hold on and not make a hire until they speak with Indiana associate head coach Brian Shaw.

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Golden State Warriors backup center Andris Biedrins owns an ETO (early termination option) in his contract and to no surprise he's not going to invoke it. As a result, Biedrins will earn $9 million next season and he won't be an unrestricted free agent until 2014.

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The Brooklyn Nets are in the process of considering candidates for their head coach position. They had hoped to speak with Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, but that is not going to happen after president of basketball operations Danny Ainge denied the request.

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Lionel Hollins' contract as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies is set to expire at the end of June and while that's a hot topic in media circles it's not something Hollins wants to discuss during the playoffs.

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