New Wizards forward Mike Miller(notes) recently wore LeBron James’ Nike Zoom Soldier III kicks to practice and was told (jokingly, we think) by teammate DeShawn Stevenson(notes), "We don’t wear these around here." (You, Abe Lincoln … no one!)

James response? Whatever, dude.

From Bob Finnan at The News-Herald:

"Mike is a good friend of mine," said James. "He named his son after my best friend, Maverick (Carter). We have a good history."

James said Miller should lace up his sneakers, though.

"For an unathletic white guy, these are the best shoes to wear," James said [echoing Miller's previous comments].

Two things to love about this trivial exchange, and Shoals does a bang up job of laying ‘em out:

For one, Stevenson is now sustained solely by his imaginary rivalry with LeBron. Gil and LeBron is one thing, but with some perspective, it’s pretty amazing that we even humored this one in the first place.

Second, how is it that ‘Bron and Miller are such good friends? I know Miller was rumored to go to the Cavs at one point, and as this photo demonstrates, they were in the Tournament of the Americas together. I guess that’s all it took.

And if I may add a third: How fast can we get Brian Cardinal in a pair of LeBron’s kicks?

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Want a bold statement necklace? Check out this chunky twisted-silver-luxe-necklace.

Want just a bold statement? Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes his team is as good — nay, better — than the one that went to the NBA Finals in 2006.

The Dallas Observer and Dallas Basketball spill Cuban’s blue and green Kool Aid:

"The feeling and the buzz in our locker room is off the charts, literally the best it’s been in a good five years," Cuban told Richie Whitt and Newy Scruggs on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas Tuesday morning. (Note: Mavericks talk starts about a quarter of the way in.)

"Every guy here that was a part of that Finals run thinks we have a much better team. It’s not even close. If you compare rosters we’re a far better team than that Finals team. We’re deeper. More athletic. Defensively and offensively we have more flexibility. This year it’s like ‘Oh my goodness.’ Guys are fired up. It’s a whole different feeling. I’m excited."

He wasn’t kidding.

"Trust me, Mavs fans," Cuban warns at the end of the interview. "If we stay healthy, this is a good, good, team. I never make predictions. But our top 12 guys are off-the-charts compared to where we’ve been in the past."

While I don’t doubt this year’s Mavs are more talented (on paper, at least) than the ‘06 version — quickly, ‘09-10 team: Dirk, Josh Howard(notes), Terry, Kidd, Marion, Gooden, Quinton Ross(notes), JJ Barea, Dampier vs. ‘06 Finals team: Dirk, Josh, JET, Stackhouse, Marquis Daniels(notes), Devin Harris(notes), Diop, Van Horn — Cuban forgets to mention that the rest of West has gotten better over the years too. Much, much better.

In ‘06 it was the Spurs, Suns and Mavs. That’s basically it.

Today, it’s the Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers, Rockets, Hornets, Mavs and, well, maybe the Suns.

Has Dallas done enough to contend for the title once again? I’m not convinced. But what do you think?

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Via Peachtree Hoops, Hawks forward Marvin Williams(notes) shows a panda skull to some fascinated kids at Sunday’s NBA Cares Event at Zoo Atlanta. Best caption/imaginary conversation wins a black-and-white-ruffled lemur. Good luck.

After the jump, Rooster radio.

Winner, tayshaundominayshaun:
Reporter: "So, how do you feel about the summer of 2010?"
Gallinari: "I’m confident Lebron will be in a Knicks uniform by then."
Reporter: "So you know that you two play the same position right? What does that mean for you?"
Gallinari: "Oh uhh … I hadn’t thought about that. Damn."

Co-runner-up, Roger Mason(notes) Jr. = Hero:
Gallinari: "And … you stay classy San Diego!"
Reporter: "Good lord, more anchorman quotes?"
Gallinari: "You Americans think this is funny yes? Baxter die and I am so sad. Look at my sad face."
Reporter: "Wow, let’s go find Eddy Curry(notes), at least there’s a story. He’s either getting an MRI or at China Buffet, right?"

Co-runner-up, airicow:
Hi eHarmony, my name is Danilo Gallinari(notes). I am 6′10" and I play for the New York Knicks. I just turned 21, so I can legally drink now. I am looking for a good looking willing girl, very lenient on the good looking, to accompany me to the local pub to drink away my sorrows. Did I mention I play for the New York Knicks?

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"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" director Ang Lee attended Wednesday’s preseason matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers in Taipei, Taiwan. While he certainly enjoyed the game, he couldn’t help thinking that one minor change could make things a little more exciting. Trees!

Cheers, Trey.

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Far be it for the NBA blogosphere’s resident Anglophile to
have a go at a litany of limeys trying to call an NBA game, but even this
plonker has to admit that this was pretty bad.

Ruddy awful, as it were.

The BBC threw out a couple of radio presenters, Mark
Pougatch and Colin Murray, hoped their familiarity with the sports world in
general would prove fruitful in calling Tuesday’s preseason game between the
Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, and the whole enterprise failed miserably. The Larry Bird line is my
favorite. You’ll hear it, after the jump.

Look, basketball isn’t exceedingly popular over there, and
I’d appreciate some thanks for not using the phrase "not their cup of tea."

Still, it’s a big island, and there’s even a solid-sized
island right next to it, and you’re telling me the BBC couldn’t find one
basketball-fanatic to at least join the duo for the length of the game? Hell,
we know for a fact that Sham
from ShamSports.com writes circles around most stateside scribes, so why
couldn’t the BBC find one on-air presenter with at least a passing knowledge of
the game? Especially now that you’ve cut Top Gear’s
funding, eh BBC?

Obviously, I take these things rather personally. And John
Amaechi did swing by for a little bit, and he was quite good. Same with Chuck
Swirsky. And, if I’m honest, the two seemed to grow by leaps and bounds as the
game went along. Check out the call of Chicago’s
game-winning possession.

Really, I’m just hoping Murray eventually finds "a hot dog that’s
bigger than any of these players." Why was he looking for such a thing? Because
"that’s the American way."

I know that I’m inviting all sorts of rampant xenophobia with this post, at times it’s America’s greatest export, so let’s try to keep it civil in the comment section.

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