Dallas Mavericks center and former San Antonio Spurs player Ian Mahinmi was on the wrong end of a LeBron James dunk last night in the first quarter of Game 3 between the Mavericks and Miami Heat.

Poor Ian. If he wasn't a household name before, he is now but for all the wrong reasons.

Wait there's more! Check it out in slow-motion.

Stephen Jackson of the Charlotte Bobcats has already begun working in the off-season by losing weight and being a leader for the younger players on the Bobcats by putting in his time at the gym. Jackson recently spoke with the media in Charlotte and said he feels like his body is getting back to the shape it was in when he won his only championship.

Here is what he told BobcatsBreak.com: 

I feel great. I mean, it’s the best I’ve felt since I’ve been in the NBA. Like B.J. said, I feel like I’m in San Antonio again, as far as weight-wise and body-wise. I just feel great. I just want to continue to stay on top of it and be ready to play.

It's great to see a former San Antonio Spurs player refer to his time in San Antonio as one of the best of his career after eight years. Don't forget, he was key for the Spurs in their march to an NBA title in 2003 with clutch three point shooting.

Jackson is showing his leadership in Charlotte today. He has made major maturity strides in his career from the long journey he has gone through. If he keeps this up, he might be making his first All-Star game next season while leading Charlotte back to the playoffs. Albeit if there is a next season.

After recovering from shoulder injury, San Antonio Spurs 2010 NBA draftee Ryan Richards returned to the court for Great Britain's U20 squad as his team took on Scotland's U23 squad.

Though Richards towers above the rest, and is physically imposing, as you can see, his skill-set and all around game looks very promising. He shows he can handle the ball for a big man, and can definitely finish at the rim with a nasty cross-over move and dunk.

Richards finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 15 minutes.

This is a new feature at Project Spurs in which we take a fun look at the Twitter accounts of the San Antonio Spurs players.  Twitter can provide some interesting and humorous insight into the personal lives of the players as they give us a few details of what they do off the court.  So tune in weekly for updates, but for now, sit back and enjoy.

What Happens in Vegas

Looks like one of the newest Spurs, DeSean Butler, is getting his summer vacay on...in Vegas

@TheDaSeanButler Vegas never again....smh 

No worries DaSean.  What happens in Vegas...goes on Facebook.  But not Twitter.

George Doin' Work

George Hill, on the other hand, seemed to have a busy and productive week working out and doing charity.  He sent out these two tweets on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

@George_Hill3 Well bout to call it a night.Gotta big day tomorrow with workouts and help building a house for habitat humanity! But goodnight Twittas
@George_Hill3 Up early bout to go get a workout in then build a house! Hope everyone has a nice day!!!

And, though Gary Neal is not currently on Twitter, we got this from the team's account:

@spurs: With Gary Neal and @George_Hill3 helping out at Habitat for Humanity. #GoSpursGo http://picplz.com/gF8h 

Good to see that from the young guys.

Workin' Out the Kinks

University of Kentucky's DeAndre Liggins made a stop in San Antonio for a work out with the San Antonio Spurs and according to Liggins, it was his best one:

Liggins has been racking up the frequent flyer miles, jumping from NBA city to city, working out for front office personnel.  Already, he's worked out for San Antonio, Miami, and on Saturday, Charlotte.

Liggins said at all three workouts, he's been able to showcase his skills that made him a fan favorite at Kentucky.

"I did good offensively.  I did good defensively, too.  They all went well, but to me, the Spurs was the best one," he said.

Known for his defense, Liggins is a 6'6", 205 lbs., guard/forward. Last season he averaged 8.6 points, shot 42% from the field, 39.1% from the three point line, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.

Measuring in at a long and lean 6-6, Liggins is a good overall athlete, and while he’s not super explosive, he possesses fine leaping ability and nice speed in the open floor due to his stride length.

Utilizing his length and instincts on the defensive end to create some turnovers, Liggins is not the most disciplined or fundamentally sound defensive player. Often getting turned around as the ball moves around the floor, Liggins makes an effort to keep his man out of the lane, but his defense off the ball leaves a lot to be desired. Lacking great lateral quickness and having some issues getting through screens, Liggins has little trouble using his big wingspan to contest shots, but will need to make some major improvements to have a bigger impact on the defensive. (draftexpress.com)

As mentioned above, Liggins gets it done on the defensive end. He can guard multiple positions and has drawn comparisons to Memphis Grizzlies' Tony Allen:

With the threat of an NBA lockout becoming more of a reality with each passing day, NBA teams are preparing on how to best handle it. In particular, some teams are focusing on how to pay their coaching staff.

According to ESPN, the San Antonio Spurs will partially pay their assistants during the lockout:

San Antonio Spurs assistants will receive 75 percent of their salaries during the lockout and be reimbursed the missing 25 percent when a lockout ends, according to a source.

It's great to see the Spurs take care of their staff during the impending lockout but the fact there might not be an NBA season, let alone a Spurs season, come October is quite upsetting for all NBA fans.

Here's to hoping no lockout happens at all.

Former San Antonio Spurs guard Avery Johnson knows a thing or two about playing with quality post defenders. Case in point, in 1999 when he had David Robinson and a young Tim Duncan to watch his back when an opposing player got past him.

So it came at no surprise that Johnson felt the best move the Dallas Mavericks made was acquiring Tyson Chandler to help out Jason Kidd:

Johnson, an old point guard, said the best thing Dallas did for Kidd was acquiring Tyson Chandler this season to protect the rim and cover for him. “When I was in San Antonio, I needed that help guarding quick guards, too, and I was lucky to have David Robinson and Tim Duncan,” he said.

Indeed, Chandler is a quality defender for Dallas not just for Kidd but for the overall success of the Mavericks. He may not put up huge points, but he defends, intimidates, rebounds (8.9 in the playoffs), and is athletic for a big man.

Something the Spurs desperately need heading into next season.

The kids at Pittsburgh's Schenley High School prom got a rather huge surprise this past Thursday night in the form of San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair.

Blair made an appearance at his alma mater's prom and apparently made the night quite entertaining:

Blair, the former Pitt star now with the San Antonio Spurs, was at the Schenley High School prom Thursday night at the Heinz History Center in the Strip District. A few people who worked the event said Blair was tremendous, singing and dancing the night away with Schenley's students.

But here is a funny story. I was told when Blair arrived at the History Center, workers wouldn't let him in. I'm not sure if they didn't know who he was, or didn't know he went to Schenley. But he didn't make a scene. He simply called someone at the prom to get him in.

What made the night even more special was that Schenley High School is actually closing its doors at the end of the school year and this was the last prom in its history. With Blair in attendance, I'm sure it made the night memorable for all in attendance.

However, this wasn't Blair's fist time doing this. He was the emcee for Schenley's prom last year.

Way to go Blair. Nice job at giving back to your community, not forgetting your roots, and putting some smiles on the the kid's faces. Though I would have loved to see Blair singing and dancing at the prom.

Also, how did anyone living in Pittsburgh not know who Blair is?

During the press conference announcing Kevin McHale as the new head coach of the Houston Rockets, McHale joked with those in attendance and with Rockets owner Les Alexander about how coaching spots for 55 to 60-win teams were not available. If they were available, he would taken the job in a heartbeat and pass on the Rockets.

Of course he was referring to the Rockets' record this past season where they won 43 games.

Well, Alexander fired back at McHale and said he wishes he could have San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich patrolling the sidelines for the Rockets:

"He said if he could get a 60-win team he wouldn't have taken this job, right? And if I could get (San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg) Popovich right now, (McHale) wouldn't have gotten the job," Alexander said.

"It's the truth," Alexander said. "Not that he can't be as good as Popovich, but (Popovich) is a sure thing."

Got to love this Spurs fans. Just goes to show you how much Popovich is revered and considered one of the best coaches in the NBA. 

Still, could you imagine Popovich coaching another team other than the Spurs? Just doesn't seem right.

Shaquille O'Neal and former San Antonio Spurs great David Robinson had a rocky relationship stemming from an autograph incident when O'Neal was playing high school ball at Cole High School in San Antonio.

Then there was Shaq's autobiography, "Shaq Talks Back," where Shaq questioned how good Robinson and Tim Duncan would be if they were not paired, called Robinson a "punk ass," angered because Robinson won a title before he did, and was peeved Robinson won the scoring title in 1994. 

Not to mention his dunk on Robinson during the 1995 NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio also added fuel to the fire.

Of course they had their personal battles on the court, reaching its apex during the height of the Lakers-Spurs rivalry, but now that Shaq is retired, he considers Robinson one of the best centers of all-time:

One of the game's greatest centers considers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be the best to ever play the position. And, excluding himself from the conversation, O'Neal considers Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson to be among the top five centers of all time.

I'm sure all of the verbal shots and incidents were just used as motivation for Shaq on the court but it's good to see O'Neal listing "The Admiral" as a top-five center. Of course any top-center list must have O'Neal's named penciled in as well.

What do you think Spurs fans? Is it all "water under the bridge," or do you still harbor any resentments towards Shaq?