Deadline Day dawns with reports of an active (but not desperate) front office

You know it's Trade Deadline Day when you type capital "H" and it auto-completes to "HBAP."

There's been a little news overnight with here's the update based on news reports, with hours to go before the 3 p.m. deadline.

--The Nets are still in the mix for Josh Smith, with the Bucks the biggest competition followed by the Suns and now apparently the Rockets. There seems little doubt that Hawks GM Danny Ferry will trade the 6'9" power forward by 3 p.m., but he's not getting the offers he hoped for. Although reports have had Smith demanding the max, Sekou Smith of NBA.com reports that is not the case at all. Early Tuesday, both Adrian Wojnarowski and Ken Berger tweeted that Houston is now involved with the Rockets "lingering" at the edge of talks (Woj) and "involved at high level" (Berger) in the talks.

The most serious competition for the Nets remains Milwaukee, with Woj reporting that the Bucks bait is Monta Ellis and Epke Udoh. In addition, he reports, Devin Harris, a Milwaukee native, could be included with Smith.

--The Nets and Celtics are talking about Paul Pierce, as originally reported by Woj. Pierce, the highest scorer in Celtic history and a sure Hall of Famer, is in the last guaranteed year of his contract, being paid more than $15 million. He has a partial guarantee of $4 million for next season.

--The Nets ended discussions with Charlotte on acquiring Ben Gordon, the 6'3" sharpshooter. After Sam Amico of FOX Sports said the Nets and Bobcats in place, the Nets front office quickly denied it and disclosed the deal is dead.

--The Nets made an offer to the Bucks this week for Ersan Ilyasova. Ilyasova hinted this week he would like to have been signed by Brooklyn last season.

The Nets are not desperate. They are after all, 20-10 over the last 30 games, since the December 19 blowout at the Garden (The Knicks are 13-13). Overall, they are 33-22, a game out of first place in the Atlantic Division and on a four-game winning streak, all against playoff teams. They have a proven assassin in Joe Johnson and although Deron Williams is in pain, he is playing through it. Brook Lopez is an all-star.

And do note this: Billy King has been Nets GM at two trade deadlines. He has made three trades involving nine players and four draft picks.

• Smith, Pierce big names linked to Nets - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Vasquez: Nets and their fans need to show patience - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• When it comes to Nets, anything is possible at trade deadline - Mark P. Herrmann - Newsday
  
• Brooklyn Nets Trade Rumors: Nets Make Offer For Paul Pierce - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game