HoopsHype.com Rumors

The Detroit Pistons have announced a contest whereby one fan will win a round trip for two to see the team play the New York Knicks on Jan. 17 in London. Fans who join the Hardwood Club or the Pistons Playmakers clubs by Jan. 1 automatically become entered in the drawing for the three-day excursion. Date the contest winner will be announced is pending. The Hardwood Club is the fan-affinity club tailored for men, and the Pistons Playmakers Club serves the same function for women. Visit www.pistons.com/london for sign-up information. Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, London 

Al Iannazzone: NBA officially announces that the Knicks will be playing a regular season game in London this year, Jan. 17 vs. the Pistons. Twitter @Al_Iannazzone

Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, London 

Luis Scola: "I'm not going to London to get the Falkland Islands back." La Nacion

Houston Rockets, Luis Scola, Argentina, Olympics, London 

No U.S. men's basketball player ever has appeared in four Olympics or won three gold medals. Cross Dwyane Wade off as a candidate to do either. The Miami Heat guard, who won a bronze medal in Athens in 2004 and gold in Beijing in 2008, said Sunday night that 2012 in London will mark his final Olympics. "This is my last run," Wade, 29, said in an interview with FOX Sports Florida. "No chance (Wade will return for another Olympics). No chance at all. Not a chance." FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Olympics, London 

Wade initially had believed he was through after 2008. "I thought I was done after the last one," Wade said. "There are so many great young players in this league, and you want to give everybody an opportunity to be able to play on that stage. And I've been able to play on that stage two times already. I got a chance to win my gold medal so I thought, ‘This is a great way to end it."' FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Olympics, London 

So what convinced Wade to come back for one more Olympics? "All the guys kind of were like, ‘You're playing,"' Wade said of some of his Olympic teammates working him over last year, namely Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and LeBron James. "Melo, CP, Bron, they wouldn't let me think about not playing. So everybody kind of convinced me, ‘We're going to do it again together.' And I told them if they're back in, I'm in." FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Olympics, London 

Josh Robbins: Also of note: The #Magic will play the #Nets in London, England, on March 7 and on March 8. Twitter

New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Lockout, Schedule, London 

Basketball stars from the NBA could play at the handball arena in the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games, according to Olympic Park Legacy Company chief executive Andrew Altman. Altman, speaking on the day players of the Great Britain handball used the facility for the first time, said a range of top-level sports and concerts would fit the 7,500-seat venue, up from 7,000 capacity for the Games, as it will be the third-largest arena in London. Dailymail.co.uk

London 

Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets, will use this two-game road trip to London, to start the process of persuading his new point guard Deron Williams to pledge his long-term future to the team. ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Deron Williams, London 

The Nets owner, speaking before his team played the Toronto Raptors Friday in the first ever NBA regular season game to be played in Europe, revealed he has already had a brief conversation with the former Utah Jazz player. When asked if he was disappointed with the Nets' failure to secure Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, Prokhorov also declared himself "happy" with his team's efforts in acquiring new personnel before last month's trade deadline. ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, Deron Williams, London 

Paul Jones: Many jorunalists and media types agree that it has an All-Star type feel from a media standpoint here in London Twitter

Europe, London 

New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams' status for Friday's landmark game in London against the Toronto Raptors is still up in the air. In a Wednesday morning conference call with reporters, Williams said both his strained right wrist and bruised left hand are still bothering him, and could keep him out of the NBA's first-ever regular season game in Europe. As expected, he sat out Wednesday's practice. "I don't know yet," Williams said. "I don't have either hand, so it's tough." ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Deron Williams, Injuries, Europe, London 

The Raptors will play host to the New Orleans Hornets tonight at the ACC and then head immediately to Lester B. Pearson for an overnight flight to London, England. Toronto will play against the New Jersey Nets on Friday and Saturday at the O2 arena in London before flying home on Sunday morning. FAN590

New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Toronto Raptors, London 

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Thomson Sport - one of the UK’s leading Sports Tour Operators - have agreed a multi-year partnership that makes the travel company the Official Presenting Partner of NBA Games - London 2011 and the NBA’s Official European Fan Travel Partner. Breaking Travel News

Owners, London 

NBA great Clyde Drexler can foresee a league franchise being based in London, maybe even in the next decade. "Clyde the Glide," in the British capital to help promote the first regular-season NBA games to be played in London in March, said Wednesday that basketball has proven itself in Europe and expansion to the continent may just be a matter of time. "Eventually, if the demand continues, that could actually happen," Drexler told The Associated Press. "We're probably 10 years or so away, but that is not too farsighted to happen." USA Today

Clyde Drexler, London