Dwight Howard's decision to waive his early termination option and remain in Orlando may have surprised his agent, writes Ken Berger of CBS Sports. According to Berger, Dan Fegan was "telling anyone and everyone that Dwight was Brooklyn-bound." D12's unexpected decision is a reminder that no one knows exactly what a player is thinking, Berger says, pointing out that the same goes for Deron Williams, who will explore free agency this summer.
Here are a few more notes out of the Atlantic Division:
- Speaking of Williams, he told reporters, including Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Post, that he's looking forward to the Nets' new arena in Brooklyn: "[The Barclays Center] is going to be state of the art, it's going to be the best arena in the NBA hands down. I’m excited to see it when it’s complete and hopefully play there."
- Nothing that happens for the rest of this season will affect Williams' decision on whether or not to sign with the Nets this summer, tweets Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger.
- Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo thinks Mike D'Antoni will return to the sidelines soon, but says it won't happen for his team, according to Mark Hale and Marc Berman of the New York Post. Colangelo says the Raptors are "in the first year of what I hope will be a long-term relationship" with coach Dwane Casey.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com fields reader questions in a mailbag focused on potential free agent pickups for the Celtics.
- Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com wonders if Boris Diaw, who agreed to a buyout with the Bobcats, could be a candidate to sign with the Celtics.