Dwight Howard can become a free agent in 2016 if he opts out of the final season of his contract with the Houston Rockets, but he shed little light on his intentions when asked this week.

"There's no need to live in the future," Howard said. "I'm not a guy that lives in the future. The only moment that matters is right now, what we accomplish as a team. It starts with training camp. We just have to work on getting better every day.

"There's no need for me to focus on anything that is going to happen next summer. My job is to focus on how I can help this team be the best team in the NBA and win a championship."

Howard was pressured to declare whether he would opt out of the final season of his contract after the 2012-13 season. On the day of the 2012 trade deadline, the Rockets and Magic were involved in trade talks up until Howard's press conference in which he said he would not opt of the final season of his contract.

Mike Miller has cleared waivers and will sign a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets.

Miller was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers several weeks after being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Nuggets pursued Miller during the 2014 offseason.

The Portland Trail Blazers have exercised team options on guard CJ McCollum (fourth year), center Mason Plumlee (fourth year) and forward Noah Vonleh (third year).

McCollum, the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, holds averages of 6.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 14.5 minutes in 100 career games in his first two seasons with Portland.

Plumlee, the 22nd overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft by Brooklyn, has averaged 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.77 blocks and 19.9 minutes in 152 games during his first two NBA seasons.

Portland acquired Plumlee and the draft rights to guard Pat Connaughton from Brooklyn for guard Steve Blake and the draft rights to forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Vonleh, the ninth overall pick by Charlotte in the 2014 NBA Draft, appeared in 25 games for the Hornets during his rookie season, averaging 3.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 10.4 minutes.

Tom Thibodeau is attempting to remain unplugged as much as possible from the world of basketball following his dismissal as head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

"I really want to treat this year like a sabbatical," said Thibodeau.

For the first time since 1991, Thibodeau is unemployed and he's a notorious workaholic. 

Thibodeau continues to live in Chicago, liking the restaurants and the proximity of the location to the rest of the country.

Thibodeau is also visiting NBA camps with Charlotte last weekend, San Antonio this week and then a stretch with the Clippers.

"You learn from everything you go through," Thibodeau says, "and you want to put that experience to use."

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have exercised the third-year team options on the Rookie Scale Contracts of forward Bruno Caboclo and centre Lucas Nogueira.

The contracts for Caboclo and Nogueira are now guaranteed through the 2016-17 season. In accordance with the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Raptors had until October 31 to exercise their option on both players.

Caboclo, 6-foot-9, 218 pounds, was selected by Toronto with the 20th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The native of Brazil split last season between the Raptors and Fort Wayne in the NBA D-League. He averaged 1.3 points, 0.3 rebounds and 2.9 minutes in eight outings with Toronto and 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 8.9 minutes in seven games with Fort Wayne.

Nogueira, 7-foot, 241 pounds was acquired from Atlanta on June 30, 2014. He saw action with the Raptors and Fort Wayne in the NBA D-League last season. He averaged 1.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 minutes in six outings with Toronto and 8.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 20.0 minutes in four contests with Fort Wayne.

Andre Drummond's cap hold of $8.2 million for the 2016 offseason may mean he doesn't get an extension with the Detroit Pistons before the Oct. 31st deadline.

The Pistons would like to keep Drummond long-term, but signing him to an extension now would compromise their cap space for next summer.

"Everybody comes to a point in time in their career when they are going to deal with contract situations, and it's better that I keep it as a personal thing and just focus on what I can control right now, which is making my team better," Drummond said.

Drummond will make about $21 million in 16-17 regardless whether he signs now or in July 2016, except if he signs the extension now, that entire amount applies to the Pistons' cap when free agency opens next summer.

The San Antonio Spurs waited to extend Kawhi Leonard and they were able to sign LaMarcus Aldridge and re-sign Danny Green with that flexibility. 

Harrison Barnes turned down a contract extension with the Golden State Warriors worth $16 million per season.

Barnes is just 23 and can play multiple positions though he hasn't proven himself capable of scoring at the type of level one assumes you are getting with a contract that significant.

“It just may not be in the cards for me to create more here,” Barnes says, “but I can do it, and maybe this season there will be more opportunities.”

Barnes uses only about 15 percent of Golden State's possessions.

“His versatility is what the league is all about now,” Kerr said.

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed guard Michael Qualls. 

Qualls (6-6, 205), joins the Thunder after a three-year collegiate career at the University of Arkansas where he appeared in 100 games (56 starts) and averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. This past season, Qualls received Second-Team All SEC honors after averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game during his junior year.

John Henson and the Milwaukee Bucks have had ongoing talks on a contract extension.

Henson's future with the Bucks became unclear this offseason following the signing of Greg Monroe.

“We’re close,’’ Henson said of contract talks. “We’re just trying to work out some details. It’s a process; we’ll see what happens. But I definitely want to be here for a long time.’’

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Arsalan Kazemi.

Kazemi became the first Iranian national to be drafted by an NBA franchise when he was selected in the second round (54th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft by Washington (his draft rights were subsequently traded to Philadelphia).

A 6-7 forward, Kazemi played his first three seasons of college basketball at Rice (2009-12) before transferring to Oregon for his senior year (2012-13) and helping the Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. He played in 130 career games as a collegian recording 11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.5 in assists in 29.0 minutes (.559 FG%, .678 FT%), including averaging a double-double during his sophomore (15.2 points/11.0 rebounds) and junior seasons (12.1 points/10.3 rebounds).