The Knicks have surpassed the Lakers as the NBA's most valuable franchise, according to findings from Forbes.

New York is valued at $655 million, while the Lakers are close behind at $643 million.

The Bulls, Celtics and Rockets comprise the remainder of the top-five.

In the wake of LeBron James leaving in free agency, the Cavaliers had a single-year decrease of 26%.

Full Rankings
1. Knicks
2. Lakers
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Rockets
6. Mavericks
7. Heat
8. Suns
9. Spurs
10. Raptors
11. Magic
12. Warriors
13. Pistons
14. Blazers
15. Cavaliers
16. Jazz
17. 76ers
18. Thunder
19. Wizards
20. Nuggets
21. Nets
22. Clippers
23. Hawks
24. Kings
25. Bobcats
26. Hornets
27. Pacers
28. Grizzlies
29. Timberwolves
30. Bucks

Denver defeated the Wizards by a final of 120-109 on Wednesday, but Chauncey Billups was impressed with the play of fellow point guard John Wall.

Wall had 10 points and 13 assists for Washington.

"I think he is going to be a great player," said Billups. "He’s explosive, he’s fast, he already knows how to kind of read defenses and make plays. When he gets to be a little more aggressive scoring the ball and making those shots he is going to be a handful."

Wizards guard Kirk Hinrich sat out Saturday night's game against the Celtics and will have an MRI on his sprained right elbow.

He hyperextended the elbow in the fourth quarter of Friday's loss to Phoenix.

"We're more concerned about ligaments in the elbow," coach Flip Saunders said, "because of how it was hyperextended."

Hinrich is averaging 11.1 points and 4.6 assists.

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld announced Friday that the team has signed guard Mustafa Shakur from the NBA Development League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a 10-day contract.

Shakur has averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds this season through 23 games with Rio Grande Valley. 

He spent time in training camp with the New Orleans Hornets earlier this season and has previously had stints with Oklahoma City, Sacramento and the D-League's Tulsa Thunder (where he averaged 19.3 points, 6.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds during the 2009-10 season).

Teams have contacted the Wizards about the availability of Kirk Hinrich in recent weeks, according to a league source.

Washington is struggling and a number of other players have been mentioned in trade talks as well.

"We sat down and talked about not getting frustrated," Hinrich said of a team meeting after Gilbert Arenas was traded.

"There's going to be frustrating times, things aren't going to go our way. Everybody said what was going on, what helps us and not helps us and that was one of the things we talked about," Hinrich said. "Earlier in the year, when I was frustrated, it wasn't helping myself, the way I was playing, and it wasn't helping the team at all, so I just kind of told myself that I wasn't going to get frustrated anymore and play hard, try to win games and have fun doing it at the same time."

John Wall's injuries are starting to alter his play.

"It's just kind of tough for me because of the injuries," Wall said this past weekend. "That's the only thing really I think that's stopped me from being who I want to be and controlling myself."

The Wizards hoped a little rest would solve Wall's injury woes, but that hasn't been the case. He sat out five games in mid-December.

He sustained a thumb injury after slamming into Marreese Speights in a game against Philadelphia a couple weeks ago.

"I got all this padding on my left hand, so it's kind of tough to grip the ball when I'm coming up to shoot it," Wall said. "But I'm working on it everyday. It's just being confident and holding my follow through."

Josh Howard will not be with the Wizards when they face the Jazz on Monday as he visits a specialist in New York to receive treatment for tendinitis in his left knee.

Howard first had a setback with tendinitis in November and after receiving a pain-relieving cortisone injection, he will have to sit out at least a week before he's evaluated again.

He missed the first 24 games of the regular season recovering from knee surgery to repair a torn left anterior cruciate ligament.

"Nothing to discover, just going to get a shot I've been talking about for a month or two now. I hope I can get some good results with it," said Howard, who has played in just eight games this season.

"Nothing different, nothing out of the ordinary. Just another way to handle my tendon problem, my tendinitis. It's a really bad case."

Nck Young may soon join John Wall as the only untouchable on Washington's roster ahead of next month's trade deadline.

It was thought that anyone could be had, aside from Wall, but Young's play as of late may have changed that.

At least one suitor, who noted that Young has been the team's best player since they traded away Gilbert Arenas, said the Wizards now appear intent on keeping him.

Young scored 43 points in Washington's overtime win over Sacramento on Tuesday night.

According to front office sources, the Wizards are more open to dealing Kirk Hinrich.

Rashard Lewis has played the role of veteran mentor since being traded to the Wizards.

Lewis still remembers what it was like to be a straight from high school rookie during the 98-99 season.

"I thought about that. In my Seattle days, I listened to the veterans, trying to figure my way out and not stepping on anybody's toes and just learning from what they were teaching me. Now it's almost like it's the other way around," Lewis said. "A lot of guys looking at me. Every time I say something, they looking up to me. They're listening, they are all ears and I've got to go out there and lead, not only by talking, but by example in practice, getting shots up or lifting weights. Whatever it takes."

John Wall has credited Lewis for helping him since Wall returned from a bone bruise under his right kneecap on Dec. 26.

"He's just always telling me to keep my head, keep my focus and if you have a bad game, it's going to come back to you," Wall said. "The first game I came back against San Antonio, I wasn't making shots and turning the ball over. He said, 'It'll all come. It comes with rhythm.' He's a great person I'm looking up to, taking a similar role, like Gil."

The Wizards will be without Josh Howard for at least another week because of a sore left knee.

Howard tore a ligament in the same knee 11 months ago, had surgery and missed 52 games that bridged the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

He has missed three games and parts of two others since the knee started acting up again in December.