Billy King took it on the chin Wednesday, first with the Yahoo! Sports report (later denied) that Deron Williams won't return unless the Nets sign Dwight Howard, then losing the team's first round pick in the Lottery. In between, Chad Ford called for him to be fired for the Gerald Wallace trade and fans excoriated him.

If it bothered the Nets GM, he didn't show it. He continued to sell the lure of Brooklyn, taking a top agent on a tour of Barclays Center in the afternoon, one of several tours he hopes will familiarize agents with the progress of the arena. Later at the Lottery, he again defended the trade, saying Wallace would hold more value for the Nets "win now" philosophy than anyone taken at #6. He also took some pride in his own record of finding gems late in the Draft.

But his biggest and boldest comments came in a SocialCam hit, in which he told fans, "We’re going to re-sign Gerald Wallace, and we’re going to re-sign Deron Williams," adding, "We have a lot of scenarios where we'll sign veteran players. Our goal is never to be back here."

• NETS: Probabilities Hold at Lottery, Pick to Portland - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets