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2014 NBA trade deadline date is February 20.

NBA Rumors for Friday, Dec. 13

InsideHoops NBA rumors updated 10:00 a.m. ET. More NBA rumors stories and other news also appears on the InsideHoops basketball blog.

Within the span of 15 hours, the Knicks had reached a decision to acquire Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry before the trade was vetoed — at least for now — by Garden chairman James Dolan, the Daily News has learned. According to a source familiar with the talks, Dolan had second thoughts about trading for Lowry and was also — what else? — enraged that details of the proposed deal had been leaked to the media. NY Daily News

According to several reports, the Knicks were prepared to trade Raymond Felton and Metta World Peace plus Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr. or a 2018 first-round pick. The Raptors preferred the first-round pick, but Dolan — who negotiated the Carmelo Anthony trade with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri when Ujiri was with the Denver Nuggets — got cold feet about trading a future asset. That could open the door for the Brooklyn Nets to acquire Lowry instead. NY Daily News

Knicks brass met following Wednesday’s win over Chicago and had decided to move forward with the deal, but by early Thursday afternoon, Dolan suddenly had second thoughts. NY Daily News

“There are two problems,” the source said. “Dolan didn’t like that someone from his group leaked it to the media, and the other problem is the Knicks seem to have too many (people) involved with making decisions.” NY Daily News

Any deal for Lowry would almost assuredly include the struggling Felton, who is expected to be sidelined for 2-3 weeks with a strained hamstring. There are conflicting reports about whether the Knicks would be willing to include Shumpert in the deal. NY Daily News

As for Hardaway Jr., both Dolan and head coach Mike Woodson want to keep the Knicks’ 2013 first-round pick. The Knicks have no reservations about trading World Peace, who has a player option for the 2014-15 season. Ujiri, who is scouting in Turkey, prefers a first-round pick because Felton has a long-term contract. NY Daily News

The 76ers’ starting center, Hawes will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He’s making $6.5 million in the final season of a two-year contract the Sixers gave him in 2012. Based on the way he’s been playing, it’s likely Hawes could command a hefty raise this summer. Whether that comes from the Sixers, or someone else, isn’t Hawes’ choice to make. Delaware Times

“I’m not the one making those decisions,” Hawes said the other day after practice, “but the foundation here, I like what (Sixers coach Brett Brown and his staff) are doing and the way they’re trying to not only change the on-the-court stuff but also the whole organization and model it toward development and a foundation moving forward consistently.” Delaware Times

So do the Sixers give him the kind of big-money contract that he will have earned based on a stellar 2013-14 season? Do they trade him at the deadline, and recoup something off the free-agent-to-be? Or do they let him walk at the end of the season? Hawes isn’t allowing himself to get caught up in the what-ifs. Delaware Times

Was it a flop or not? Last summer, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gave Southern Methodist University more than $100,000 to try to answer that question scientifically. On Thursday, SMU biomechanics expert Peter Weyand demonstrated the early stages of his flopping research to a small group of journalists. Flopping is when an athlete fakes a fall to trick referees into calling a foul on an opponent. The behavior is prevalent in sports such as basketball and soccer. It’s an especially sore point with fans. Dallas Morning News

“In regular life, people tend to dislike dishonest people, and the same thing goes for basketball,” said Jeff Lenchiner, editor of the NBA news site InsideHoops.com. “It’s dishonesty expressed physically, and it’s considered an insult to the game.” In one compilation of flops posted to YouTube involving Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, an outraged spectator calls the behavior “a disease” and a mark of cowardice, “bad sportsmanship and horrible acting.” Dallas Morning News

Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow (12/13) to address a torn ligament in his right wrist. A timetable for his return will be determined following the procedure. O’Neal, who did not play in last night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to a sprained right wrist, has appeared in 17 games this season (one start), averaging 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per contest. InsideHoops

Lakers guard Steve Blake had an MRI and was examined today by team doctor Steve Lombardo and Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Blake was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He is expected to be out a minimum of six weeks. Blake suffered the injury in the second half of the Lakers @ Washington game on November 26. In 21 games this season (21 starts), Blake is averaging 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 31.8 minutes. InsideHoops

The Nets are still far from healthy; Kidd hinted before the game that Andrei Kirilenko could be out until January with back problems, and Brook Lopez aggravated an ankle injury that could cause him to miss Friday's game in Detroit, when the winning streak will be tested against the big Pistons. But even with the Lopez news, there were no lowered heads in the Nets locker room. For the time being, they do indeed seem to have a new lease on their season. ESPN NY

The Brooklyn Nets' unusual decision to banish Lawrence Frank last week led to an entertaining parody blog and probably the most coverage of an assistant-coaching change in league history. But that decision seems to have resulted in an unexpected pivot point for the Nets, who have leveraged it as a way to restart their season. Thursday, they beat a tired Los Angeles Clippers team 102-93 to assemble their first three-game win streak and looked like a completely different team than the one that was embarrassed by 30 points against the New York Knicks a week earlier. The Frank change has acted like a shock to the system. Combined with the return of Deron Williams from injury and the move to put Paul Pierce in a reserve role, the Nets are actually showing some promise. ESPN NY

It's unfair to brand Frank a scapegoat, though with his $6 million contract and a new, high-powered lawyer, he will eventually be well compensated for his troubles. Rookie coach Jason Kidd could have easily made all the changes that are now working with Frank still sitting to his left, but at the end of the day, Kidd is the boss. ESPN NY

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