Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has a new column in which he touches on a variety of topics from around the NBA and elsewhere in the basketball world. Here are the highlights:

• Wizards head coach Randy Wittman talks to Zillgitt about the difficulty of keeping the locker room engaged as Washington heads towards another losing season.
• Zillgitt takes a look at the Rockets' offense, which has vaulted them into the thick of the playoff race behind the explosive play of James Harden.
• Zillgitt also gives an update on the status of Royce White, who has struggled in the D-League but does not concern the Rockets organization.
• The Magic received excellent value in return for J.J. Redick, Zillgitt writes. He praises the aquisition of cheap, young assets in Doron Lamb and Tobias Harris, as well as a capable veteran with an expiring contract in Beno Udrih.
• Many international players in the NBA are looking ahead to FIBA's Eurobasket tournament this summer, Zillgitt writes.

A complete recap of trades that were completed before Thursday's trade deadline:

• The Houston Rockets traded Marcus Morris to the Phoenix Suns and Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, and Toney Douglas to the Sacramento Kings for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt, and a future second-round pick.
• The Miami Heat traded Dexter Pittman and a future second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to Ricky Sanchez and cash considerations.
• The Washington Wizards traded Jordan Crawford to the Boston Celtics for Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade exception and the rights to Georgios Printezis. The Blazers waived Ronnie Price to clear a roster spot for Maynor.
• The Thunder also acquired Ronnie Brewer from the New York Knicks for a future second-round pick.
• The Atlanta Hawks traded Anthony Morrow to the Dallas Mavericks for Dahntay Jones.
• The Suns traded Sebastian Telfair to the Toronto Raptors for Hamed Haddadi and a future second-round pick.
• The Orlando Magic traded J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ishmael Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb.
• In a separate deal, the Magic traded Josh McRoberts to the Charlotte Bobcats for Hakim Warrick. 
• The Golden State Warriors traded Jeremy Tyler to the Hawks for a second-round pick. They also traded Charles Jenkins to the Philadelphia 76ers for an additional second-round pick.

The Magic have agreed to trade J.J. Redick to the Bucks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Milwaukee will send Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, and Tobias Harris to Orlando in the deal (Twitter link). Along with Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith are heading to Milwaukee, tweets Wojnarowski.

After a flurry of Redick rumors leading up to the deadline, the Bucks emerged as the frontrunners in the hours leading up to 2:00pm, as the Spurs, Pacers, and other suitors fell out of the running. While it initially appeared that Milwaukee was targeting Redick to replace Monta Ellis if Ellis was part of a Josh Smith trade, the club ultimately pulled the trigger on Redick anyway, meaning the sharpshooter will join a backcourt that features Ellis and Brandon Jennings.

Meanwhile, the Magic had been seeking a first-round pick in exchange for Redick, but will instead acquire a pair of young prospects in Lamb and Harris, along with Udrih's $7.37MM expiring contract, which will come off the books this summer. According to various reports, the only first-round picks Orlando was offered for Redick would have been very late in the first round. Given the value of draft picks and rookie-scale contracts in the new CBA, teams seemed reluctant to give up any picks better than that.

We'll round up today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with the latest movement on top of the page.

• Two days after re-assigning him to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics have recalled Fab Melo, the team announced today in a press release. The rookie big man had six points and five rebounds in his lone game for the Red Claws this weekend.
• Rockets center Greg Smith has been sent to the D-League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Smith will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for the first time this season after spending 26 games with the Vipers last year. The 6'10" Smith is averaging 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13.9 minutes with the Rockets this season, but lost his spot in the rotation to Cole Aldrich over the past two games.
• The Bucks have recalled rookie Doron Lamb from the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Milwaukee sent him down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants a week ago, and the 6'4" shooting guard has had mixed results in four games since, going scoreless on Wednesday against Sioux Falls and hitting for 24 points last night versus Iowa. In six D-League games over two separate stints, Lamb is averaging 10.3 points in 25.5 minutes per game. He's put up 3.4 PPG in 12.2 MPG with the Bucks, but hasn't seen action in an NBA contest since January 5th, the final game before Jim Boylan took over for Scott Skiles as coach.

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional movement at the top of the page:

• The Heat announced they've re-assigned center Dexter Pittman to the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce. The 6'11" third-year man has seen the vast majority of his playing time with Sioux Falls instead of Miami this season, as he's appeared in 12 D-League games but has logged just 12 NBA minutes. Pittman is averaging 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Skyforce this year.
• The Bucks are sending rookie Doron Lamb to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, Milwaukee announced via Twitter. Lamb, the 42nd overall pick this past June, has seen a fair amount of playing time with the big club this year, averaging 3.4 points in 12.2 minutes per contest in 23 games this season. He's fallen out of favor since Jim Boylan took over as coach for Scott Skiles, however, and hasn't appeared in a game for the Bucks since January 5th. The 6'4" shooting guard took part in two games for the Mad Ants last month, averaging 7.5 points in 24.5 minutes.

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

• The Thunder have re-assigned Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton to the Tulsa 66ers, tweets Adam Zagoria. 
• The Cavaliers have re-assigned Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, the team announced today in a press release. Jones has seen limited action in Cleveland this season, but was very productive in five games for the Charge, averaging 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG.
• Jeremy Tyler has been recalled from the D-League, the Warriors announced today in a press release. Tyler was sent to Santa Cruz yesterday and helped the Warriors' affiliate pull out a 96-95 win over the Erie BayHawks.
• The Bucks have recalled Doron Lamb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the club announced today (Twitter link). After being assigned to the D-League for the first time on January 12th, the rookie appeared in two games, averaging just 7.5 PPG while shooting 22.7% from the floor.

The Milwaukee Bucks have assigned rookie guard Doron Lamb to the NBA D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, reports Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Lamb, drafted by the Bucks in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, has played in 23 games and averaged 3.4 PPG for Milwaukee this season.

While most players' contracts include annual raises, or at the very least, identical annual salaries, Steve Novak's new contract with the Knicks is a little different, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains (Twitter link). Novak's deal starts at a little over $4MM, dips to below $3.5MM by 2014/15, then rises back up to $3.75MM for 2015/16. The unusual structure of the deal provides the Knicks a small amount of savings in the years when the rest of the team's roster will get extremely expensive.

Deeks shared a number of other contract details from around the league, via Twitter, so let's round them up....

• The Spurs' deal with Danny Green is for three fully-guaranteed years and $11,287,500, with no options.
• Andre Miller will earn $5MM in each of the next two seasons with the Nuggets. The third year of his deal is partially guaranteed for $2MM of $4.625MM.

Earlier updates:

• Jason Thompson's five-year deal with the Kings is worth $30,187,500, though year five is only partially guaranteed for $2.65MM.
• According to Deeks, the previously reported figures for Ersan Ilyasova are a little high -- his deal with the Bucks is worth $40MM over five years. The first four years are guaranteed at $7.9MM each, then year five is partially guaranteed for just $400K of $8.4MM.
• Jamal Crawford received the full mid-level for four years from the Clippers, but the final two years of the contract are only guaranteed for $1.5MM each.
• Marcus Camby's contract with the Knicks, $13,151,319 over three years, descends in value, with just $1,025,890 of $4,177,208 guaranteed in the third season.
• Every first-round pick to sign so far has received the full 120% of the rookie scale.
• DeShawn Stevenson will earn $2,240,450 in each year of his three-year deal with the Hawks, though only the first season is guaranteed.
• Kyle Singler's fully-guaranteed deal with the Pistons is worth $3,135,000 over three years, with no options, while Victor Claver's deal with the Trail Blazers is also fully guaranteed and will pay him $4MM over three years.
• Jason Kidd (Knicks; three years, $9.09MM), Ian Mahinmi (Pacers; four years, $16MM), and Gerald Green (Pacers; three years, $10.5MM) all received fully-guaranteed contracts with no option years.
• The Nets' agreement with Reggie Evans is worth $5,086,905 over three years, and is fully guaranteed.
• Hasheem Thabeet's contract with the Thunder appears to be for more than the minimum salary. Deeks pegs the value at three years and $3.65MM, though only the first year and $500K of year two are guaranteed. Oklahoma City will be using either a portion of their mid-level or bi-annual exception for that deal.
• I would guess Thabeet's deal will come out of the MLE, since the Thunder are also using a portion of the mid-level on Hollis Thompson, who signed a three-year minimum-salary contract. Only $75K is guaranteed, however.
• Doron Lamb received a three-year, minimum-salary deal from the Bucks, with the third year nonguaranteed.

The Bucks have signed second-round pick Doron Lamb, according to the Bucks' PR Twitter feed, which attached of Lamb signing his contract.

Lamb was the 42nd-overall pick in the 2012 draft, and will likely receive the rookie minimum from Milwaukee. According to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), the deal is for three years, though I would guess it's mostly non-guaranteed.

With draft night fast approaching, our Tuesday draft rumors post seemed to go on forever, and we're expecting things to be just as busy today. Earlier this morning, we published our second and final mock draft, but given the amount of trade chatter around the league, it wouldn't be surprising if some of our predictions were rendered moot within a matter of hours. We'll follow today's draft-related news and rumors right here, with the latest updates added to the top of the page throughout the day....

• ESPN's Andy Katz tweets that Dion Waiters could now be a possibility for the Cavaliers at the 4th pick.  If Waiters lands in the top 5, his draft stock will have shot up boards over the past few months in historical fashion.

Earlier updates:

• Five of ESPN's draft analysts participated in a rotating mock draft today. 
• Also at ESPN, Chad Ford and Skip Bayless name Austin Rivers and Tyler Zeller as two of the biggest potential busts.  Steven A. Smith joins them to debate whether Rivers is overrated or clutch.
• The Spurs have been able to pull talent out of the second round in the past, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. 
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune identifies Will Barton, John Jenkins and Doron Lamb as three players that have worked out for the Bulls and are realistic possibilities at 29.
• The Knicks have been one of few quiet teams leading up to the draft, but Jared Zwerling put together a Knicks draft primer for ESPN New York.  Al Iannazzone of Newsday offers his take on the Knicks' draft options as well.
• Perry Jones III was in Houston today for his second visit with the Rockets, says Mark Berman of Fox Houston.  Jones III's selection will probably fall somewhere between 12 and 18, where the Rockets have three picks.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star examines the Raptors' trade options with the 8th pick.  With Harrison Barnes likely off the board at 8, Smith thinks the team should either move up to get him or trade out with a teams like the Rockets.
• Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas says that it makes sense for the Mavs to keep their pick because a rookie contract will save them money in comparison to a free agent one.
• Dion Waiters says that he did not get a promise from a team in the lottery, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
• NBA.com's David Alridge tweets the Rockets are still trying to get into the top five tomorrow, with their latest offer being rejected by the Kings who hold the 5th pick.
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has eight players the Magic may target should they keep the 19th pick tomorrow night - point guard and big men seem to be the trend.
• Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune says via Sulia that while the Jazz are still interested in trading into the lottery, it seems unlikely as they are unwilling to overpay to make it happen.
• Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area continues his extensive draft coverage by ranking the draft's power forwards and examing how each player would fit in Golden State.
• ESPN.com's Chad Ford updated his most recent mock draft to reflect today's Bucks/Rockets trade, and conducted a chat with readers in which he answered a ton of draft questions.
• Also at ESPN.com, Andy Katz spoke to a number of this year's top prospects on the eve of the draft.
• Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap told Adam Zagoria of Sheridan Hoops that it's "possible" Charlotte trades down from No. 2, but team president Rod Higgins and GM Rich Cho both said it would take a "really enticing" offer for the 'Cats to move down, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Higgins also said that yesterday's trade for Ben Gordon won't affect the Bobcats' draft plans.
• The Grizzlies don't intend to sell the No. 25 pick, owner Michael Heisley tells Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
• Damian Lillard had a second workout for the Raptors today and said it went much better than his first, tweets Ryan Woltsat of the Toronto Sun.
• In a pair of new mock drafts, SI.com's Sam Amick updates his picks, while at Grantland, Chad Ford and Bill Simmons alternate picks for most of the first round.
• Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News explains why the Warriors have a good chance to end up with Harrison Barnes or Dion Waiters at No. 7, rather than Andre Drummond.
• A source tells Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News that Austin Rivers is a possibility for the Trail Blazers at No. 6 (Twitter link).
• TNT's David Aldridge has Andre Drummond slipping all the way down to No. 16 in his mock draft for NBA.com.
• Nets GM Billy King told reporters there's "no shot" his team will jump into the top six of the draft, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
• Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports and Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio are both hearing that Thomas Robinson will likely go to the Bobcats at No. 2 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to the Cavs at No. 4 (Twitterlinks). Amico suggests the Cavs' rumored deal with the Bobcats could be off, or at least on hold.
• According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter), there could be as many as nine first-round prospects that have received medical red flags. As Givony points out in a series of subsequenttweets, many red-flagged players in the past have had perfectly healthy NBA careers.
• While Thomas Robinson is considered the Bobcats' top target at second overall, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is still very much in the running, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
• The Raptors may have narrowed their draft wish list to three players, but are keeping their options open, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. I'd guess the top three realistic targets for Toronto at No. 8 are Dion Waiters, Damian Lillard, and Austin Rivers, in some order.
• The two lottery picks drawing the most trade interest are the Raptors' at No. 8 and the Kings' at No. 5, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
• ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) has updated his latest mock draft, which sees Michael Kidd-Gilchrist bumped up to fourth overall, to the Cavs.
• According to Nets Daily, TNT's David Aldridge said on NBA TV that the Nets are exploring a way to land a first-round pick and snag Thomas Robinson as a trade chip for Dwight Howard. Given the lack of trade assets Brooklyn currently possesses, I doubt this one gets past the exploratory stage.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes of an increasing possibility that the Bucks could draft a guard at No. 12.
• Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace tells Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that Marquis Teague could have been a 2013 lottery pick if he'd stayed at Kentucky another year. The Grizz are eyeing Teague and others at No. 25, as Tillery writes.