Despite being suddenly traded a year ago February, Deron Williams still has a fondness for the Jazz.

Williams spent time after New Jersey's loss to the Jazz visiting with Tyrone Corbin and C.J. Miles.

"I've got a lot of friends on that team," Williams said. "I like to see how they're doing. I wish the best for Coach Corbin, so I definitely check on them a lot."

Williams is impressed with how the Jazz have played this year and expects them to reach the postseason.

"I feel like they're going to make the playoffs. They're playing solid basketball on both ends of the floor right now," Williams said. "I think Coach Corbin's doing a great job of leading the guys. They've got a good mix of veterans and youth, and I think it's working for them."

Josh Howard underwent a successful scope of his left knee performed by Dr. David Altchek on Thursday in New York City. Howard will spend one week on crutches before being re-examined. A further update on Howard’s status and recovery will be provided in two weeks.

Howard appeared in 41 games (18 starts) with the Jazz this season and averaged 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.4 minutes per game.

Because of some recent swelling of Josh Howard’s left knee, he underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on the knee on Monday.

The MRI test results were examined by Jazz team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason, and revealed a chip in the lateral femoral cartilage within Howard’s left knee. This injury will require surgery in order to prevent further damage to the knee. As a result, Howard is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

The Lakers, Spurs, Knicks and Celtics are amongst the teams who have expressed interest in trading for Josh Howard, according to a source.

The Jazz currently are not motivated to trade Howard.

The Jazz are "actively looking" at trade scenarios ahead of Thursday's deadline.

"In the job that I have, one of the responsibilities is to improve the team," Kevin O'Connor said. "Now you can't improve the team without looking to make trades, and that's what we do. There's 29 other guys that have the same responsibilities to their teams, and they do the same thing. There's a lot of conversations."

The Nets, Hornets and Timberwolves have had the most players miss games due to injury this season, followed by the Bobcats, Knicks, Grizzlies and Raptors.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Suns, Jazz, Kings, Magic, Rockets, Mavericks, 76ers, Lakers, Warriors and Heat have missed the fewest games.

Following the Heat in the middle chunk are the Blazers, Clippers, Cavaliers, Bulls, Pistons, Nuggets, Thunder, Spurs, Hawks, Celtics, Wizards and Bucks.