Odds & Ends: Nets, Humphries, Hawks, Olympics

Already this offseason, international outlets have linked the Nets to contract agreements with Andrei Kirilenko and Mirza Teletovic, among others, but GM Billy King cautioned today not to believe everything you read.

"If you go back to summer, we've had a lot of guys that agreed to deals here, and if we'd agreed to all those deals, we wouldn't have room to sign them all," King explained, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "So I think a lot of information gets fed out there, especially international where they just say it. And a lot of times they're doing it because they're negotiating, trying to get a player to Team A in Barcelona, so they want to get out there: 'This guy's going. You want to sign with us;' 'Hey, he's leaving, so you've got to sign here.'"

As we prepare to sift through the free agent rumor mill over the next few weeks, let's round up a few Wednesday afternoon odds and ends from around the league:

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Draft Rumors: Tuesday

With two days remaining until the 2012 draft, we've seen a first-round pick change hands for the first time this offseason, as the Timberwolves agreed to send the 18th overall pick to Houston in exchange for Chase Budinger and the rights to Lior Eliyahu. The general consensus is that the move is the precursor to a bigger deal for the Rockets, and Houston isn't the only team rumored to be shopping picks. Here are today's draft-related rumors, with the newest updates added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted that the Bucks are looking to move into the top 10, and are supposedly targeting John Henson
  • Kennedy says that the Rockets are still trying to acquire another first round pick, most recently in discussions with the Hornets about the 10th pick before talks broke down (Twitter link). He also tweeted that the Lakers and Nets are both looking to acquire a first rounder.  

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Bobcats, Pistons Swap Maggette For Ben Gordon

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted that the Bobcats have acquired Ben Gordon and a lottery-protected first round pick from the Pistons in exchange for Corey Maggette. According to a tweet by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the conditional first-round pick will be lottery protected in 2013, top-eight protected in 2014, first pick-protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Detroit will also receive a trade exception of about $1.3MM in the deal.

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Draft Updates: Monday

A number of the rumors we've already covered today involve the draft in some way, whether it's the Rockets looking to acquire top-10 picks to flip for Dwight Howard, or the Bulls' disinterest in trading Luol Deng for a package that includes the Warriors' No. 7 pick. But there are still so many draft-related odds and ends out there that we'll continue to publish daily Draft Updates posts this week, for the latest news on workouts and rumors about what teams are thinking. Here are today's items, with the newest additions added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • New Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap thinks trading the team's No. 2 pick to strengthen its roster with multiple players makes sense, according to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com).
  • Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says Rockets head coach Kevin McHale is pleased with the depth of talent available in the draft but would like to add another veteran to his current roster.

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Front Office Notes: Magic, Pistons, Thunder, Spurs

As we noted earlier today, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan made his first hire, bringing aboard Pistons executive Scott Perry to replace Dave Twardzik as the team's assistant GM. Hennigan also parted ways with Adonal Foyle, which ESPN.com's John Hollinger suggests (via Twitter) is the clearest indication that Hennigan has total control in Orlando. The Magic were rumored to be grooming Foyle for the GM job down the road, but Hennigan appears to be clearing house and bringing his own people aboard. In Detroit, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, changes are also afoot, so let's check out the details….

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Latest On Clippers GM Search

While the Magic hired Rob Hennigan as their new GM this week, it appears the Clippers will head into the draft without someone to replace Neil Olshey, who jumped to fill the Blazers GM vacancy earlier this month. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says no hire is imminent and no candidate has gone before owner Donald Sterling. Team president Andy Roeser, coach Vinny Del Negro and director of player personnel Gary Sacks are jointly handling the draft and free agency until a GM is found. Roeser and Del Negro have had discussions about possible candidates, and Sacks is one of many names the Clippers are considering, according to three league executives who spoke with Turner. Let's break down the rest of the list:

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Ford On Pistons, Bucks, Lamb, White, Rockets

We've already linked one Friday piece from ESPN.com's Chad Ford in our daily Draft Updates post, but Ford is back with another Insider-only column full of draft news and rumors. Here are his newest items on the Pistons, Bucks, Rockets, and more….

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Draft Updates: Monday

Earlier this morning, we unveiled the first version of our 2012 mock draft, projecting every pick from No. 1 (Anthony Davis) to No. 30 (Quincy Miller). We'll publish one more mock next week, before draft day, and until then, we'll be keeping tabs on all the latest draft-related news and rumors. Here are today's updates, with the newest items added at the top throughout the day….

  • The Pistons have a big workout scheduled for next Monday, with Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller, Meyers Leonard, John Henson, Terrence Jones, and Perry Jones III expected to attend, tweets ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
  • Harrison Barnes and a pair of possible second-round candidates will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, the team announced.

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Odds & Ends: John Henson, Hawks, Perkins

Kevin Durant and the Thunder take on the Heat in a pivotal Game 3 this evening in Miami with the series tied at one game a piece. With his 68 points through the first two games of the Finals, Durant trails only Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan for the most points in a player's first two career Finals games. Let's check in on the latest news and stories making headlines from around the league as the Heat look to improve on their 1-2 record in Games 3s during the 2012 playoffs…

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Draft Updates: Saturday

Harrison Barnes and Bradley Beal go head-to-head in a workout today for the Cavs that could determine who the team takes with the fourth overall pick. We'll be keeping an eye on that, as well as all other draft-related news with a dozen days to go until teams make their selections. Already today we've heard some news regarding teams shopping their picks from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, and there's plenty more to share here. We'll update this post throughout the day, with the latest news on top.

Earlier updates:

  • Syracuse center Fab Melo tells HoopsWorld's Stephen Litel that he is emulating Tim Duncan in his style of play.
  • Morley Quatroche of WEEI.com looks at Miles Plumlee as a potential draft target for the Celtics.
  • Paul Coro of AZCentral.com says that the Suns are looking to improve their offense in the draft.
  • Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looks at a handful of guards who have worked out for the Bucks recently.
  • Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.com talks to Iona's Scott Machado, who is attempting to raise his profile ahead of the draft.

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