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NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes the league is long overdue for its first female head coach, and he already has a timeline in mind for when he expects it to happen.

"I would be hugely disappointed if certainly in five years we haven't seen our first female head coach in the NBA," Silver told Bonnie Bernstein on the NCAA's podcast channel, per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.

In the 76-year history of the NBA, 15 women have worked as assistant coaches. There are five female assistant coaches currently working in the league today: Jenny Boucek (Indiana Pacers), Lindsey Harding (Sacramento Kings), Sonia Raman (Minnesota Grizzlies), Kristi Toliver (Dallas Mavericks) and Teresa Weatherspoon (New Orleans Pelicans).

The NBA has also hired more female referees in recent years. While the league has received praise for its strides forward in multiple areas, Silver said he feels not enough progress has been made in hiring practices.

"I've said this before, as much as professional sports has led and the WNBA and NBA have led in certain areas, we're a bit behind in this area," Silver said. "We should have more women head coaches. We should have a female head coach right now. We should have more women referees, and it's something we're working very hard on right now."

Silver named Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon as a woman who can eventually break that barrier in the NBA. Hammon spent eight seasons as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first woman to serve as head coach in a game when Gregg Popovich was away from the team in 2020. Hammon accepted the position with the Aces prior to the 2022 season and led the team to its first championship in franchise history.

Bernstein told McCarthy that she believes Silver is genuine about his feelings and she's confident he will continue working toward bringing about progress in the NBA.

"While he's obviously not dictating coaching hires, or officiating hires, his voice carries an extraordinary amount of weight," Bernstein said. "It not only moves the needle in basketball circles, it influences all of sports. So, for him to be as vocal as he was about the NBA being behind the eight ball when it comes to women in coaching and officiating, that's an incredibly powerful statement."

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will miss "a few weeks" after suffering a left shoulder subluxation during Wednesday's loss to the Indiana Pacers, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Curry suffered a labral injury and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Charania added that surgery is not expected to be needed, with the Warriors star expected to be out "closer to a month":

Warriors' Stephen Curry has a labrum injury in his left shoulder that is not expected to require surgery, sources say. Details on @TheRally: pic.twitter.com/6ox6W2UiN5

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 15, 2022

Curry suffered the shoulder injury while trying to make a play defensively:

Steph went to the locker room after hurting his shoulder.

Hope he's alright. https://t.co/hnvksq7pTi

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 15, 2022

The guard was ruled out for the rest of the game and underwent an MRI on Thursday.

Despite minor knee and ankle issues this year, Curry has not missed more than one game in a row this season.

The Warriors will remain cautious with the superstar, who has often missed long stretches due to injury in his career. He missed the final three weeks of the regular season last year after suffering a foot injury, while a broken hand cost him all but five games in 2019-20.

Another long-term injury could be especially damaging for Golden State after an up-and-down start to the season. The team currently sits in 10th place in the West with a 14-15 record.

Curry remains productive individually, averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game this year.

The eight-time All-Star added his first Finals MVP award last season, and he is clearly not slowing down on the court. It makes him even more difficult to replace after an injury, but Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo should see increased responsibility going forward.

The Los Angeles Lakers seem very happy with Russell Westbrook's play off the bench.

So much so, in fact, that reports continue to emerge that the team won't deal the $47 million man in an effort to build a better roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The latest such report came from Sam Amick of The Athletic, who wrote on Thursday: "According to a source with knowledge of the Lakers' plans, Westbrook's play this past month has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline."

Westbrook, 34, has responded well to moving to the bench. In 14 November games he averaged 15.6 points and eight assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three.

That production has dipped somewhat in seven December games (13.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 7.9 RPG, 41.4 percent from the field, 15 percent from three), though it's still been an improvement from Westbrook's struggles last season.

The Lakers, in turn, have responded to a 2-10 start to the season by winning nine of the last 15 games. While they will likely spend much of the season trying to dig themselves out of the hole they created, the angst over Westbrook's fit into the team seems to have waned.

Still, Westbrook's massive contract and the fact that his ball-handling style of play and poor perimeter shooting doesn't mesh well with James means trading him would still be the most logical route toward building a better and more well-rounded roster around James and AD.

The Lakers, quite simply, need more shooting and better defense; Westbrook isn't going to provide either.

As The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported earlier in December, the Lakers have seen a Westbrook trade—which would likely include giving up draft compensation as well—as one potential avenue to fix their roster issues. The second would be to "trade some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks (one first-round and/or multiple second-round picks) for role players who better address needs and upgrade the rotation."

And the third route would be some combination of the aforementioned approaches.

Per Amick, the team's "dream scenario" is a star player on a struggling team becoming available via trade. For now, that hasn't materialized. And it sounds as though the Lakers are content, for the moment, letting things play out with Westbrook in the sixth man role.

The Dallas Mavericks will be without Maxi Kleber for an extended period of time because of multiple injuries.

The team announced Kleber tore his right hamstring during practice Tuesday, and he has no timetable to return.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Kleber also sprained his right knee.

Kleber sat out the Mavs' 144-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday with right foot soreness. He returned Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder and had eight points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.

Dallas was already thin in the frontcourt, and losing Kleber will force head coach Jason Kidd to make significant adjustments, particularly on defense.

"Kleber has proven instrumental to the Mavs' defense," Sports Illustrated's Grant Afseth wrote. "He is often trusted to slide over a small-ball 5 role to close games while deploying a switch-everything scheme while being capable of spacing out from beyond the three-point line on offense."

Kleber hasn't started a game this season, but he has averaged 25.6 minutes per game. Christian Wood is the only big on the roster who plays more than Kleber (26.2 minutes).

Kidd has been reluctant to use Wood in the starting lineup in part because he's a liability on defense.

Wood's only start this season came in Saturday's loss to the Bulls. It would be unfair to blame him for the Mavericks' defensive issues in that game. In addition to Kleber, Luka Dončić sat out with a quadricep strain.

If Kidd wants to keep using Wood as a sixth man, Dwight Powell will likely remain in the starting lineup. Wood will be the primary backup, and JaVale McGee will get time off the bench.

The Mavericks have lost three of their last four games. Their 14-14 record ranks ninth in the Western Conference.

LeBron James' jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals is up for auction.

Sotheby's has listed the official No. 6 jersey that James wore in the Miami Heat's 95-88 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to clinch their second consecutive NBA championship.

James finished the game with 37 points and 12 rebounds. He averaged 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the series and won Finals MVP for the second straight year.

The listing estimates the jersey could sell for between $3 million and $5 million.

"This game ranks as one of the most important performances of LeBron's career, during what has been widely debated as his greatest NBA season," Sotheby's officials told TMZ Sports.

Per StatMuse, James' 37 points are tied with Tom Heinsohn for the fourth-most in an NBA Finals Game 7. It's also the most points scored by a winning player in Game 7 of the Finals.

According to Sotheby's, the jersey is in "excellent condition consistent with use." It also comes with a photomatching certificate.

The 2013 Finals between the Heat and Spurs is best remembered for the sequence at the end of regulation in Game 6.

With Miami down 3-2 in the series and trailing by three in the final seconds, Ray Allen's three-pointer tied the score at 95 and forced overtime. The Heat prevailed 103-100 to force the decisive Game 7.

As the San Antonio Spurs continue their plummet down the standings, Jakob Poeltl's future with the franchise is going to be a hot topic leading up to the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

Per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, the Toronto Raptors have interest in bringing Poeltl back after trading him to the Spurs in 2018 as part of the Kawhi Leonard deal.

Fischer noted the Chicago Bulls had internal conversations about the 27-year-old center prior to last season's trade deadline, and rival teams are "closely monitoring" them as a potential seller.

The Spurs are in a potentially tricky spot with Poeltl. He's only 27 and is one of the few bright spots on their roster right now, but this is also the final season of his current contract.

According to Fischer, Poeltl will "strongly consider" re-signing with San Antonio if he doesn't get moved before the trade deadline.

One potential issue the Spurs face, however, is what Poeltl might command on his next contract. Fischer noted a poll of league executives pegged his upcoming contract valuation between $15 and $25 million per season, with the high end of that projection potentially being more expensive than a rebuilding team might want to pay.

The Raptors are trying to find a spark amid a 13-15 start and need help at center. Christian Koloko has been their primary starter at the position, but he's only averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Poeltl spent the first two seasons of his career in Toronto. He was drafted with the No. 9 overall pick by the Raptors in 2016. The seven-year veteran is averaging 12.9 points and 9.9 rebounds in 20 starts this season for the Spurs.

The Bulls are another team that had designs on making the playoffs in desperate need of help. They are 6-12 in their last 18 games and have fallen to 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

Nikola Vuçević, the Bulls' current starting center, is in the final season of his contract. They could potentially flip him to a team that needs help at the five and bring in Poeltl, who is five years younger than Vuçević.

The Spurs seem like a team that should go all-in on trading veteran players to acquire more long-term assets. They have lost 17 of their last 21 games and own the worst record in the Western Conference (9-19).

If the Los Angeles Lakers move on from Patrick Beverley this season, the veteran has a "desire to return" to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Fischer outlined a scenario where Beverley could be traded to the Detroit Pistons before reaching free agency via buyout.

The 34-year-old likely wouldn't want to be part of a rebuilding situation after reaching the playoffs in each of the last four years with the Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers. Beverley spent the 2021-22 season with Minnesota, helping the squad return to the postseason for just the second time since 2004.

Beverley was a fan favorite in Minnesota, providing one of the more iconic moments of last season when the Timberwolves won their play-in game to make the playoffs:

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1514108990006996997

Even though Minnesota traded him in July, he thought highly of the fanbase and said, "We kind of revamped the environment there."

Beverley went to the Utah Jazz in the trade that brought Rudy Gobert to Minnesota before being flipped to Los Angeles. Things haven't gone smoothly since the deal; he's averaging just 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for a squad that is 11-16.

It could force the Lakers to make another trade to get back on track.

The Timberwolves also haven't had a great year at 13-15 despite lofty expectations.

When the Lakers played Minnesota in October, T-Wolves coach Chris Finch noted Beverley's impact.

"He was an outstanding professional in his habits, and his routine was one that younger players could see and mimic," Finch told reporters. "Mostly, he was a tone-setter. That's what we were looking for a little bit now; who is going to be our tone-setter? We haven't had a single guy step forward yet."

A reunion could be the best-case scenario for all parties.

The Chicago Bulls are not yet ready to be sellers despite an 11-16 start to the season.

"Chicago officials have told inquiring teams they believe they can make the playoffs when healthy," Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported.

Rival teams are still "closely monitoring" the Bulls if they become sellers ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on the Lowe Post podcast that the Los Angeles Lakers have had discussions about potential trades for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević.

One key for the Bulls is the health of Lonzo Ball, who is yet to play this season as he recovers from a knee injury. The guard is still apparently a way away from getting back onto the court.

"We're not close to running or cutting or contact," head coach Billy Donovan said last month.

If Ball doesn't progress and the Bulls continue to fall down the standings, it could be time for the organization to start looking at a rebuild.

Vučević is set to become a free agent in the offseason, but the squad could get a solid return in a trade before the deadline. The two-time All-Star center remains productive while averaging 16.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, which would be his fifth straight season averaging a double-double.

DeRozan could be in even higher demand while averaging 26.2 points per game in 2022-23. The five-time All-Star was an MVP candidate early last season, but the Bulls' struggles could make him expendable before becoming a free agent in 2024.

Zach LaVine remains the team's face of the franchise and is under contract through 2026-27, while Chicago can rebuild around Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu.

The Atlanta Hawks have had discussions on a potential three-team trade that would land Jae Crowder from the Phoenix Suns, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

The Utah Jazz would have received John Collins from the Hawks in this deal, while Jarred Vanderbilt would go to the Suns.

Utah has "signaled a willingness to discuss" Vanderbilt, who the Jazz acquired last offseason in the Rudy Gobert trade, but this projected deal never came to fruition due to a divide on draft compensation and "other shortcomings."

The Suns continue to seek a home for Crowder, who is yet to play this season after the two sides mutually agreed to work out a trade.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium recently reported the Suns had discussed another three-way trade that would send the veteran forward to the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal also involving the Houston Rockets.

Charania also listed the Hawks and Miami Heat as potential destinations for Crowder, and he reported Collins' market includes the Jazz, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks.

Collins has been mentioned in trade rumors for over a year, although he is currently out with an ankle injury and has struggled so far this season with averages of 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. His .484 field-goal percentage and .219 three-point percentage would both be the lowest of his career.

An acquiring team would have to believe the 25-year-old can return close to his 2019-20 form when he averaged 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

Crowder, meanwhile, could be an immediate contributor for a contender on both ends of the court after starting 67 games for the Suns last season, averaging 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Though the trade market has been slow for both players, it seems like Crowder and Collins will get moved before the Feb. 9 deadline.

As the Chicago Bulls look for ways to end their recent rough stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers are keeping an eye on one of their best players in a potential trade if they decide to tear things down.

Per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, Zach LaVine would satisfy the Lakers' "dreamiest returns" for the two future first-round draft picks they have available to trade.

Fischer did note "a far more realistic outcome" for the Lakers would be flipping Russell Westbrook to Chicago for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević if the Bulls decide to sell.

Amid speculation the Lakers could make a trade during the offseason, general manager Rob Pelinka explained what it would take for him to use the 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks in a deal.

Pelinka says their “draft capital,” if included in a trade, must bring back talent that clearly improves L.A.’s championship chances https://t.co/e6XpMQG1Vz

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 26, 2022

At the same press conference, Pelinka also expressed a desire to make sure the Lakers do right by LeBron James after he gave them a commitment by signing a two-year contract extension.

"Let me abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game on our team," Pelinka told reporters. "He committed to us with a long-term contract, a three-year contract. So of course we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end."

Most of the talk during the offseason was centered around Myles Turner and Buddy Hield with the Indiana Pacers, but the Lakers didn't want to give up both of those first-round picks for those players.

LaVine would give the Lakers a primary ballhandler who is capable of creating on his own and can score from anywhere on the floor. The two-time All-Star is only shooting 35.4 percent from three-point range to start this season, but he made 39.6 percent of his attempts behind the arc in the previous three seasons.

Another aspect that likely appeals to the Lakers is LaVine's contract. He is in the first season of a five-year, $215 million deal that includes a player option for 2026-27.

The Lakers have won nine of their last 15 games after a 2-10 start, but they are still in 12th place in the Western Conference.