Despite being the subject of trade rumors over the summer, Brook Lopez's strong play this season means he's likely to remain with the Nets at this year's trade deadline. If it were up to Deron Williams, there wouldn't even be a conversation about it.
"We’re happy with Brook," Williams told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "Brook is our center. He’s having an All-Star year. I don’t see Brook going anywhere."
Here are a few more Wednesday links from around the Eastern Conference:
- Jonas Jerebko downplayed a story out of Sweden that suggested he was unhappy with the Pistons, as Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press writes. "I didn't read the story," Jerebko said. "So I don't know what it said. Everybody has a
right to their own opinion. It's media. They probably twisted it."
- In a piece for MLive.com, David Mayo examines a few possible Pistons trade candidates, including Jerebko, Jason Maxiell, and Will Bynum.
- The Bobcats have begun conducting market research on a potential nickname change, now that the Hornets are set to become the Pelicans, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The Bobcats are sending surveys to season-ticket holders and polling the Charlotte market to see if a name change would affect buying habits, says Bonnell (Twitter links).
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun takes a look at the Raptors' looming decisions on Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon.
- In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addresses the unlikely possibility of the Heat acquiring Dwight Howard and the impact he expects Chris Andersen to have in Miami.
