Mailbag | All-Star Edition

Same format. Four questions. This time, related around All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. Let’s roll.

Marco is active on Twitter and I feel like he could have done better than this question. He might also be the world's biggest Zach LaVine fan.

I mean, you could have just looked it up online or something. It’s 54 degrees right now and I believe the high is 73 today. It rained last night and that stunk. 

Come with harder questions next time, Marco.

Let’s roll with a traditional lineup of PG, SG, SF, PF and C. And these players can only be players I’ve watched (and actually remember watching). For example, the only Michael Jordan I really remember watching was in Washington and while he was better than 99.8 percent of basketball players on this earth, he would not be considered for the “Kyle Ratke All-Star Game” that is played at ROCORI High School annually.

Here’s my starting 5:

PG – Steve Nash

Did you even read my column last week, bro?

SG – Kobe Bryant

He wasn’t all that much fun to watch later in his career, but Kobe’s gonna Kobe. If only Nash and Kobe had the chance to play with each other in real life. Oh, wait. . . Let’s move along.

SF – LeBron James

The greatest basketball during my core basketball years. Did you know this is James’ 14th season in the NBA? My goodness I feel old.

PF – Kevin Garnett

Minnesota fans would disown me if I didn’t slot KG here. Has anyone ever played with as much intensity as Garnett? Probably not. Will anyone ever? Good luck.

C – Shaquille O’Neal

You think Shaq is great on TV? Okay, agree to disagree. But I’ll never forget how happy I would get when getting a Shaq basketball card. During my prime collecting days (2000-2004, I was 10-14 years old during this time), O’Neal was an absolute monster. Could he do anything away from the rim or from the free-throw line? No, but he didn’t need to.

Also, I wish someone would have told me basketball cards made in the late ‘90s and early 2000s have absolutely no value. My student loans might be in a better place right now had I been a more frugal child.

We are about 12 hours late for this question. Would Karl-Anthony Towns loved to get the victory last night? Sure. Would he appreciate the MVP trophy? Maybe, yeah. But for Towns, the moment was more about having fun with his peers and representing his organization in a positive way.

“The game is amazingly fun,” Towns said after the game. “You get a chance to be in front of the fans and have a chance to do a little more athletic moves and more All-Star game moves.  It was a lot of fun.  I had a blast.  For me being my last Rising Star, I'm glad that I was able to enjoy this moment.”

For Towns, the next step is playing on All-Star Sunday in Los Angeles next year.

This is from a former colleague of mine with the Wolves. He’s now doing some great stuff for the Kings on web and social. ‘Baz and I spent some time together the last two years over All-Star Weekend and apparently, it’s well known that I’m a fan of the media hospitality room that serves free appetizers and free drinks. If anyone knows the two things I love most in life, it’s free appetizers and free drinks.

Unfortunately, I’m not staying in the media hotel this season because it was full. Instead I’m drinking cold coffee and eating Chex Mix in an undisclosed location. I’M NOT BITTER AT ALL!

We still have two more days in New Orleans and we’ll have plenty of coverage yet to come. Stay tuned.