The Denver Nuggets are pushing an offer of J.J. Hickson and JaVale McGee for Brook Lopez.

The Brooklyn Nets have been firm in their refusal to take the offer.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are making Mo Williams available in trade talks.

Williams signed with the Wolves in the offseason and the club is looking for draft pick compensation.

Williams scored 52 points on Jan. 13.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were close to trading Reggie Jackson to the Denver Nuggets, according to a source.

Jackson is reportedly expected to be moved before the trade deadline.

The Toronto Raptors have struggled of late, which has led to Dwane Casey to move Terrence Ross to the bench with DeMar DeRozan sliding to small forward and Greivis Vasquez starting at shooting guard.

Ross is not on the trading block, however, according to league sources.

“Absolutely  not,” one rival executive told Sporting News. “They still have a lot of belief in him and there is not much you could do to get him from them.”

The Detroit Pistons are considering a trade with the Miami Heat for Norris Cole following the season-ending injury to Brandon Jennings.

There's nothing imminent at this point and talks have been described as "exploratory," sources said.

Jennings tore his Achilles last week.

Cole will be a free agent in the offseason. In 39 games this season, Cole is averaging 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23 starts.

The Brooklyn Nets have pursued trade scenarios involving Brook Lopez, but his preference is to remain with the franchise.

Lopez has a player option for the 15-16 season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the teams purusing a trade for Lopez.

The Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets have restarted trade discussions that involve Joe Johnson, according to sources.

The Hornets and Nets are discussing a larger package that would likely include Lance Stephenson, Gerald Henderson and Marvin Williams.

Charlotte owner Michael Jordan has been intrigued with the possibility of Johnson, who has struggled recently with tendinitis.

The Phoenix Suns have made clear to Archie Goodwin and around the NBA that the franchise has the second-year guard as a cornerstone of its future, shutting down interested suitors, league sources told RealGM.

Whenever contacted with interest from major- and minor- market teams, the Suns have shown no willingness to move Goodwin, promising that he’s a major part of their talent core.

“Archie doesn’t want out of Phoenix,” Goodwin’s agent, Charles Briscoe, told RealGM on Wednesday. “His words have been twisted in a recent article. We’re willing to wait for Archie’s opportunity. Any player in the NBA wants to play immediately, but we understand that Phoenix is in a playoff push. If we have to wait for next year, we’re OK with that. We know he will get his opportunity, and he’ll be ready.”

Phoenix acquired Goodwin with the 29th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, a talented 6-foot-5 player drafted onto a roster that already had backcourt depth, and the plan had always been to fully incorporate him into the rotation by his third season in the league.

At 20 years old, Goodwin came into training camp with an elevated workout regimen, improved basketball shape and a thirst to crack the Suns’ rotation. In 12 appearances this season, he has averaged 3.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.8 minutes a game.

Goodwin was sent to the Suns’ Development League affiliate, Bakersfield, before the Showcase and won the event’s MVP while scoring 70 points and grabbing 17 rebounds over three games. He has several more D-League appearances scheduled the remainder of the season to continue receiving repetitions and playing time in Phoenix’s system.

Goodwin entered the NBA after one season at Kentucky, where he averaged 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 33 games.

There is a season that many league executives would prefer to move the trade deadline up in the NBA's calendar in order to give teams more time to integrate new players.

A later trade deadline gives teams ample opportunity to determine whether they are buyers or sellers.

The deadline also follows All-Star Weekend, which gives many executives the opportunity to conduct business in person.

Some executives have already pitched the idea of an earlier deadline in informal discussions with league officials.

A few NBA teams have placed interest in Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington, but the 24-year-old sharpshooter has been made largely unavailable from trade inquiries as a core part of the franchise’s long-term plans, league sources told RealGM.

Since signing a contract with the 76ers on Nov. 15, Covington has arguably been the team’s most consistently productive player, with a skill set that’s able to translate throughout the league’s 30 teams.

Over 31 games and 19 starts this season, Covington is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 27.2 minutes per game. He is a 39.2 percent shooter from three-point range, making 2.2 over 5.5 attempts a game.

The 76ers will have strong odds to land Covington into the rookie-sophomore Rising Stars Challenge game at All-Star weekend, along with K.J. McDaniels, Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Among second-year players, Covington ranks first in three-pointers per game, fifth in points behind Victor Oladipo, Carter-Williams, Shabazz Muhamad and Trey Burke and fifth in steals behind Noel (2013 Draft class, rookie), Oladipo, Shane Larkin and Carter-Williams.

As un undrafted forward out of Tennessee State in 2013, Covington landed with the Houston Rockets on a multi-year deal that summer. He was released in training camp this season, before turning into a valuable signing for Philadelphia.