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Deng says his determined view comes from his parents, who were positive people despite losing high level jobs and having to run from the country. “It had a lot to do with the way we lived, moving around, being refugees,” said Deng. “I tell people what we went through and they say, ‘Oh, my god.’ Though it wasn’t like that because we were actually happy with each other. All the problems on the outside, not enough money for food or things, it did not matter because we laughed and enjoyed our time together and we always had this positive outlook. “I’m a human being. Things get to me,” says Deng. “But I like to put messages out and maybe someone will read them and it will help them and it’s also to remind myself about being positive.” Bulls.com

Chicago Bulls, Luol Deng, All-Star 

For 21 years the voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro this weekend was a face at the All-Star Game that reminded everyone of Seattle. And virtually every player, coach, team official and media member who greeted Calabro did so carrying optimism about the imminent return of the NBA to Seattle. "They are giving me a wink and a nod that it looks good, you guys are back in the league next year," said Calabro, who worked events this weekend for ESPN Radio. "And I'm the one that's got to tamp it down a little bit." Seattle Times

Seattle SuperSonics, All-Star, Kevin Calabro 

The process of staging the NBA’s all-star weekend is elaborate and time-consuming and it’s impossible for things to happen without a huge amount of lead time. Three years in the case of Toronto. According to several sources, Maple Leaf Sports and the Raptors have already begun the process of submitting an official bid to host the 2016 all-star game to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise and to bring one of the league’s most popular events to an international venue for the first time ever. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, All-Star 

League sources said there have been no other expressions of interest yet in the 2016 event; the 2014 weekend is scheduled for New Orleans and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said here Saturday night that either Brooklyn or New York are odds-on favourites to host the 2015 game. Toronto Star

Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, All-Star, Adam Silver 

Silver, who assumes the commissioner’s duties next February, said the selection process isn’t likely to change and while it might be intriguing to take the extravaganza to neutral cities, perhaps in Europe, that might not be workable. “We’ve discussed playing internationally. . . . I’m not sure if it will work logistically, but it’s something we’ll continue to study,” he said. “We’ve looked at other neutral cities. We’ve looked at refreshing All-Star Saturday Night and other innovative events for the weekend, and I think we’ll continue to do that, the same way we have under David’s leadership.” Toronto Star

Europe, All-Star, Adam Silver 

Rashard Lewis, who made All-Star debut in 2005, was funny on Chris Andersen's disastrous dunk contest that year: The "Birdman,'' then with New Orleans, missed nine dunks on his first attempt at the dunk contest in 2005 in Denver and took about three minutes before he finally made a dunk. Andersen had been trying to throw the ball from halfcourt and catch it after a bounce for a dunk. “I remember like it was yesterday,’’ said Lewis, then with Seattle and now Andersen's teammate in Houston. “He missed like 30 dunks and kept going over and over,’’ Lewis said. “That’s why they put the time limit on it. It was the Birdman Rule… you knew he was going to try to do something spectacular but after a while it was like, ‘Man, just make a dunk already. We’re getting tired. Let’s move on.’’’ Sulia

Miami Heat, Rashard Lewis, Chris Andersen, All-Star 

Terrence Ross: Shout out my mans @JeremyEvans40, he's a cool an humble man. Great athlete. Everyone follow the 2012 dunk champ... Twitter @T_DotFlight31

Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Jeremy Evans, All-Star, Terrence Ross 

It turns out, there were some pretty good ones left on the shelf. “I had between the legs from the free throw line [ready], and I was going to try to dunk from the top of the key,” James White said, and did so rather nonchalantly given the athleticism that would be required to pull either of those feats off. NBCSports.com

New York Knicks, James White, All-Star 

While Green did not ultimately advance, his plan for what he had ready was among the most inventive. “I was going to do a dunk where I involved Paul George and Lance Stephenson,” Green said. “It was going to be something like the halftime show, but without the trampoline.” I needed some clarification. “It was going to be to where, Lance was going to throw Paul an alley-oop off the glass, Paul was going to catch it, jump pretty high and throw it, and then I come out of nowhere and put it between my legs [before dunking].” NBCSports.com

Indiana Pacers, Gerald Green, All-Star 

After scoring 32 points in the Rising Stars challenge on Friday, Irving followed up on Saturday with a near record-setting effort to win the 3-Point Shootout. Next up on Irving's agenda: his debut in Sunday's All-Star game. "This weekend was just basically about earning everybody's respect and getting a chance for people to see me that usually don't see me," said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. "We're not nationally televised like some other teams. This weekend is to show my face and get everybody acclimated to my face in the league." ESPN.com

Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving, All-Star 

Irving said Saturday he hasn't targeted anyone on the West roster for his next signature move Sunday. But he doesn't plan on holding anything back when he takes the court. "Absolutely," Irving said. "I only know one way to play, and that's hard. Every award and everything I do at All-Star Weekend is dedicated to the Cavaliers organization." ESPN.com

Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving, All-Star 

That dunk, which came after the Toronto guard caught a pass off the side of the backboard, set up the finale between Ross and Utah guard Jeremy Evans, last year’s champion. Evans then one-upped him by slamming a one-handed, windmill dunk over a painting of him dunking. Well, Ross topped that dunk and sealed his 2013 title by jumping over a ballboy, putting the ball through his legs, and then flushing it, one-handed, with plenty of force. “It was my favorite event to watch every year, since I was a small child,” said Ross, who added that he hadn’t really competed in a dunk contest. “Actually winning it, I never thought I’d do it.” Boston Globe

Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Jeremy Evans, All-Star, Terrence Ross 

Ross said the plan to jump over the ballboy was hatched by his agent. Ross said he told the boy the day before that he was going to dunk over him, but Ross didn’t say that he was going to go through his legs. “You’re not going to hit me, right?” the boy asked him. “No, I’m not going to hit you,” Ross said. Boston Globe

Toronto Raptors, All-Star, Terrence Ross 

He was considered by many All-Stars as the favorite in the event. Kobe Bryant said on Twitter that White was his pick to win. Dwight Howard, who won the dunk contest in 2008, said he hoped White and the Indiana Pacers’ Green, who also participated in Saturday’s event, would have another entertaining battle. “I’ve been wanting to see him in the dunk contest for a long time,” Howard said of White. White said he had not practiced his dunks all week. “We had a practice yesterday and I didn’t do it,” he said Friday. “I just came in and shook hands. I have to save my energy.” New York Times

Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Dwight Howard, James White, All-Star 

White also went for presentation points with his opening dunk, bringing out women dressed as flight attendants who formed a path on the court. White ran through them, finishing a jam after taking off a foot inside the foul line. No All-Stars competed in this year’s contest. Dominique Wilkins, a two-time winner, said it’s because the All-Stars were scared of losing. “I think it’s hard for them to accept who might be the best as far as the slam dunking which it doesn’t really affect your legacy as a player. I think a lot of the guys should do it. Especially for the fans alone they should do it,” Wilkins said. “I don’t know if it’s fear. I just think they don’t want to hear they lost to this guy or that guy.” New York Daily News

Dominique Wilkins, All-Star 

David Stern confirmed a Daily News report that the Knicks and Nets have put in bids to host the 2015 All-Star Game, setting up a showdown that the commissioner is glad he won’t have to oversee. “This is terrific. There are two applications — one from Brooklyn, one from the Garden. I think commissioner (Adam) Silver is going to have a great time with those applications,” said Stern, who is retiring after this season and handing the job to Silver. “I really do. And I asked him to send me a postcard to tell me it goes.” Silver said it’s likely that one of the New York teams will win the bid. According to a source, a deal could be struck where one team hosts the 2015 game and the other gets the bid for 2016. The Knicks last hosted the All-Star game in 1998. The Nets hosted the 1982 game. New York Daily News

New York Knicks, David Stern, All-Star 

NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said the league would consider returning to Cleveland for the All-Star Game, last held in Northeast Ohio in 1997, when the NBA's 50 greatest players were honored. "I was in Cleveland last Friday, had extensive discussions with [owner] Dan [Gilbert] and members of his organization and we've encouraged them to bid for a subsequent All-Star Game," Silver said. "We had a great experience when we were there back in '97, and one of the great moments, I think ... was the presentation of the 50 greatest on the floor." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, All-Star, Adam Silver 

At their press conference Saturday night during NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the arenas for both the Nets and Knicks have entered bids for the 2015 All-Star Game. And it's going to come down to one of them. "There are two applications in, one from Brooklyn, and one from (Madison Square) Garden," Stern said. "And I think Commissioner Silver is going to have a lot of fun with those applications. I asked him to send me a postcard to tell me how they go." CBSSports.com

David Stern, All-Star 

Mark Woods: Adam Silver: logistics of international All Star Game difficult but will continue to evaluate Idea. Twitter @markbritball

All-Star, Adam Silver 

Besides being a perennial All-NBA performer for the Atlanta Hawks, Wilkins had several legendary dunk-offs against Michael Jordan on All-Star Weekend, including their 1988 showdown in the old Chicago Stadium. “I did the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend five times. Won it four times and got credit for two. Yes, I’ve heard over the years how I beat him in Chicago and Mike and I have talked about it a lot. He says that if it was in any other arena but Chicago Stadium, it would have turned out differently. I would have won. Back then, we did it for the fans. That’s all that mattered. We did it for the fun and the only way a guy didn’t do it is if he was banged up and couldn’t go. Don’t get me wrong, Michael wanted to win all of them, just like I did. But we always congratulated each other and were glad we did them. I didn’t really care if I got beat by Michael. It was just a joy for both of us, being out there dunking. And when I played against him, I knew that if I didn’t raise my level of play that night, we’d be in big trouble. I had to for Mike. He brought it every night. And that’s what we loved about going at each other. We worked hard and we went at each other every minute of every game. It was about competing on the highest level, on the biggest stage. There will never be another. I don’t care what anybody says. People can build their own name and build their own brand. But Michael Jordan is in a class all by himself." New York Daily News

Dominique Wilkins, All-Star