The New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and possibly Charlotte Hornets are all teams that could be interested in Kobe Bryant, according to ESPN's Chad Ford.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Julius Randle for the entire season on opening night and are expected to struggle to make the playoffs. The Lakers also get to keep their 2015 first round pick if it is in the top-5.

The Knicks are an especially interesting possibility due to his connection to Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher and Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks could include young players like Iman Shumpert and/or Tim Hardaway Jr., along with a 2015 first rounder and they also have the expiring contracts of Amar'e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani.

"I don't think Mitch has much choice but to find ways to lose," one GM told ESPN. "They're going to be bad anyway. You don't want to be just good enough that you lose the pick and still miss the playoffs. I don't think they have the assets to get good enough to make the playoffs and I don't think they have the [expletive] to trade Kobe. It's paradoxical, but right now losing seems like the only way to really get better."

Bryant's contract expires after the 15-16 NBA season.

An elbow from Dwight Howard to Kobe Bryant's chin initiated a scuffle during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 108-90 win by the Houston Rockets over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The two immediately began trash-talking each other and had to be separated.

"He elbowed me in the face, and I'm gonna let him know, I don't like that," Bryant said after the game. "It's that simple."

A Lakers source said Bryant repeatedly called Howard "soft."

"It's fantastic," Bryant said. "That's the game. That's all part of the game. Elbows are a part of the game. Trash-talking is part of the game. I don't know where the NBA became so sensitive. It's all part of it."

Howard refused to go into specifics when asked about the incident by reporters.

"What do y'all want me to say, because I'm not [going] to give y'all nothing," Howard said. "It's stupid. We won the game. It's over with. I mean, there's no need to go into it. We won the game. It's about basketball. I mean it's over with. It's nothing. I'm not even focused on it."

Byron Scott believes Bryant and Howard simply do not like each other, but Bryant disagreed.

"You can't help but like him," Bryant said, smiling. "He's a teddy bear. You can't help but like him. I really meant that. He's a really nice kid. But you know, when you're competing, you have a goal in mind. I know one way to get there. There's certain times when we didn't see eye to eye, but that wasn't one of those situations."

Julius Randle suffered a serious right leg injury late in the Los Angeles Lakers' season-opener against the Houston Rockets.

TNT reported during the game that the Lakers' training staff cited a broken leg injury for Randle, and the Lakers later announced a broken tibia.

Randle was the 7th overall pick in June's NBA Draft to the Lakers.

Randle underwent successful surgery on Wednesday and has been ruled out for the season.

Ahead of the Houston Rockets' opening night game at the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard said his free agency decision in 2013 had nothing to do with Kobe Bryant.

"I didn't leave L.A. because I was afraid of Kobe Bryant," Howard said Tuesday, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I went to a good situation for myself. I can't change people's opinions, but I did what I had to do for myself."

A report from ESPN's Henry Abbott last week suggested Bryant was part of the reason why Howard left, while Byron Scott also theorized on the departure.

"My outside perspective is Kobe is a real serious guy and wants to win championships," Scott said Monday. "I don't know if Dwight is that serious about it. I know No. 24 is. I think that probably was the clash."

Howard told reporters he had "no response" to Scott's comments.

"It's over with now. There's no need to continue to talk about it. It happened. We played together for a year," Howard said of his time in L.A. with Bryant, according to the Chronicle. "The whole team was injured, didn't really get an opportunity to do what we all set out to do.

"Things happen. Life happens. I think everybody needs to move forward from the situation and worry about their respective teams."

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Jabari Brown and Roscoe Smith.

Brown scored five points in 22 minutes across four preseason games.

Smith averaged 3.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in seven preseason games while shooting 45 percent from the field.

Steve Nash is expected to be ruled out for the entire 14-15 NBA season due to recurring nerve damage in his back, according to sources.

Nash had said he expects this season to be his final one.

Nash hurt himself last season getting out of bed and was hurt a week ago carrying his bags.

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Nash in a sign-and-trade from the Phoenix Suns in 2012, but he has been unable to stay healthy. Nash is in the final season of a three-year, $27 million contract.

Nash played one exhibition game Oct. 6 but felt discomfort in the first quarter of his next one Oct. 12; he has worked out only individually since then, getting a feel for the lack of progress.

The Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics each have just one player ranked in ESPN's top-100 list of NBA players.

Michael Carter-Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo represent their respective teams in the top-100.

The 76ers are the only team with only two players ranked in the top 250, while the Knicks, Lakers and Celtics each have at least three other players in the top 150.

The Los Angeles Lakers' 20-year, $3 billion deal with Time Warner to broadcast games features annual income that hinges on ratings, according to sources.

This contributed to the Lakers' decision to sign Kobe Bryant to an extension last year and is also why the team continues their attempts to field a competitive roster instead of embracing a full rebuild.

One insider of the Lakers also believes many season ticket holders called Jim Buss about making sure the Lakers keep Bryant.

The Los Angeles Lakers will waive Jeremy Tyler to allow him to sign a deal in China.

Tyler spent last season with the New York Knicks and in the D-League.

Tyler was traded to the Sacramento Kings in the offseason and subsequently waived.

Xavier Henry will travel to New York City to seek a second opinion following this summer’s knee surgery, the Los Angeles Lakers announced on Saturday.

Henry will then travel to Dusseldorf, Germany, and receive treatment from next week to receive Regenokine treatment.

Henry was granted permission from the Lakers to miss practices and be absent from the team in order to make these trips.

Henry plans to return to Los Angeles by Oct. 24 and an update on his condition will be given at that time.