Whatever new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver does, he’s going to make some people angry, while others will say he’s an idiot. (He should get used to it, pretty much everything he does in the big chair will turn out that way.)
Who does he choose for Kobe Bryant’s All-Star spot?
Kobe is still out with a fracture of his knee and will not play in the Feb. 16 All-Star game, where fans had voted him a starter. It is up to the Commissioner to appoint a player to the team to replace him (the coach gets to choose who takes the starting spot, and as that coach is Scott Brooks I would bet it’s James Harden.)
The two most likely candidates: Goran Dragic and Anthony Davis.
Dragic is the point guard who has been a key spark for the surprising Phoenix Suns. He has averaged 20 points a game with a fantastic true shooting percentage of 60.4 percent (his traditional shooting percentage is 50.5 percent) and is dishing out 6.4 assists a game. His relentless pushing of the pace has been at the heart of the Suns strong play. Plus, bringing in Dragic replaces a guard on the roster with another guard.
The Suns are one of the great stories of this season and for them to not have an All-Star representative would be a shame.
And we may well have that shame.
Because not having Anthony Davis in the game representing the host city also would be a shame.
Davis is averaging 20.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and a league-leading 3.3 blocks a game this season for the Pelicans. To show you just how efficient he has been in just his second NBA season, he has a PER of 27.1 — fifth best in the NBA on the season. He has been a monster for the Pelicans, one of the bright spots for a young team still trying to live up to its potential.
(Note: Yes, you can make a good case for Mike Conley and DeMarcus Cousins to get that spot as well. However, both of them seem to be half a step behind Dragic and Davis in the race for the spot, so the Grizzlies and Kings fans can be first in line to call out Silver on his first big decision).
ESPN’s Marc Stein noted over the weekend the momentum seems to be behind Davis getting the spot.
Silver is different than David Stern in style, but not that much in substance — they think alike. Stern understood marketing — having the games bright young stars on the biggest stages, giving the hometown fans what they want. Which is why the signs point toward Davis.
Which is just going to make a lot of people mad at Silver.
