The Brooklyn Nets have reassigned Tornike Shengelia to the Springfield Armor, the Nets’ NBA Development League affiliate.  

Shengelia rejoins the Armor having played in 13 games for the Nets this season, averaging 1.4 points and 4.2 minutes. In his previous two assignments to Springfield, he played in three games, averaging 28.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 41.3 minutes. For his efforts, he was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on Jan. 28. 

Deron Williams received a third set of cortisone injections in both ankles Thursday and expects to receive an additional dose before the playoffs.

“It’s what I’m used to all season,” Williams said after shooting 5-for-17 in a106-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
“At the start of the game, they felt as good as they’ve felt. As the game goes on, they get weaker and weaker,” said Williams who acknowledged lift on his shot is pretty much the stuff of dreams. “I’m just kind of used to that set shot all year because I know they’re going to hurt. And that’s not how I shoot. It’s tough to get out of that mentality.”

Williams doesn’t want to miss any more games after sitting out two earlier this month.

“It’s tough because we’re in a position where we lose a couple games we slip to sixth or seventh [in the East],” Williams said. “We win a couple and we’re up to second so I need to be out there as much as possible.”

Billy King said on a radio show Friday that Joe Johnson will miss the Brooklyn Nets' game against the Houston Rockets due to some plantar fasciitis that the veteran guard suffered earlier this week.

"It's going to be day-to-day," King said. "It's better than it was two days ago. So they've got him on medication and I expect it to be much better tomorrow, and then we'll see where he is Sunday. If it's still where it's tender and sore, we may keep him out because this is a marathon we are trying to finish, not a sprint."

King is not concerned about the severity of Johnson's foot injury.

"No, I'm not," King said. It's something that if this was a playoff game, he'd probably push it. But with it not being [one], we are going to be a little cautious on it."

The Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks are scheduled to pay the luxury tax this season.

The Bulls have never previously paid the luxury tax and were unable to shed salary at the deadline.

The Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are less than $1 million away from the tax threshold.

The Warriors traded away Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins on Thursday to get under the tax. Golden State has never paid the luxury tax in franchise history.

The Lakers will have the largest luxury tax bill, as they currently are nearly $30 million over the threshold, while the Celtics are over by less than $1 million.

The Boston Celtics reportedly called the Brooklyn Nets in regards to Paul Pierce trade with a high asking price.

The Celtics sought MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, Kris Humphries and two future first round picks for Pierce.

The Nets also worked on a deal for Josh Smith.

Deron Williams has battled ankle issues this season, and P.J. Carlesimo was adamant on Thursday that his point guard will have to battle through the pain the remainder of the year.

"The reality is he’s not gonna be 100 percent this year," Carlesimo said. "... His ankles are not good at all."

Williams has averaged 16.9 points on just 40.6 percent shooting and 7.6 assists this season.

Williams missed the Brooklyn Nets' final two games before the All-Star break last week in order to rest his ankles.

The Brooklyn Nets are not interested in acquiring Ben Gordon.

Reports had linked the Nets to a trade that would send Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks to the Charlotte Bobcats for Gordon.

The Brooklyn Nets have held trade talks with the Boston Celtics on a deal for Paul Pierce, according to sources.

The Nets are offering Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and a first round pick for Pierce.

But the Celtics reportedly want more for Pierce if they are to trade him.

"The Celtics still highly value Pierce and it wouldn't make sense to trade him for that kind of a package if they're keeping Kevin Garnett," one league source said.

The Celtics are interested in Mirza Teletovic and possibly an additional first rounder.

Pierce has spent his entire career with the Celtics, but has been mentioned in trade talks as recently as last season with the Nets as well.

The Atlanta Hawks continue to shop Josh Smith to multiple teams.

The Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns have been most active in discussions for Smith.

Smith will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and will seek a max contract.

The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have also been mentioned in trade talks, but are considered longshots.

Most observers expect trade activity to stall until the Smith situation is resolved, or the deadline approaches.

The Brooklyn Nets have the biggest increase in local television ratings from the 10-11 NBA season at 262 percent, though they still rank in the bottom-five in terms of average rating.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers round out the top-five in terms of increase.

The Thunder have increased by 207 percent and have the highest average rating at 8.6.

The Knicks have the largest average number of households at 254,000, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at 234,800 and Chicago Bulls at 115,300.

The Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers are in the bottom-five in terms of number of homes.

The Bobcats receive just 7,200 viewers on average.