Odds & Ends: Hickson, Nets, Spurs, Granger

J.J. Hickson has rebounded from the ups and downs of off-court life, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.  Hickson inked a three-year, $16.15MM deal – the full mid-level exception – with the Nuggets over the summer.  More from around the league..

• Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that it’s “highly doubtful” that the Nets will wind up using the Disabled Player’s Exception if they are granted it by the league.  The Nets, of course, have lost Brook Lopez for the year.
• Now on assignment from the Spurs, Malcolm Thomas is still impressing in the D-League, writes Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside.  Thomas was averaging 33.5 points on 62.2% shooting from the floor in his memorable two game stint for the D-Fenders before being picked up by San Antonio.  Now with the Austin Toros, Thomas isn’t putting up numbers that are quite as gaudy, but he’s still looking strong.
• Pacers president Larry Bird is less-than-thrilled with Danny Granger‘s work ethic during the offseason, writes Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star.  “He doesn’t work hard enough (in the offseason),” Bird said. “He’s not a guy who’ll push himself to the brink like a lot of our guys do. He works hard but he doesn’t push himself. That’s why he starts slow every year and he just works his way back. Now this year, he’s been hurt, so it’s a different deal.“
• Jazz rookie Trey Burke spoke with Sekou Smith of NBA.com about dealing with expectations, patience, and what he learned from his time spent with Jazz legend John Stockton.
• David Alarcon of HoopsHype catches up with Italian prospect Alessandro Gentile.  Gentile is pegged to go in the middle of the second round in DraftExpress‘ 2014 mock.