Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat averaged close to 30 minutes of playing time a game last season, but that number will almost certainly start out lower when the NBA season finally gets rolling this Sunday thanks to an injury he suffered in the team’s preseason finale Tuesday night.

After the Suns went down 127-110 to the Denver Nuggets, Gortat tweeted that he had broken his thumb. “Last thing I need right now,” he wrote. You can be sure that’s what Suns GM Lance Blanks is thinking, too.

The 27-year-old Gortat had 14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the game while backup Robin Lopez had 14 points and pulled in six rebounds. The 6-11 native of Poland averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.05 blocks per game last season for the Suns and Orlando Magic.

Find out before your friends. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Two days ago, word came from the Sacramento Bee that Andrei Kirilenko would “seriously consider” joining the Sacramento Kings.

Kirilenko is currently under contract with CSKA Moscow but can opt out to move back to the NBA and the native of Moscow is reportedly “thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to play” in his homeland, the Bee reports.

Now Sports Illustrated has it that the New Jersey Nets, fresh from being told by the Orlando Magic that a trade for Dwight Howard just isn’t happening right now, are in the hunt for the 6-9 forward who spent last season with the Utah Jazz. Perhaps Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov will have some special sway with Kirilenko.

The 30-year-old Kirilenko, an All-Star back in 2004, averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3 assists per game for the Jazz last season. He’s been with the team since 2001.

Don’t forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

The Orlando Magic want to hang onto center Dwight Howard right now so the team has “informed teams that they’re ending trade talks” for him, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

Howard, of course, had requested a trade to the New Jersey Nets and thought he was headed there after the Nets had “assembled a multiteam trade proposal for Howard that would have sent the Magic center Brook Lopez, Portland Trail Blazers forward Gerald Wallace, point guard Jordan Farmar, and a first-round draft pick,” Wojnarowski reports.

In the proposed deal, the Nets would have also added Chris Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu while Portland would have found itself with four brand-new draft picks, according to Wojnarowski. No one will be moving anywhere for Howard at this point. Magic ownership didn’t want to do the deal and then the team removed Howard from the trading block.

That’s not to say Howard won’t be history in Orlando before the March 15 trading deadline. According to Wojnarowski, Howard has still told the team he’s not re-signing with them this summer when he can become a free agent.

“Dwight’s not a happy camper,” one league source told Wojnarowski.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

The Denver Nuggets are still hoping that Nene will end up back in the Mile High City, the Denver Post reports, and are waiting out the slimming market for him.

The 6-11 Brazilian center was about to get an offer from the Houston Rockets to be a power forward next to Pau Gasol, but then the three-way trade that would have brought Gasol to Houston was denied by the league, and the Rockets extended an offer sheet to Marc Gasol rather than Nene.

The New Jersey Nets are waiting to see what happens with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard before making any move on Nene, the Post notes.

Both the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers have either tried to sign other big men (DeAndre Jordan) or actually done so (David West) without making an offer to Nene, the Post reports.

“In short, it’s looking as though Nene is a backup plan or complementary piece for all his suitors except the Nuggets, who haven’t replaced him and remain interested in making him their starting power forward, where he would play beside young center Timofey Mozgov,” who came over to the Nuggets when Carmelo Anthony was dealt to the New York Knicks.

Before the lockout, the Nuggets offered Nene a four-year, $50 million contract, the Post notes.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is looking to leave town. He can opt to be a free agent next summer, but he would like to get out of Orlando before then.

ESPN reports that reps for Howard have told the New Jersey Nets that Howard would like to join them and that Howard will ask the Magic to trade him.

Howard has been in contact with Magic officials recently, the Orlando Sentinel reports, but it is unclear what they have specifically discussed.

According to ESPN, Howard spoke with Nets point guard Deron Williams “about teaming up” during the lockout.

The 6-11 26-year-old, a five-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game last season.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

The New York Post reports that Hill’s “interest in joining the Knicks and being slotted in as their starting shooting guard on a potential Eastern Conference contender is growing by the day.” The paper notes that Hill is thought to be leaning toward joining New York. Other possible destinations for Grant include the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers, the paper notes.

Hill averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists for the Suns last season. The 39-year-old, who has also spent time with the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, was the third overall pick of the 1994 draft (behind Glenn Robinson and Jason Kidd). The seven-time All-Star ended up sharing the rookie of the year award with Kidd that season.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

The 34-year-old eight-time All-Star joined the Suns in December of last year along with Marcin Gortat, and Mickael Pietrus (along with $3 million and a first-round draft pick) as part of a trade with the Orlando Magic that had Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark headed to Florida. He averaged 14 points, 3.8 rebounds, and two assists per game last year.

The fifth overall pick in the 1998 draft by the Golden State Warriors, Carter was then traded to the Toronto Raptors, where he earned the rookie of the year.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Eurobasket reports that the 6-6 Maggette is expected to land in the Greek city of Thessaloniki Wednesday and negotiate a deal with PAOK. Maggette will check out the city and team facilities, the site notes, and it is expected that Maggette will make his decision at the end of the week.

Maggette played 67 games for the Bucks last season, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Eurobasket reports that the 6-6 Maggette “is expected to land in (the Greek city of) Thessaloniki” Wednesday and negotiate “a deal with PAOK.” Maggette will check out the city and team facilities, the site notes, and “it is expected that Maggette will make his decision (at) the end of the week.”

Maggette played 67 games for the Bucks last season, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

However, the Orlando Sentinel reports that he’s changed his mind and decided that he doesn’t want to go play anywhere else while the NBA has its doors closed. The reason? The Chinese Basketball Association is working on instituting a rule that wouldn’t allow foreign players to opt out of their contracts in the middle of the season if, say, their regular basketball league figured out its new collective bargaining agreement.

“They got the rule, so I don’t know,” Howard told the Sentinel. “I’m just going to continue doing what I’m doing.”

What he’s doing is working out on his own as well as with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.