NBA Offseason Is a Series of Tweets Crying Wolf

There have been a lot of NBA rumors floating around on Twitter during the offseason.

There has been a flurry of activity around the league leading up to the start of the 2011-12 season with the trade market buzzing and the free-agent market exploding, but some of the information has been a bit misleading for hoop junkies looking for breaking news.

We're in an era of real-time news and updates, and unfortunately, that can sometimes lead to false information being spread.

Hornets Can Only Have One of Eric Gordon or 2012 Minnesota 1st-Round Pick

Before the Chris Paul trade to the Clippers became official, the Clippers were insisting that the Hornets only have one of Eric Gordon or the T-Wolves first round draft pick in 2012.

When the deal went through, the Hornets had both in exchange for Paul.

Some things can change rather quickly in trade negotiations.

Chris Paul to the Lakers Back on

Paul was traded to the Lakers, and then Commissioner David Stern killed the deal.

After that, the three teams were said to be reconfiguring the deal and submitting it to the league office in order to get something done.

It fell apart for a second time, and the Lakers obviously never made the trade.

Pacers, Grizzlies Talking Mayo for McRoberts

These two teams almost had a trade consummated at last season's deadline that would've seen the two players listed above swapping places, but it didn't get done in time for the deadline.

The two teams were going to revisit those talks, and there was a lot of speculation on Twitter that a deal had already been agreed upon, but obviously, that never happened.

McRoberts signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers as an unrestricted free agent.

David West to the Celtics

West was a member of the Boston roster. The contract numbers were released, and everyone was preparing to see the veteran forward in a Celtics uniform.

His sign-and-trade deal was held up due to the controversy surrounding Paul's trade limbo, and as a result, the Pacers swooped in and signed him to a two-year deal.

Indiana had the cap space available that Boston did not.

Dwight Howard Requests a Trade out of Orlando

Howard wanted to get out of Orlando, and many thought that a deal was coming.

In fact, the Nets were preparing a four-team "blockbuster" offer that Howard's camp was expecting to be a "done deal."

Now, he'll remain with the team for the foreseeable future and has been taken off the trade market.

The thing about rumors is that every season there will always be at least one that proves false, but it's been especially crazy in such an expedited offseason due to the lockout.

Reporters have a job to do, and the sources feeding them information also have a job to accomplish.

It's a cyclical process, but sometimes it can result in frustration for fans.

The whirlwind of basketball activity has only just begun, as the season is less than two full weeks away from tipping off.

Real, live NBA basketball for the first time since the 2011 finals.

It's about time.