Shaquille O'Neal has written an autobiography, set for release in November and some of it has been excerpted.

"He was so young and so immature in some ways, but I can tell you this: everything Kobe is doing now, he told me all the way back then he was going to do it," writes O'Neal. "We were sitting on the bus once and he told me, "I'm going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I'm going to win five or six championships, and I'm going to be the best player in the game." I was like, "Okay, whatever." Then he looked me right in the eye and said, "I'm going to be the Will Smith of the NBA."

The Nets are still searching for a replacement for assistant coach Sam Mitchell.

Mario Elie and Keith Smart are two candidates that could be of interest to the Nets to assist Avery Johnson.

Some front office executives believe the Blazers are doing due diligence on Donnie Nelson as a candidate for their general manager vacancy.

Nelson is a longtime executive with the Mavericks.

There is no concrete evidence to suggest the Blazers have asked Dallas for permission to interview Nelson.

Chandler Parsons has left Cholet after three games with the French club.

Parsons had signed a short-term contract with Cholet.

Parsons was selected by the Rockets in the 2011 NBA Draft.

DaJuan Summers and Montepaschi Siena have parted ways.

Siena has a deal with Omar Thomas to fill Summers' slot on the roster.

Real Madrid has denied being in contract talks with Marc Gasol.

"We have never talked with Marc," said Real sports director Juan Carlos Sanchez. "Last time I've seen him was in Lithuania during Eurobasket."

The "World Tour" scheduled for Sunday in Puerto Rico has been canceled, according to a source.

The organizer of the event has been unable to deliver the promised stars to participate.

R.J. Adelman, son of Rick Adelman, will be joining the Wolves' front office in player personnel.

The younger Adelman is known for bringing statistical analysis to his evaluation.

Christian Eyenga has returned to FIATC Joventut Badalona, his former team.

Eyenga is under contract with the Cavaliers and will return to the team following a resolution of the lockout.

While the players and owners have yet to reach agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, optimism has emerged this week.

As a result, team executives have canceled scouting trips in preparation for free agency.

Agents have also been quietly reaching out to teams on their free agent clients.

Teams have been preparing for free agency for months, but there appears to be a new sense of urgency.