The Atlanta Hawks enter the offseason with Josh Smith's free agency amongst their most pressing issues.

The Hawks will likely seek sign-and-trade packages involving Smith in order to receive assets in return.

The Hawks also have cap space and are expected to pursue Dwight Howard.

Smith will be an unrestricted free agent.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN reports that the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics could execute a trade of Blake Griffin, Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

"Absurd," said one source from the Celtics to Greg Dickerson of Comcast in response to the story.

Smith also reports that Doc Rivers could go with Pierce and Garnett to the Clippers.

"It is already being talked about in NBA circles," said Smith. 

Smith wouldn't answer definitively if it is actually being discussed between the two teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers' "Plan A" is to keep Pau Gasol and bring back the rest of the team, according to a report citing a source with knowledge of the organization's thinking.

Since the Lakers were swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs, Gasol talked openly about this season possibly being his last in Los Angeles.

Gasol is set to make upwards of $19 million next season.

Kobe Bryant has been a staunch supporter of Gasol, saying he believes the Lakers should keep the big man.

Pau Gasol has one season remaining on his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and hopes to return even though he could be dealt in the offseason.

"I would like to be a part of another championship team here, but it is not totally up to me," Gasol said.

"We could definitely get it done [if the roster stayed intact], but I would be pretty surprised if there was no changes whatsoever. I would be surprised if that happens."

Gasol said he had "certain desires that [Phil Jackson] would be chosen" to replace Mike Brown instead of Mike D'Antoni.

Gasol and Jackson remain in frequent contact.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have held internal discussions of pursuing a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for LaMarcus Aldridge, according to sources.

The Cavaliers have enough assets in the form of young players and picks to acquire a player of Aldridge's caliber, but the front office is said to value Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters higher than the rest of the NBA.

Andrea Bargnani has $22.5 million remaining on his contract and sources say the Toronto Raptors would likely have to include an asset in order to trade him.

The Raptors pursued a trade of Bargnani throughout the season, something Bryan Colangelo even admitted.

Bargnani signed a $50 million extension with the Raptors in July of 2009.

Dell Demps said on Monday that the New Orleans Pelicans plan to use their cap space this summer and are open to trade possibilities -- even those that include Eric Gordon.

"We want to maximize opportunity to use cap space," Demps said.

Gordon signed a contract extension with New Orleans last offseason, but there have been rumors about the displeasure between he and the organization.

Gordon averaged 17 points and 3.3 assists in 42 games this season.

The Dallas Mavericks would like to add a perimeter player capable of engineering their offense while also creating shots for himself and others.

“Look, we’ve been spoiled with guys like [Steve] Nash and Jason Kidd, and those are certainly big shoes to fill,” Donnie Nelson said. “And I think, you know, the quarterback position is one that we’re going to look very, very hard at. We’ve always liked players that are veteran, players that are smart, and having the ability to raise our collective IQ is also something that’s important to us.”

Nelson also covets a defensive center capable of protecting the rim and controlling the glass.

“We’re always into rim protectors and shot blockers,” Nelson said. “That certainly makes life a lot easier for everyone on the floor. But we’ve got six guys under contract. We’ve got three veterans and three young guys, and we’re in pretty short order going to try to address all of those available positions. … It’s free agency, it’s draft, it’s trade, and so we’ll turn over every rock in attempt to get where we need to be, which is not where we are right now.”

The Mavericks finished the season with nine players on expiring contracts.

Evan Turner believes he'll be back with the Philadephia 76ers next season.

Turner’s name has come up in several trade rumors.

"Not to be arrogant or cocky, but my name comes up, I believe, because of trade value in that situation," Turner said. "Regardless of whether I get heat for certain situations or certain bad nights and stuff, I still think I'm a valuable player in this league."

Turner averaged a career-best 13.3 points this season and was the only Sixer to start all 82 games.

"I'm just tapping the surface," said Turner, who averaged 7.2 points as a rookie and 9.4 last season. "The difference between 14 points and 18 points are a couple of foul calls. So people might agree that I get fouled a lot. So if I get to 18 points, that's all-star numbers."

Neil Olshey is targeting a draft day trade in which the Portland Trail Blazers absorb the contract of a proven, defensive center in exchange for one or more draft picks.

"We are going to be aggressive to construct a deal to make the team better on draft night," Olshey said.

Anderson Varejao has been mentioned as a possible target of the Blazers, who want to upgrade at center from J.J. Hickson.

The Blazers could use most of their expected $11.6 million in cap space to execute the trade.

"If there is a player under contract that we can absorb into our room on a team that values a draft pick more than the established player, or they are moving in a different direction and it moves us forward faster, it's clearly what we are going to do," Olshey said.