- Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio’s compelling rookie season is over, ended by a torn anterior-cruciate knee ligament that ends his season, a team source said this afternoon. Minneapolis Star-Tribune
- On the Howard front, the Magic clearly need to make the decision to trade him or risk losing him in free agency. League sources maintain the Magic will hold out and not deal if they see any glimmer of hope Howard will choose to remain with them. But with the Nets suddenly feeling a renewed sense of playoff hope — and that is provided by two wins in three games, an on-paper favorable schedule break for them and a brutal stretch for opponents like the Knicks (Sixers, at Bulls, Blazers, Pacers) and Celtics (eight-game road trip starting out west). So there is the sense if by Thursday’s deadline they have improved in the standings, they could be buyers for an expiring contract. New York Post
- Minnesota’s Michael Beasley has been mentioned and the Nets have spoken with the Timberwolves. Beasley is a young talent, has a $6.2 million expiring contract and is represented by Jeff Schwartz, who is also Deron Williams’ agent. So an initial courtesy call may have turned into interest.New York Post
- Jonathan Feigen: Kyle Lowry still in a NY hospital w high fever, but better. No word yet on if he’ll travel with team. Obviously, out for rest of road trip. Twitter
- And if no one offers Ainge the right pieces for his stars, he should just stay the course, give the Big Three one last run, and start fresh in July, which is what Rivers expects to happen. “I’d be surprised if we did anything,” Rivers said. “Obviously, if we can find someone out there that wants to give us a player, we’ll take him.” NBA.com
- Fans were responding to a Twitter post from Roland Lazenby, who once wrote a book about Jerry West. “It seems we’ll soon be getting news that Gasol has been traded,” Lazenby wrote Friday afternoon. “No details confirmed, but he’s apparently gone.” Gasol shrugged it off. “I said to myself, if there was anything serious about to happen, I would get a call from a significant person and I didn’t get that,” Gasol said. “Anybody can start up rumors. They start up small and they come out big. I can’t control certain things and I’m just going to continue to do my job as best as I can. The less I hear about it, the better, but March 15 is around the corner, so one way or another I’ll be here or I’ll be … who knows?” Los Angeles Times