The first few weeks of free agency created a whirlwind of player movement, but as the month of July winds down, things have quieted down a bit. Here's a look and some of the most relevant news and notes for this week in the NBA.

Derrick RoseDerrick Rose hopes to return to the court soon

When Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL in his left knee in Game 1 of Chicago’s first-round playoff series against Philadelphia this past spring, so did the Bulls’ chances of challenging Miami for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago went on to lose the series against the 76ers in six games and Rose went under the knife to repair his injured knee.

While it is hard to pinpoint exactly when Rose will be back in the lineup next season, the All-Star point guard is confident that he is right on pace with his rehab to return sometime in late January or early February. He posted on his Facebook page this past Friday that he is “going to be all right” and “should be back there on the court soon”.

Boston acquires Courtney Lee in three-way trade

The Boston Celtics continued to change the future face of the organization by pulling-off a three-way trade with Houston and Portland this past Friday for former first-round draft pick Courtney Lee. The Celtics sent a second-round pick in next year’s draft along with forward JaJuan Johnson, guard E’Twaun Moore, and forward/center Sean Williams to Houston for the rights to Lee. Boston also acquired the rights to Portland guard Jon Diebler as part of the deal after agreeing to part ways with guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic, who now joins the Trail Blazers.

Lee has reportedly signed a four-year deal worth $21.5 million. A 38.6 percent career shooter from three-point range, he is expected to help fill the void of the departed Ray Allen, who is now with Miami. Boston’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge stated that “Courtney brings a vast set of tools on both ends of the court and will be a great fit on our roster”.

Center Greg Stiemsma is headed to Minnesota

Former Boston back-up Greg Stiemsma signed an offer sheet from Minnesota this past Saturday to return to the team that originally signed him in the summer of 2010. After bouncing around the NBA development league and Europe for awhile after finishing his college career at Wisconsin in 2008, the Timberwolves added Stiemsma to their roster, but he did not make the final cut out of training camp. The Celtics added the 6-foot-11 big man before the start of this season and he averaged 14 minutes a game in relief of Kevin Garnett.

Boston still has the opportunity to match Minnesota’s offer sheet, but after the trade for Lee and re-signing Jeff Green, would be strapped to keep him on the roster. Stiemsma would most likely come in as the new back-up to the Timberwolves’ current starting center Nikola Pekovic after they failed to re-sign Anthony Randolph, who was an unrestricted free agent.

Dallas signs first-round draft pick

The Dallas Mavericks wasted little time in making sure that guard Jared Cunningham was signed, sealed, and delivered for the start of next season. Cunningham was originally the 24th overall pick in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Mavericks acquired the rights to the former Oregon State stand-out in a deal that also included Bernard James (33rd overall) and Jae Crowder (34th overall). Dallas picked-up all three first-rounders in exchange for guard Kelenna Azubuike and the draft rights to the 17th overall pick in the draft, Tyler Zeller.