NBA News for Nov. 3, 2012: Lakers "hitting the panic button," Davis has concussion, Brandon Rush tears ACL

The veteran small forward fractured the fifth metacarpal during the third quarter of the team’s season-opener Friday night. Turkoglu is a starter, and normally he’d be backed-up by a pair of rookies, 19-year-old Maurice Harkless and 22-year-old DeQuan Jones. But Harkless underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia over the summer, and although he’s recently been cleared for full-contact drills and has participated in recent practices, Jacque Vaughn would prefer to ease the first-round pick back into game situations. Jones, an undrafted rookie from the University of Miami, is listed as day-to-day because of a strained abductor muscle in one of his hips. Arron Afflalo, naturally a shooting guard, likely will play extended minutes at the small forward spot.”

Here’s a note from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein regarding Josh Smith: “Atlanta’s Josh Smith has an expiring contract and an apparent fan in Magic Johnson, who playfully suggested during a Fantasy GM segment on Friday night’s “NBA Countdown” show that he’d love to see the Lakers trade for Smith — even if it meant surrendering Pau Gasol — because L.A. so badly needs athletes. Dwight Howard would surely learn to live with such a swap, too, given how close he and Smith are off the court, but there’s precisely zero evidence in circulation to suggest it’s anything other than a fun discussion for TV/entertainment purposes. The distinct vibe you get when you ask around is that Smith will most likely finish the season in Atlanta, flashing onto your screens in adidas commercials when he’s not trying to sneak the Hawks into the playoffs and then proceeding to free agency in search of a new long-term deal. There’s a benefit to holding off, since the longest in-season extension Smith could get with the Hawks is a three-year deal. The Hawks also appear intent on preserving as much cap flexibility as they can for a busy offseason.”

Rasheed Wallace on his role w/NYK: "I accept my Brian Scalabrine role. I'm cool with it."