When LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) teamed up this summer, the assumption was that each would sacrifice individual success for the greater glory of the team. That's only been partially true: While Bosh has seen his numbers dip considerably, James and Wade are both among the league-leaders in scoring and remain serious MVP candidates.

However, not every member of the Heat thinks their stars deserve the honor. Like Juwan Howard(notes), for instance. From Nick Friedell at ESPNChicago.com:

"I'm not even being politically correct, normally guys say I'm giving it to LeBron, but honestly I'll give it to [Derrick Rose(notes)]," Howard said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "If he stays on this pace that he's on right now, he's got my vote if I was part of the committee."

Howard doesn't have a vote for the award, which is voted on by a select group of media, but the veteran does have a logical explanation for bypassing James.

"Derrick Rose has done a

Since they entered the league six years ago, Deron Williams(notes) and Chris Paul(notes) have been joined at the hip as the NBA's Next Great Point Guards. They reached that level several years ago, at which point the narrative shifted to deciding which was the best point guard in the league and which was more of a winner. That discussion has been rendered somewhat moot this season with the emergence of Derrick Rose(notes), but the fact remains that Williams and Paul have been compared forever (i.e. six years).

As such, they have a bond and respect each other. So it should come as little surprise that Paul thinks the Jazz made a bad move in trading Deron to New Jersey.

If you find it a little weird that CP3 is tweeting at Deron's personal assistant and not the man himself, please note that Williams is not on Twitter. Which, on a day like today, might be for the best.

It's easy to see why Paul might feel bad about this deal apart from the specifics of the swap. The Hornets and Jazz

At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Who said I don't want Marcus Camby(notes) on the team?! That's my guy he makes me better and the team!

Hassan Whiteside: I swear im goin to piss a happy meal off If Rihanna don't change that hair color I'm goin to lose it ..... lookin lik Ronald McDonald lol

Jeff Pendergraph: Anybody know if Lacey Chabert has a twitter? Trying to see if I can get a date lol

Brandon Jennings: The Knicks are Back, Miami Is Back, Bulls are Back, remind me of the 90's. Great For The NBA. If you ask me

Kevin Durant: Watching Dante's Peak...one of my favorite movies everrrr

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

Blazers guard Patrick Mills is often described as the latest in a reasonably long line of Australian players in the NBA that includes Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut(notes) and Andrew Gaze. It's a new, growing hotbed for hoops products, and Mills is helping to raise the sport's profile in the country. Pretty soon the NBA will see its first kangaroo, or maybe even a really big chazwazer.

The reality of Mills' heritage is much more complicated, though. As noted in an excellent profile by Matt Calkins in The Columbian, the story of Mills' mother is tied to one of the most terrible moments in the history of Australia:

"Unless someone asks me, it's not a subject I talk about much," Mills said.

The subject pertains to his Indigenous Australian heritage, more specifically his Aboriginal mother, Yvonne, who as a 2-year-old was taken from her mother along with her older brother and three older sisters. The abduction was part of a national effort led by the Australian government and church missions

As you've probably heard by now, the NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon. It's a hectic time for many teams around the league as they try to sort of their short-term and long-term futures. For the most part, though, these teams go about their regular business as best they can, maintaining regular preparation rituals like practices and shootarounds.

Apparently no one told that to the New Jersey Nets, who canceled practice Tuesday to deal with ongoing speculation surrounding Devin Harris(notes) and others. From Ryan Jones at SB Nation New York (via Eye on Basketball):

With the front office trying to regroup from their failed attempt to reel in Anthony, the Nets canceled practice on Tuesday.

The team doesn't want to return to the court until they know where their players stand, specifically point guard Devin Harris, who has been mentioned to be going everywhere from Atlanta to Portland. [...]

While they don't play before the trade deadline, the Nets are still planning on practicing

NBA fans have seen many Europeans come to the league over the last decade without making a Nowitzkian or Gasolesque impact: Sarunas Jasikevicius, Sergei Monia, Jiri Welsch, Maciej Lampe, and Aleksandr Radojevic are just five of many. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise -- there are few true stars in the league, and foreign countries should be capable of producing uninspiring fringe prospects just like America can.

Every so often, though, one of these players finds a way to distinguish himself in the league even as his career peters out. For Predrag Drobnjak, a native of Montenegro who spent four seasons as a big man with the Sonics, Clippers and Hawks from 2001 to 2005, that fame came in the form of what is undoubtedly the greatest individual player website of all time. It's called Drobnjak's Manjaks, and it features ramshackle Flash animation worthy of a Michel Gondry project.

Drobnjak retired last week after 19 years in professional basketball. While he may not have lit the

Los Angeles Clippers rookie forward Blake Griffin(notes) has overshadowed all others on the highlight reels of this NBA season with his powerful dunks and general dominance of opponents at the rim. When he was announced as a participant in this year's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, he became the instant favorite.

Not surprisingly, Griffin came away victorious on Saturday night, defeating Wizards' center JaVale McGee(notes) in the finals by way of an online vote from the fans. Above, watch the dunk that clinched it, a flying slam over the hood of a Kia Optima with a pass from teammate Baron Davis(notes) through the sunroof.

Truth be told, this wasn't even the best dunk of the finals by Griffin, let alone the best of the night overall. But when "coach" Kenny Smith brought out the Crenshaw Select Choir to sing R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," it became a memorable moment, one that will be tied to Griffin for the rest of his career. Griffin appears to be on his way to a great deal of

The NBA's Rookie/Sophomore Game is usually a mess of flubbed passes with a complete and utter lack of defense. It can get dull for viewers at times, but then every so often someone pulls off a play you've never seen in your life, like Jason Williams's elbow pass from 2000.

Tonight, John Wall(notes) and Blake Griffin(notes) connected for such a moment, one that's now the current frontrunner for the top highlight of the weekend: a bounce-pass alley-oop from Wall that Griffin finished with an emphatic reverse. Minds were blown and hearts were attacked.

It's really the perfect basketball play to unite fans of all types. Purists can appreciate the artful simplicity of a well-played bounce pass, and anyone under the age of 75 can appreciate all the other awesome parts. Everyone wins!

(Original video via @jose3030)