Houston: NBA Commissioner David Stern doesn't believe this year's All-Star game in Orlando will be upstaged by Dwight Howard's uncertain future.
Stern spoke on Wednesday in Houston, where he officially announced that the All-Star Game would be held there in 2013. Where Howard is playing by then is anyone's guess.
The Magic's six-time All-Star has asked to be traded, and he'll be a free agent after the season. This year's game will be played on February 26, less than a month before the March 15 trade deadline.
"We're going to get a great rating. It's going to be seen in 200 countries. We'll have the usual media experiences like the one I'm enduring now," Stern said. "But the great thing is the game is going to start and then there's going to be all this spectacular basketball playing, and all these stars are going to take centre court."
Last year, the trade talk swirled around Carmelo Anthony over All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. He was dealt to the New York Knicks less than a week after the game.
Collective bargaining
Stern says the league is doesn't mind players choosing where they want to play, believing the terms of the collective bargaining agreement make it difficult to leave.
In Howard's case, the Magic can offer him a five-year contract extension with 7.5 per cent annual raises, while other teams are limited to offering a four-year pact with 4.5 per cent raises.
"I go back far enough to remember when Kareem decided he didn't want to be in Milwaukee, and that's a long time ago." Stern said. "Or when Wilt wanted to move some place. We've built in some pretty interesting incentives.
"That will work itself out," Stern said. "We don't have a problem with that at all."
