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)

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.

Reggie Miller: Although I'm disappointed not to be included on this year's HOF ballot, I sincerely wish the best of luck to this year's Class of Finalists, all of whom I admire and respect greatly.

Nick Collison: Someone is "making it rain". I won't hesitate to grab a 20 dollar bill and pocket it. #recession #lockout.

LeBron James: Wish I had a chance to meet Michael Jackson before he passed! Amazing at what he did! #globalicon

Amir Johnson: You think Roscoe's gone run out of chicken and waffle batter this weekend??? #OnlyinLA

J.R. Smith: In the airport an this dude asked me am I traveling!

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

In a few short months, Blake Griffin(notes) has become the hottest thing going in NBA circles by virtue of his rim-rattling dunks. His presence brings an electricity to arenas around the league, and he's made the Clippers relevant for the first time in years.

However, Griffin has a low profile off the court. Needing a dose of personality for his public image, Griffin partnered with MySpace Comedy for a series of interviews that bring you the man behind the dunks.

These are parody interviews, but they very clearly bring across what Griffin's like away from basketball. He's humble, friendly, and blessed with a pretty darn impressive sense of comedic timing. He's obviously patterned his style after Will Ferrell, but no one ever said influence is the same as stealing someone's style.

Check out the clip above and view the rest of the videos at MySpace. Social networking is the wave of the future!

This is a glorious morning for basketball fans. With the All-Star Game festivities set to start in mere hours, we are on the cusp of the moment of the season. I speak not of the Rookie Game, or even the silly NBA list that TNT will show tomorrow afternoon instead of HORSE, but the Celebrity Game, set to air on ESPN at 4 PM local time in Los Angeles. Yes, it's the only event from the weekend to air live on ESPN, likely because the Worldwide Leader blew their full budget getting this competition. And who could blame them?

This year's Celeb Game is perhaps the most interesting in history, and not just because it's taking place in the home of the Dream Factory. With best-selling author Bill Simmons and third-place talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel acting as "general managers," we could see some wild twists and turns. It's unclear exactly what these roles mean or how they'll function, but my guess is that Simmons will offer Kimmel 40 trades by the end of the first quarter and peer-pressure his

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.

Chris Douglas-Roberts: Once you graduate or drop out off highschool, your phone should not have ringtones anymore.

Spencer Hawes: Just saw a bush cheney 04 sticker on a jeep in downtown houston. I love Texas. So american.

Larry Sanders: I wanna change my name to aqua man but verified accounts won't let me..bummer!

Ed Davis: My name is Cortez from here on out

Ron Artest: i just got a call from from jesus he says you are the worst player in the history of the game but i love you thanks jesus

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