Dwight Howard will meet with the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers between Sunday night and Tuesday. Howard wants a quick resolution to his free agency and a source said his decision could come before the end of the week.

"He wants to make a decision based on basketball more than anything else," one source said.

Howard has had the Rockets as his frontrunner for several weeks since they would instantly become title contenders.

The Lakers remain a possibility, but are currently considered second in order of preference. The thinking is that the Lakers won't be a title contender in 2014 and may struggle to rebuild around him. Also, Howard did not enjoy playing in Mike D'Antoni's system.

The Rockets are planning on pitching to Howard their team's strength in China and the lack of state income tax in Texas as financial benefits to offset the difference he can make from the Lakers.

The Mavericks will attempt to sell Howard on a two-year plan to reshape its roster around the core of Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki.

Howard has never expressed any interest in playing in his hometown of Atlanta, giving them perhaps the longest odds.

The Warriors would need a sign-and-trade agreement to acquire Howard and it is believed their meeting is largely about establishing the franchise as a marquee destination for 2014.

The 2013 NBA Draft immediately delivered shock with the Cleveland Cavaliers' selection of Anthony Bennett. The Cavaliers were expected to pick between Nerlens Noel and Alex Len.

First Round
1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Anthony Bennett
2. Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo
3. Washington Wizards: Otto Porter
4. Charlotte Bobcats: Cody Zeller
5. Phoenix Suns: Alex Len
6. New Orleans Pelicans (for 76ers): Nerlens Noel
7. Sacramento Kings: Ben McLemore
8. Detroit Pistons: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (for Jazz): Trey Burke
10. Portland Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum 
11. Philadelphia 76ers: Michael Carter-Williams
12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Steven Adams
13. Dallas Mavericks (for Celtics): Kelly Olynyk  
14. Utah Jazz (for Wolves): Shabazz Muhammad
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Adektokunbo 
16. Atlanta Hawks: Lucas Nogueira
17. Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schroeder 
18. Atlanta Hawks (for Mavericks): Shane Larkin 
19. Cleveland Cavaliers: Sergey Karasev 
20. Chicago Bulls: Tony Snell 
21. Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng
22. Brooklyn Nets: Mason Plumlee
23. Indiana Pacers: Solomon Hill 
24. New York Knicks: Tim Hardaway Jr.
25. Los Angeles Clippers: Reggie Bullock
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (for Thunder): Andre Roberson
27. Denver Nuggets (for Jazz): Rudy Gobert
28. San Antonio Spurs: Livio Jean-Charles
29. Oklahoma City Thunder (for Suns): Archie Goodwin
30. Phoenix Suns (for Warriors): Nemanja Nedovic

Second Round
31. Cleveland Cavaliers: Allen Crabbe
32. Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Abrines
33. Cleveland Cavaliers: Carrick Felix
34. Houston Rockets: Isaiah Canaan
35. Washington Wizards: Glen Rice 
36. Sacramento Kings: Ray McCallum
37. Detroit Pistons: Tony Mitchell
38. Philadelphia 76ers: Nate Wolters 
39. Portland Trail Blazers: Jeff Withey
40. Portland Trail Blazers: Grant Jerrett
41. Memphis Grizzlies: Jamaal Franklin
42. Philadelphia 76ers: Pierre Jackson
43. Milwaukee Bucks: Ricky Ledo
44. Atlanta Hawks: Mike Muscala
45. Portland Trail Blazers: Marko Todorovic
46. Utah Jazz: Erick Green
47. Atlanta Hawks: Raul Neto
48. Los Angeles Lakers: Ryan Kelly
49. Chicago Bulls: Erik Murphy
50. Miami Heat: James Ennis
51. Orlando Magic: Romero Osby
52. Minnesota Timberwolves: Lorenzo Brown
53. Boston Celtics: Colton Iverson
54. Washington Wizards: Arsalan Kazemi
55. Memphis Grizzlies: Joffrey Lauvergne
56. Detroit Pistons: Peyton Siva
57. Phoenix Suns: Alex Oriakhi
58. San Antonio Spurs: Deshaun Thomas
59. Minnesota Timberwolves: Bojan Dubljevic
60. Memphis Grizzlies: Janis Timma 

The Atlanta Hawks named Darvin Ham their new assistant coach on Saturday.

Ham joins the staff of Mike Budenholzer.

“Darvin has a great feel for the game and knows what it takes for a team to be successful and compete at a high level," Budenholzer said. “He was a smart player who played with intensity and toughness every night and he has gone about coaching the same way.”

Ham played eight years in the NBA and spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dwight Howard and Chris Paul have been in contact with each other in an effort to play for the same team next season, according to sources.

"They would love to play together if somebody can make it happen," one of the sources said.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers do not have the available cap space to allow Howard and Paul to team up. If the preference is to play together with the Clippers, they would have to acquire Howard via a sign-and-trade with the Lakers.

Sources say a trade package centered around Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe for Howard could be possible. Multiple sources insist Griffin is untouchable but he would almost surely be required for the Lakers to agree to a trade.

The Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks all have cap space, though acquiring both players would likely acquire both Howard and Paul to accept less than a full max contract. The Hawks would seemingly have the easiest path to sign both Howard and Paul under that scenario.

Howard has seemingly been uninterested in playing in his hometown of Atlanta.

Both Howard and Paul will be free agents for the first time in their careers this offseason.

The Sacramento Kings have been identified as the third team fined by the NBA for tampering.

The Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks were the other two teams.

Michael Malone said that Chris Paul would "look pretty good in a Sacramento Kings uniform" during his introductory press conference.

The NBA has fined three teams for tampering, according to an internal memo.

The Atlanta Hawks are one of the three teams, as the marketing department sent out a letter to season ticket holders mentioning Chris Paul and Dwight Howard by name.

The Houston Rockets were also fined for stories on their team website, according to Marc Stein.

Quin Snyder has been hired by the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach, according to sources.

Snyder was most recently an assistant coach with CSKA Moscow and previously was a head coach with the Austin Toros of the D-League and the Missouri Tigers.

Snyder is familiar with Danny Ferry from their time together at Duke.

The Atlanta Hawks may have committed a violation of the NBA's anti-tampering policy by mentioning Dwight Howard and Chris Paul in a letter sent to prospective ticket buyers.

The letter was sent from the marketing department:

“Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.” It began with the statement: “The buzz around our offseason is more than heating up. With massive cap space, 4 draft picks, and free agency rapidly approaching, we sit in the best position in the NBA. Player interest is skyrocketing as the possibilities of landing Chris Paul & Dwight Howard become more and more of a reality.”

The letter also linked to an ESPN story reporting that Paul was unhappy with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“This is your opportunity to get on board before its (sic) too late. Once we solidify our signings there will be no seats left,” the letter added.

The NBA declined to comment on the situation.

Dwayne Davis, the draft prospect out of Southern Miss, has scheduled workouts for six NBA teams and interests those organizations as a possible second round pick, a source told RealGM.

Davis will work out for the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and a sixth team that could sign the 6-foot-5 guard if he falls out of this month’s draft.

After averaging 16 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range in his senior season at Southern Miss, Davis stood out in the pre-draft’s Portsmouth Invitational, earning workout opportunities despite not participating in the combine.

Davis, 23, grew up as a homeless child, living through foster care and looking after his siblings.

Dwight Howard is a free agent this offseason for the first time in his career and is widely expected to decide between the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks.

"It's free agency and I have the opportunity to choose where I'm going to play," said Howard. "God opens doors, and I'm relying on my faith to direct me.

"I don't think it's fair I get criticized for waiting on such an opportunity."

Howard was asked what he wants in a team.

"I want to win; I've done everything else," he said. "I just want to win."

Howard also spoke warmly about Mike D'Antoni, though he did seem to express his feelings in the past tense.

"He's a great person and I'm glad we had the opportunity to be together," said Howard.

Howard will make in-person visits to each of the teams interested in signing him.

"I want to see what each opportunity offers," Howard said. "I want to see how people plan on winning."