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Commissioner Silver in favor of expanding All-Star rosters

Bob Donnan / USA TODAY Sports

After facing the impossible decision of naming either DeMarcus Cousins or Damian Lillard to the All-Star Game as Kobe Bryant's injury replacement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is ready to shrink headaches by expanding rosters.

"I think that's something that will get very strong consideration," Silver said of expanding rosters on ESPN Radio on Sunday. "I think that's an issue that we'll end up discussing with the Players Association. It has a direct impact on many of the players' bonuses. There's preset bonuses in their contracts for making the All-Star team."

Although expanding rosters would result in less players being snubbed, pushing the rosters past 12 carries other concerns. Those include the impact of historical prescience, as expanding rosters would water down the significance of the achievement.

On a smaller scale, players would be hard-pressed to find playing time within the All-Star Game itself. To that point, Silver had a solution.

"We said we should move to (Kentucky coach John) Calipari's platoon system for All-Stars to make sure that everyone gets (enough) playing time," Silver said.

He noted he will discuss any potential changes with Players Association executive director Michele Roberts in the near future.

Silver also shed some light on the process of deciding between Lillard and Cousins. He acknowledged that both players were certainly worthy, but added that Cousins was "very high up" on the votes from head coaches.

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