Kevin Garnett earned a technical foul for blowing in the ear of David West on Saturday.

Garnett fouled West, then got in his face and blew in his ear, causing West to push him. The two continued jawing and had to be separated by the officials.

Lance Stephenson famously blew in the ear of LeBron James during last season's playoffs.

The Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings have cooled on their trade talks involving Deron Williams.

The Kings initiated talks with the Nets on a deal for Williams, with Mason Plumlee actually the main target.

With Plumlee struggling and clashing a bit with Lionel Hollins over the first month of the season, the Kings were hoping he might be available. 

The Kings hoped being willing to take on Williams would help get a deal done.

The Nets have no intention of moving Plumlee.

Sacramento was offering a package including Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams.

The Philadelphia 76ers want Andrei Kirilenko to report to the team and begin playing.

Kirilenko and his representatives are resisting the Sixers' overtures, preferring the organization waive Kirilenko and let him become a free agent, sources said.

The 76ers want to establish the value of Kirilenko for a potential deadline trade or to let him reclaim his value for free agency.

Kirilenko wants the balance of the $3.3 million owed to him this season.

The Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets are discussing a deal centered on Deron Williams.

Talks have centered upon Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson for Williams.

Sacramento has significant interest with Williams, but a hurdle to a possible deal is the Kings’ desire to have center Mason Plumlee included into the package, league sources said.

The Nets' partnership with Williams has become increasingly fractured over the past two years, and the idea of a breakup has appeal for both sides, sources tell Yahoo.

Williams has two full years and $43 million-plus left on his contract through the end of the 2017 season.

Brook Lopez is expected to pick up the $16.7 million player option on his contract for next season, according to league executives.

Lopez has reportedly been shopped in trades by the Brooklyn Nets.

The Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers have held preliminary trade talks on Lance Stephenson, according to sources. A deal is not imminent at this point.

The Hornets have been unwilling to attach a draft pick to Stephenson, which would have helped talks with the Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers have also researched Stephenson's time with the Hornets, but aren't serious at this point.

The Hornets signed Stephenson in the offseason.

Brett Brown was upset the Philadelphia 76ers' decision to trade away Brandon Davies in the Andrei Kirilenko deal.

The undrafted second-year player appeared in 71 games over two seasons, averaging 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 13.4 minutes.

"When you start losing people that you are very fond of and have tremendous respect for ... there is a human side of it that bothers me because you are trying to grow chemistry, you are trying to grow a culture," Brown said after Thursday's practice.

"That takes a hit when teammates lose teammates. There is a respect, effort-wise, of how they go about their business. There is a reality to our job that is just business in the NBA, but it doesn't mean it has to feel right."

Davies played in every game before Tuesday, made six starts and averaged 19.0 minutes.

"He is a role player, but we saw him grow his perimeter game," Brown said. "We saw him make some turn-and-face jump shots. He always played with that reckless abandon. He is one of those low-maintenance guys that teams look for who want to have high-character, solid people at the 15, 14, 13 roster spots. I think his better days are ahead of him because he improved with us."

The 76ers could play more small-ball with their makeshift roster.

"There are a lot of moving parts, and there is going to continue to be because it is the nature of our job," Brown said. "Stability is not a word that comes to mind very often with where we are at with the Philadelphia 76ers.

"It is a tremendous challenge to keep the locker room together if they lose a teammate or friend. It is a tremendous challenge to have a semblance of order or purpose on offense or with rules on defense. It is just such a volatile situation at times."

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent guard Darius Morris.

Morris (6’4”, 195) was selected with the 41^st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Morris joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2013-14 season where he appeared in 12 games with Philadelphia, averaging 6.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 16.3 minutes per game before being waived. Morris then signed two 10-day contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers, appearing in 10 games, and one 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, seeing action in five games.

Prior to the start of the 2014-15 season, Morris signed with the Portland Trail Blazers and was among the team’s final cuts. 

The Brooklyn Nets created two traded player exceptions with their deal of Andrei Kirilenko to the Philadelphia 76ers.

One exception if for $3.4 million while the other is for $916,000.

Lance Stephenson has garnered fresh trade inquiries into the Charlotte Hornets’ front office recently and wouldn’t be opposed to a potential move to the Brooklyn Nets, but hopes to remain part of and succeed in his partnership with the Hornets, league sources told RealGM.

Four to five NBA teams have shown an interest to the Hornets on Stephenson, but no deal is imminent, Stephenson has made clear his desire to help propel a turnaround and both sides believe there’s still time to salvage a productive relationship and run with the franchise, sources told RealGM.

In 21 games this season, Stephenson has averaged 10.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 34 minutes per game. He has shot at or near career lows, as a rotation player, from the field (38.7 percent), three-point range (16 percent) and free throw line (67 percent).

Even so, the 6-foot-5 guard has become increasingly comfortable in Charlotte — playing his best basketball of the season so far in December, averaging 16.3 points, six rebounds and 4.3 assists for a 2-1 record.

As a native of Brooklyn, New York, Stephenson attended Lincoln High School in Coney Island. Privately, Stephenson, 24, has unconditional affection for the city and hopes to play for the Nets in the borough at some point in his career.

After a summer headlined by the acquisition of Stephenson to a three-year, $27.4 million deal, the Hornets have gone 6-15 this season under a blend of regression from core players, a return to the bottom tier in points allowed per game after finishing fourth behind Chicago, Indiana and Memphis in 2013-14, and fluctuating trust in the locker room.

As a key contributor toward three consecutive playoff appearances and two in the Eastern Conference Finals, Stephenson found his niche in the league and averaged nearly 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Pacers a season ago. He is in his fifth NBA season out of the University of Cincinnati.