The Philadelphia 76ers have traded their rights to J.P. Tokoto to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tokoto will play in the D-League for the Oklahoma City Blue.

Tokoto didn't make the 76ers' regular season roster.

Terrence Ross and the Toronto Raptors continue to discuss a contract extension ahead of the Nov. 2nd deadline.

Ross said he's hopeful of getting a deal done.

"We're working on it so we'll see what happens," said Ross.

Ross also said it would be "an honor" to get an extension.

D'Angelo Russell has had a slower start to his NBA career than some of his fellow rookies, which he attributes to his situation with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"You can’t worry about their opportunity and what they’re doing with it. Everybody is in different positions. The rookies that are separating themselves are in great positions and are getting it quick. Some people just have a learning process. That’s what I’m doing."

Russell was the second overall pick in the draft.

"The opportunity [here] is just so slim because we’ve got a lot of great players," he said. "Specifically, we’ve got a lot of players trying to do the same thing. You’ve just got to figure out your niche to stay on the floor."

Kobe Bryant sees some parallels with his situation as a rookie and what Russell is facing.

"He’ll have more opportunities and more leeway to make mistakes," Bryant said. "When I came in with the Lakers, it was a team that, we had a lot of talent and everybody expected us to win a championship, and if I go in there and mess up, it’s like, 'strangle the kid.' You know what I mean? There’s a lot more pressure there."

The Houston Rockets are 0-2 to begin the 15-16 season, losing to both the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors by 20 points.

James Harden finished second in MVP voting last season and the Rockets advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

With the addition of Ty Lawson, the Rockets have been expected to be one of the Western Conference's top contenders.

“No more cooling around," said Harden. "We’re too cool, walking around cool. Myself, as a leader. I just have to pick up my mojo a little bit.”

"Sometimes it takes a loss," said Dwight Howard. "Sometimes it takes you getting beat up to get back up and be better."

The Cleveland Cavaliers committed to spending $175.6 million on payroll with $65 million of that in luxury taxes.

"We're committed; we're all-in ... When you invest in something like a sports franchise and you're in for so much ... if you at the margins start pulling back, I think that may be foolish on a lot of fronts," Dan Gilbert said. "We're investing for the future as well as the current."

The Cavaliers have their entire core locked up for the next four seasons with the exception of LeBron James.

Gilbert said that was a driving force behind all the spending in the offseason.

"These guys who are under these large contracts, that's a core for four or five years," Gilbert said. "That's an eternity in this league. As we've seen with NBA franchises, that formula can work."

The Cavs still have a $10.5 million trade exception they could use if needed, but that would take their payroll to more than $200 million. Gilbert didn't say if he was willing to use the exception this season and also didn't say how long he was willing to spend at this level.

"We look at this year by year. There's so many factors, so many things can change," Gilbert said. "We always like to have options. It's not so much the amount of payroll. The question is if you can maneuver. If the team goes a certain way, are all the contracts valuable? Can your general manager still play chess? We never try to say this is [the budget]. It really is how it operates."

Erica McKinley has been hired by the NBPA as its chief operating officer.

McKinley has been a practicing attorney for more than 17 years. She previously was the Chief of General Litigation and General Counsel for the Department of Human Services in the Washington office of the Attorney General.

McKinley replaces Domonique Foxworth.

Bradley Beal scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter of the Washington Wizards' comeback win on Friday over the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Nobody can stop me,” Beal declared in an on-court postgame television interview. “Plain and simple.”

“We have the same agent. I was telling my agent, ‘I didn’t know he was that explosive,’ ” Jared Dudley said. “You can just see that confidence. It’s his fourth year, contract year, worked hard, worked his butt off, he’s growing into his body. To be honest with you, John [Wall] is our best player but he’s our best scorer. When he’s shooting the ball aggressive we’re a better team.”

The Boston Celtics have exercised their third-year options on guard Marcus Smart and guard/forward James Young, and their fourth-year option on forward Kelly Olynyk.

Smart, who is in his second NBA season, appeared in five contests for the Celtics this preseason and averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 24.2 minutes per game. The 6’4” guard played in 67 games during his rookie year and averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 27.0 minutes per game. 

Young, who is also in his second NBA season, appeared in seven preseason matchups for the team this year and averaged 4.4 points, including connecting on 35.0 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and pulled down 1.4 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game over that span. 

Olynyk, who is in his third NBA season, appeared in six preseason games for the team this year and averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.7 minutes per game. The 7’0” forward is averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 21.1 minutes per game over his 134 game career. 

The Chicago Bulls have exercised the 16-17 options for Tony Snell and Doug McDermott.

Snell's option is for his fourth season and McDermott's is for his third season.

Joakim Noah is accepting a role coming off the bench for the Chicago Bulls, but he said that he didn't ask for it.

“I never said I want to come off the bench,” Noah said following Friday’s morning shootaround. “I said I’ll do what’s best for the team.” 

Fred Hoiberg told Zach Lowe that Noah approached him about coming off the bench.

“He said, basically, ‘I’ve always played well with Taj,’” Hoiberg said to Grantland.com. “He said he thought Niko (Mirotic) and Pau (Gasol) played very well together, so let’s go that route.” 

Noah is in a contract season.

“The truth is I think I’m more effective playing (center) than (power forward). And I think Pau is the same,” Noah said. “And we have two very good (power forwards). So this makes more sense.”