Eric Bledsoe has had a breakout season with the Phoenix Suns, receiving increased playing time and general usage.

Bledsoe will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.

"We'll have no problem stepping up and paying Eric whatever it takes to keep him," said Ryan McDonough.

"We feel like we're holding the cards with Eric, and more importantly, I think Eric's had a good experience here so far."

The New York Knicks have signed forward Jeremy Tyler of the Erie BayHawks, and waived guard Chris Smith.

Tyler, 6-10, 250-pounds, has averaged 18.0 points, on 47.8-percent shooting, and 10.2 rebounds over 31.0 minutes in six games (all starts) with the BayHawks. He originally signed with New York on Aug. 6, after playing for the Knicks’ entry in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV, and was waived on Oct. 25 while recovering from a broken right fifth metatarsal. 

Smith, 6-0, 200-pounds, signed with New York on Sep. 10, and appeared in two games, playing two minutes. He was assigned to Erie on Nov. 18, where he played six games before being recalled on Dec. 17.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls are discussing a trade-and-waive deal of Andrew Bynum for Luol Deng.

The Bulls would save in excess of $20 million in salary and taxes by trading Deng while waiving Bynum.

The Bulls maintain that they believe they will be able to re-sign Deng in the offseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers have discussed a trade involving a swap of Pau Gasol for Andrew Bynum.

No deal is believed to be imminent, but both sides are considering it ahead of the Jan. 7 deadline for when the second half of Bynum's salary for the season becomes guaranteed.

The Lakers could save more than $20 million in salary and luxury taxes by trading for Bynum and then waiving him.

A trade would need to include at least one additional player to make the deal work and perhaps other assets from the Cavaliers.

Sources say the Lakers are reluctant to part with Gasol in any trade without receiving assets of some value in return.

The Cavaliers have pursued Gasol since this past summer when they had extensive talks with the Lakers, which ended after Dwight Howard signed with the Houston Rockets.

Brad Stevens said on Monday that the Boston Celtics are leaving open the possibility of giving Rajon Rondo an opportunity to get into basketball shape and continue his rehabilitation in the NBA D-League.

Rondo has not played since Jan. 25 after suffering a torn ACL and is expected to return this season.

"I would make that a decision on him and our staff," Stevens said. "That is something that has been discussed, probably some positives and negatives to that, but at the end of the day, it is an option as part of his rehabilitation."

The Maine Red Claws are the Celtics' D-League affiliate.

Rondo likely wouldn't return to the Celtics during their five-game West Coast road trip beginning on Jan. 5, but Stevens said he could spent time with Maine practicing and playing in D-League games before coming back to the NBA.

Jeremy Tyler reached completion on his deal with the New York Knicks on Monday afternoon, and the center is expected to receive an opportunity in the playing rotation this week, sources said.

Tyler signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Knicks in the offseason, but he was a final cut before the regular season due to a fracture in his right foot. He's healed since and joined the Knicks’ Development League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, where he averaged 18 points and 10.2 rebounds over six games.

Tyler bolsters a frontcourt that has dealt with widespread injury issues, including Tyson Chandler missing an extended stretch and Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin on minutes restrictions.

Tyler was a second round pick in 2011, and the 22-year-old spent parts of two seasons with the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks. Tyler had played in Japan out of his junior year in high school, prior to placing his name into the NBA Draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers attempted to acquire a third top-10 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft with Klay Thompson as the target, according to a source.

The Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving first overall, followed by Tristan Thompson at No. 4.

The Cavaliers discussed a deal involving J.J. Hickson for the No. 7 pick, but the Sacramento Kings did a different deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Another option was a deal with the Utah Jazz for No. 12, but the Golden State Warriors selected Thompson at No. 11.

The New York Knicks will waive Chris Smith.

Smith is the younger brother of J.R. Smith.

Smith's contract for the 13-14 NBA season is already fully guaranteed.

Smith played in just two games with the Knicks this season, along with an additional six in the D-League with the Erie BayHawks.

The New York Knicks have struggled for more than a decade under James Dolan despite spending heavily on the players on the floor, as well as investing in renovating Madison Square Garden.

"I don't think there's an owner who wants to win more than James Dolan," Thomas said Saturday. "He commits the resources. He does everything he can for the players. He just spent $1 billion on the arena for the fans. I think he'll do whatever it takes to win."

"The people in the Garden aren't basketball people," said an unnamed veteran executive. "They think they're basketball people. They're New Yorkers, so they watch a lot of basketball, but that's a far [bleeping] cry from working in it."

The Knicks have struggled to sustain any type of success with the impetus to win now always at hand.

"The solution for every problem, whether it's in team-building or in the corporate world, is a coherent long-term strategy," said another longtime sports executive. "And the requisite follow through. Sure, you have to be nimble and flexible enough to make midcourse corrections when necessary. But if you did a good job plotting your course you can't keep changing plans every year or two."

Tony Parker made it clear that he intends to prioritize staying with the San Antonio Spurs through free agency in 2015.

“If I can yeah," Parker said. “The history here, they always take care of the guys. They did it with [Tim Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili], so hopefully they take care of me. At the end of this year they have to guarantee my year after, so, technically, maybe, I’ll be a free agent this summer.”

Parker signed a four-year, $50 million extension in 2010. He is owed $25 million in the last two years of his contract, but the final year is partially guaranteed for $3.5 million if he is waived by June 30, 2014 and fully guaranteed for $12.5 million after that.

“I just don’t want a guarantee, I want an extension, too," Parker said.

When asked whether he would look elsewhere if Gregg Popovich or Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili leave the game, Parker said, “I want to stay positive, but if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. My wish is to stay here and play my whole career here, but if there is no more Pop or Timmy or Manu, I’m not against going somewhere. I’m not against that.”