The Dallas Mavericks and Vince Carter have a strong mutual interest to agree upon a new contract, but he is also expected to receive interest from the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors.

Carter averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 24.4 minutes per game last season despite being 37.

Pau Gasol will meet with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors in free agency.

The New York Knicks are also believed to be interested in Gasol, while the Los Angeles Lakers haven't been ruled out.

Gasol has been with the Lakers since being traded there by the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008.

The Los Angeles Lakers are projected to make $100.1 million in profit for the 13-14 NBA season, comfortably the best in the NBA.

The Chicago Bulls are second at $61 million, followed by the Houston Rockets ($40.7 million), Boston Celtics ($33.1 million) and Oklahoma City Thunder ($29 million).

The Lakers have a huge profit despite contributing a league-high $49 million to revenue-sharing.

The New York Knicks are expected to take a net loss of $3.5 million due to $27 million in revenue-sharing contribution and paying a large luxury tax bill.

The San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in net profits.

The Brooklyn Nets will post a loss of $144 million for the season.

Despite an international report that the Oklahoma City Thunder have entered buyout negotiations to bring Tibor Pleiss from his overseas team, the team has not and the 2010 second round pick is not expected to join the organization next season.

Pleiss, a 7-foot-1 center, will likely remain overseas for one more season. He was the No. 31 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.

The Thunder have Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams, Mitch McGary and Hasheem Thabeet at center.

The Thunder attempted to sign Pleiss in 2012 when they made a contract proposal to him, which the center turned down.

Kevin Durant supported LeBron James' decision to opt out of his contract with the Miami Heat in order to become a free agent.

“I don’t know what the big deal is,” Durant said. “You know, as a player, I think that’s the best way to go about it. You can have all your options. It’s better for you as a player to opt-out, because you can get a market deal, you can get more years. You never know what will happen if you pass up on that. So I didn’t know what the big deal was. I’m sure it was a decision he made — something he was thinking about — for him and his family.”

Durant could become a free agent in 2016 and various fan bases -- including the Washington Wizards' -- are salivating over the prospect.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Durant told a small group of local reporters. “I don’t think anything that you guys criticize LeBron [about] is fair. He switched teams; he’s not the first guy to do it. He decided to opt out; he’s not the first guy to do it. Sometimes a lot of people criticize him a little bit too much for doing normal things, doing stuff that everybody has done. [Even] Tim Duncan went into free agency before. He got courted by quite a few teams. We’ll see what happens with me, but everybody’s done the same thing. He’s not the first.”

When asked how many requests Durant has received about a permanent stay in Washington, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward said: “I’ve been getting a lot lately. But everybody knows I love OKC and knows that I’m under contract right now. A lot of people ask me, but I just try to stay focused on today, and I’ll worry about that when I get there.”

The Miami Heat are interested in Kendrick Perkins, according to a report from Chris Broussard.

The Heat certainly need improved interior defense, though Perkins has fallen off dramatically during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Nick Collison has underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced Thursday.

Collison is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and then return to normal offseason activities.

Kendrick Perkins has been Kevin Durant's most supportive teammate and offered a specific suggestion about how Durant can elevate his game.

“I feel like he could get stronger, in my opinion,” Perkins said. “I think that would help him a lot. I told him all the good and great players that played the game, from Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, they all put size on them, and it helped them.”

Perkins believes that added strength would allow Durant to be durable during a game's most demanding moments.

“Seems like there was possessions he was tired,” Perkins said of Durant. “But, like I said, I think that’s (when) getting in the weight room plays a factor. Cause then you could let your body take over.”

Durant said he will return next season as a better player but understands the challenges of coming back as an improved one after winning the NBA's MVP award.

“It’s something I’m going to figure out,” Durant said. “Some different type of move that I’m going to figure out and try to master. But I’m just going to overall just try to get better, work on every single part of my game and bring it back to the team.”

The Memphis Grizzlies have received permission to interview Michael Winger, who is currently assistant general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Winger has declined the interview, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

The Grizzlies' position is currently viewed as more of an assistant general manager/possible GM in waiting with Chris Wallace continuing as GM for the foreseeable future.

Winger was hired by the Thunder from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010.

The New York Knicks and Derek Fisher have agreed upon on a five-year, $25 million deal for him to become head coach.

Phil Jackson has ramped up his pursuit of Fisher in recent days.

Jackson was unable to secure a deal with his first choice Steve Kerr.

Fisher will retire from the NBA as a player, appearing most recently in the Western Conference Finals for the Oklahoma City Thunder.