The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have exercised the third year team option on the Rookie Scale Contract of guard-forward DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan is now guaranteed through the 2011-12 season. In accordance with the league?s collective bargaining agreement, the Raptors had until October 31 to exercise their option on DeRozan. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

DeRozan, 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, was the ninth overall pick by Toronto in the 2009 NBA Draft out of the University of Southern California.

The Golden State Warriors announced today that the team has exercised the third-year contract option on guard Stephen Curry, which is for the 2011-12 NBA season.

Curry, 22, appeared in 80 games last season, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.90 steals in 36.2 minutes per contest.

The Los Angeles Clippers today exercised the club?s fourth-year contract option on guard Eric Gordon and the third-year contract option on forward Blake Griffin.

Gordon, originally selected by the Clippers as the seventh overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, begins his third NBA season and is now signed through the 2011-12 campaign. Under the NBA?s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Clippers had the right to exercise these contract options.

The Golden State Warriors announced today that Don Nelson has relinquished his head coaching duties and that Assistant Coach Keith Smart has been named his successor.  

Smart, 46, will become the 23rd head coach in franchise history and the 18th since the team moved to the West Coast prior to the 1962-63 season.

?We feel that Keith Smart is ready for this challenge as we embark on a new season,? said General Manager Larry Riley.  ?He has a wealth of experience as a player and coach in this game and has been fortunate to be around some of the best minds in the business, including Don Nelson at the NBA level and Bobby Knight in college. He?s an outstanding communicator, has a vast knowledge of the game and I?m confident that he is the right person for the job. Additionally, he has previous head coaching experience in the NBA, including several games during Nellie?s absence last season, and in the CBA.   In regard to Nellie, we simply felt it was the right time to make a change.  He?s been a terrific coach for over three decades and has left a lasting legacy in this league as the winningest coach in the history of the NBA.?

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor announced today that the team has signed free-agent guard Earl Watson.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Watson (6-1, 185, UCLA) owns career averages of 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists over nine NBA seasons with Memphis, Denver, Seattle/Oklahoma City and Indiana.  Watson has also appeared in eight postseason contests, all with Memphis in 2004 and 2005.

With both Yao Ming and Brad Miller battling injuries at the center position, the Rockets signed Patrick Sullivan, a rookie from Southeastern Louisiana, to the training camp roster.

Sullivan was signed to add depth inside while Patrick Patterson and Jordan Hill help fill in at center.

The move does not impact the Rockets' efforts to sign a third center.

Houston is currently offering a two-year, $4 million contract to Erick Dampier.

Jannero Pargo and Pops Mensah-Bonsu were signed by the Hornets on Friday.

Pargo spent two seasons with the Hornets from 2006-08, where he averaged 8.6 points and 2.4 assists over 162 games.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed forward/center Andray Blatche to a contract extension and has exercised its fourth-year option on center JaVale McGee.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not released.

?Andray and JaVale are two pieces that we feel can solidify our frontcourt for years to come and extending their contracts certainly fits in with our long-term plan of rebuilding this team with a core of young, talented players,? said Grunfeld.  ?Both players performed very well over the second half of last season and we?re confident that they will continue to develop and build on the potential and promise that they have shown throughout the beginning stages of their careers.?

The Memphis Grizzlies signed first round picks Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez to multi-year contracts, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.  

?It?s great to have both Xavier and Greivis signed and in the fold now,? Wallace said. ?They?re both very bright young men from tremendous college programs. We think they can definitely help our team.

?Xavier has an advantage in that he has an NBA body. He can make shots. That?s his main strength right now. He?s also a very mature, heady young man from a terrific basketball family.

?Greivis is a player coming off a fantastic senior year at Maryland, where he won the Bob Cousy Award as the top playmaker in the country and the ACC Player of the Year. He was an across-the-board player in college. He scored, rebounded, assisted, and got steals. He just needs to come in and play that all-around game, and also show the passion that was his trademark in college."

Ryan Thompson has signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Utah Jazz for the 10-11 season.

"Just have to make sure I stay on the team for whole year," Thompson wrote on his Twitter page.

Thompson went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft.