The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has assigned guard Marquis Teague to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League (D-League).

Teague (6-2, 190) has played in nine games for the Bulls this season and averaged 1.2 ppg and 0.8 apg in 8.9 mpg.

Teague was selected by Chicago in the first round (29th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft, after helping lead the University of Kentucky to the 2012 NCAA Championship.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Roberson has appeared in six games (one start) for the Thunder this season, averaging 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game.

Here’s ESPN New York on the Brooklyn Nets, who will be without small forward Paul Pierce for 2-4 weeks due to a broken bone in his finger:

Pierce has struggled this season, shooting only 36.8 percent overall and 26.8 percent from behind the 3-point arc, while averaging 12.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. Pierce rarely looked comfortable and was trying hard to find his way with the Nets. That process is now put on hold, and things might run a bit smoother for the team. Let’s make it clear: I am not saying the Nets are better without Pierce. No way. But Pierce will even admit that he was trying to find his comfort level and that was a struggle.

The Nets have to find a way to replace Pierce’s offense (he’s a proven scorer who was a late-game option) and ability to get to the line when he’s aggressive.

Alan Anderson will be the beneficiary of Pierce’s absence. He will probably start, like he did against Memphis, and Jason Kidd likes his energy and hustle. The Nets are going to rely even more on Joe Johnson for offense, perimeter shooting and to carry the load with the second unit. Brook Lopez will remain a focal point.

Mirza Teletovic should continue to see steady playing time, and Tornike Shengelia might even see some more minutes than normal. The Nets could sure use Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry back, though. Kirilenko could ease the blow of Pierce’s injury big time.

Here’s Local10.com reporting on a very foul act committed against Miami Heat guard Roger Mason and his family:

Miami Heat Guard Roger Mason, Jr., along with his family, were robbed while dining at an Italian restaurant called Ni.Do. Caffe at 7295 Biscayne Boulevard after a Heat game Sunday night.

According to police, four suspects barged into the restaurant and robbed all patrons of their valuables.

On Monday, police recognized a black Cadillac Escalade as the vehicle that was used in the getaway after the robbery. When they attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver refused and a chase began.

The driver and one passenger were finally apprehended at NW 148th Street and 18th Avenue after ramming a police cruiser, which caused the offending vehicle to stop.

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on one of Ray Allen’s goals that may surprise fans:

During the later stages of his career, Miami Heat guard Ray Allen has begun each season with one goal.

Take fewer 3-pointers than the previous year.

So far, Allen is on pace this season because of an effort to score more off the dribble. Shooting less from the arc has provided the chance to prove he can still create his own opportunities.

“His layups per 48 [minutes] have gone up,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s just how the spacing is working. We want all of our guys to be playmakers on the weak side. … He has a reputation so there are a lot of close outs that are hard to run him off the shot. As long as we have good spacing, I don’t have a problem with any of our guys putting the ball on the floor.”

Allen is attempting four 3-pointers a game, the lowest since his rookie year with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1996. He is getting more chances at the rim because opponents are so focused on preventing the 3-point shot. Allen is the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-point baskets with 2,879.

Here’s ESPN.com on veteran Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and how his next contract negotiation may play out:

Next summer Wade has an opt out in his contract. He is owed $20 million next year and $21 million in 2015-16. It is reasonable to think that Wade, who turns 32 in January, will not opt out and just collect that money. But Wade could also re-do his contract and, if the Heat agreed, get a four-year deal worth up to nearly $100 million. Or the sides could do a deal for anything in between. Basically, the Heat could ask Wade to take a pay cut and make it up to him by adding years to his deal.

That is what Wade and the Heat will likely have serious discussions about at some point before he has to make a decision on June 30. What Wade decides could have a significant impact on how the Heat proceed into next season. And Bryant’s new deal sets an interesting precedent.

Bryant is taking a pay cut next season from his $30 million salary but he will still be the league’s highest-paid player through 2016. The contract was somewhat controversial because it restricted the Lakers’ cap flexibility even as they plan to rebuild through free agency.

The reactions got to the point where Bryant ended up sniping back and forth with fans on social media. It’s not typical that a franchise player has to defend himself for re-signing with the team. Bryant pointed out that superstars shouldn’t yield to public pressure to take less money to help the franchise out and save the owners money.

Here’s the Detroit News on a big, fun Pistons development:

This looks to be a week of discovery of sorts for Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks.

On Sunday, Cheeks revealed that when he accepted the Pistons job this past June, he didn’t know Andre Drummond would be this good.

“I didn’t,” Cheeks said after the Pistons’ 115-100 win over the 76ers. “Joe (Dumars) told me he was on an upswing, but I didn’t know. I (only) watched him a few times, but I didn’t know he would be as good as now. Trust me, he reminds me about his double-doubles every day.”

In context, Cheeks likely was referring to Drummond’s monster game — he put up 31 points and added 19 rebounds with six steals and two blocks on Sunday — along with Drummond’s seemingly rapid ascension, a track that could land him in the conversation of the best bigs in the game before too long.

Cheeks, however, cautions that despite his own expectations for Drummond, the center is just 20 years old, and not yet a seasoned, consistent veteran.

Here’s Arizona Sports on the Phoenix Suns starting the new NBA season with a lot more wins than anyone expected:

For a team with 10 new faces and a roster that is the second-most inexperienced in the NBA, the Suns, who were not expected to win much, won more than they lost through the first month of the season.

Their 9-8 record is ninth-best in the Western Conference; though if they resided in the East, they would trail only Indiana (16-1) and Miami (14-3) for top honors.

“I guess we can’t complain,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We’re above .500 right now.”

The Suns are one of the early season surprises, while also at times puzzling to observers.

For example, they handed Portland, whose 14 wins are tied for the most in the conference, two of its three losses and battled Oklahoma City and San Antonio down to the wire before losing close games on the road.

Then there are the two defeats to Sacramento, which has only two other wins on the year, and a bad home loss to Utah, which had not won on the road before Saturday’s 122-104 victory at US Airways Center.

Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, who was injured in the first quarter of last night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, had an ultrasound test and was examined this morning by Dr. Luga Podesta. Farmar was diagnosed with a tear of his left hamstring. It is expected that he will be out approximately four weeks.

Farmar is currently averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 19 minutes in 18 games this season.

Also, Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol had an MRI exam this morning, which confirmed he has a mild sprain of his right ankle.

Los Angeles D-Fenders forward Ryan Kelly has been recalled by the Los Angeles Lakers, it was announced today.

The Duke University alum has posted averages of 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals in three games this season for the D-Fenders. Last night, Kelly tallied a career-high 30 points in a 131-96 victory over the Bakersfield Jam. Kelly is currently ranked fifth in the D-league in scoring average, and tied for seventh in minutes per game.

Kelly has appeared twice this season for the Lakers.

The struggle continues in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the third metacarpal of the right hand, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. The injury occurred during the first half of the November 29 game at Houston. Pierce is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks.

In 15 games this season, Pierce is averaging 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

The Nets are off to an extremely disappointing start this season. At 5-12, they are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 5th worst record in the NBA.

On the bright side, it can only get better — or so we presume.

Here’s the New York Post on the Knicks, who have lost nine straight games, with their latest defeat coming Sunday in New York against the New Orleans Pelicans:

The Knicks tried to apply the power of positive thinking to get themselves out of their doldrums. But it was clear after Sunday’s night stunning loss to the Pelicans at the Garden they have developed a loser’s mentality that could prove difficult to shake.

That was the characterization offered by coach Mike Woodson, who said his team “played on our heels,” in the final minute of a 103-99 defeat.

It was echoed by Carmelo Anthony, who said, “I think we’re playing to lose rather than playing to win right now. When you lose games the way we’ve been losing them, at home, on the road, you start playing tense.”

It’s a damning assessment for a team that hoped to right itself after a 0-4 road trip. Instead, the Knicks (3-13) suffered as brutal a loss as they have experienced all season, which is saying something for a team on a nine-game losing streak. It was especially painful because New Orleans (8-8) played most of the game without its best player, Anthony Davis. He left with 1:33 remaining in the first quarter after breaking a bone in his left hand.

Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting on DeMar DeRozan, who wants his Raptors to step up in all sorts of ways:

“I’m frustrated, period,” said DeRozan, who also picked up seven rebounds and four assists. “Just losing at home, man. I mean, I hate it. I hate it with a passion and we just have to figure it out and turn it around on the road.”

Easier said than done. After three straight losses at home, the Raptors now embark on a three-game western swing, against Golden State, Phoenix and the L.A. Lakers, starting on Tuesday in Oakland. Playing in the west hasn’t been kind to the Raptors in seasons past.

“It don’t matter where we’re playing man, if we’re home or away. We have to understand that we have to go out there and play hard (all the time),” added DeRozan, who was singularly unimpressed that his team squandered a 15-point first quarter lead. “It doesn’t matter what stage we’re playing on. We’ve just got to go out there and win. We just have to do what our assignments are every night.”

DeRozan, who may make the NBA all-star team this season for the first time in his career, also was unimpressed with his club’s defence and its inability to adjust late in the game.

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles on old,  banged-up Steve Nash and his expected return to action for the Lakers:

Sunday marked the 10th straight game that Steve Nash missed because of nerve root irritation in his back and hamstrings, but Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said he expected to have him back when the team returns to practice Tuesday after an off day.

Nash spent last week in Vancouver, British Columbia, working out with his longtime personal trainer, Rick Celebrini, while the Lakers were on a three-game trip through Washington, Brooklyn and Detroit.

“I think he made some improvements, but we’ll see,” D’Antoni said of Nash.

Nash, 39, is averaging 6.7 points and 4.8 assists this season while shooting 26.1 percent from the field.

Here’s ESPN Los Angeles on former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, who wants to run a team again.

As sabbaticals go, the one Lionel Hollins has been on the last few months has been pretty nice, but the former Memphis Grizzlies coach said in an extended interview with ESPN.com that he is ready to get back to work.

Since not being retained by the Grizzlies’ new ownership group, Hollins has been playing golf, attending charity events, doing a little broadcasting for NBA TV and watching his son Austin Hollins a senior guard for Minnesota, play college basketball. This week, he was in Hawaii to watch the Gophers in the Maui Invitational.

Nice as the time off has been, however, Hollins is ready to return to the NBA.

“I believe I’ve established myself as a head coach and I’d like another opportunity to show that [my success] wasn’t a fluke,” Hollins said. “I feel like I’ve proven I can take a young team and develop it, then sustain what I’ve done by what I did in the last five years in Memphis.”

Hollins was let go by the Grizzlies despite winning a franchise-record 56 games and leading Memphis to its first Western Conference Finals appearance last season.

Here’s the Detroit News reporting on Pistons center Andre Drummond, who just unleashed another flash of potential greatness. The young center has a bright future ahead of him:

If Andre Drummond keeps progressing at the rate he’s going, then Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown—a first-year coach at his wit’s end — won’t be the only one to employ the “Hack-a-Dre” strategy…and Drummond will have to make them pay for it.

What Drummond poignantly called a “slap in the face” turns to 10 seconds of torture and uncertainty for Pistons fans and teammates, the time Drummond has to step to the free-throw line and conquer what appears to be his greatest weakness.

Assistant coach Rasheed Wallace yells “take your time” and his teammates say “10 seconds” but Drummond is on that line, all alone, with the world watching.

He shook off the insult to put together his best game as a pro, helping the Pistons to a 115-100 win over the 76ers at the Palace Sunday, with 31 points, 19 rebounds, six steals and two blocks. Thaddeus Young scored 24 and Evan Turner 20 for the 76ers (6-12), who entered Sunday a half-game behind the Pistons.

Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Hornets star Anthony Davis, who suffered an injury Sunday. Davis is second on the team in scoring, and first (in a really big way) in both rebounding and shot-blocking:

New Orleans Pelicans second-year power forward Anthony Davis was having a splendid start to his 2013-2014 season. But the momentum he opened the season with was slowed during the first quarter of the Pelicans’ 103-99 victory against the New York Knicks on Sunday night.

Davis suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left, non-shooting, hand in the first quarter of the Pelicans game against the New York Knicks and wasn’t able to return. The team didn’t provide a timetable for his return.

Davis said he injured his hand when he slammed it on the rim during an alley-oop attempt.

“I am hoping it is a short-term thing, so I can get back on the floor,” Davis said. “I felt pain. I didn’t think it was going to keep me out. I am happy that my team battled for the whole 48 (minutes) and got that W.”

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that guard J.J. Redick suffered a fracture in the small bone (pisiform) of his right hand and a tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the second quarter of the Clippers 104-98 win over Sacramento on Nov. 29.

Redick is expected to miss approximately 6-8 weeks, and will be re-evaluated on Monday, Dec. 2 by hand specialist Dr. Steve Shin to determine further course of treatment.

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on Knicks guard J.R. Smith. The team played Friday, losing a close battle in Denver to the Nuggets:

Smith scored 11 points but shot just 1-for-7 from 3-point range as he struggles to rediscover his stroke following summertime knee surgery and a five-game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy.

Smith, last season’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year, is shooting a career-low 32.8 percent from the floor, and even worse from beyond the arc (28.6 percent). The Knicks are 1-9 since he returned from suspension entering Sunday’s game against New Orleans at the Garden.

“My jumper just hasn’t been there,” Smith said. “That’s situations where I got to make my teammates better, get guys open shots and keep driving to the hole. But one thing, I’m not going to stop shooting.”

Asked if his surgically repaired left knee has affected his shooting stroke and his overall play, Smith admitted: “Somewhat, but it’s all right, I’m still playing…It’s taking time. I’m not one to make excuses, but I got to play better. If it’s hurting that bad, then I shouldn’t be playing. I’m out there and I’m going to try to give it all I got.”

Here’s the Detroit Free Press on guard Brandon Jennings:

It’s too early, said the former point guard — too early to decide whether Brandon Jennings will eventually figure out how to play the most demanding of NBA positions.

“It takes a certain amount of time for a guy to do that,” said Jennings’ coach, Mo Cheeks. “He’s still young, still figuring out the position.”

The Pistons point guard is 24, which, by today’s NBA standards, isn’t terribly young. What Cheeks is talking about, however, is that Jennings hasn’t been asked to play point guard before in any traditional manner. Cheeks was raised that way. Jennings was not.

Cheeks knew where everyone on the floor was supposed to be — or supposed to be going. When they weren’t, he told them. Jennings is trying to learn that now, after a life of seeking out space to shoot.