First, as the Heat vs Thunder game wraps up (which was a very good game by the way), I noticed the poor offensive production the Thunder got from their bench and came up with a possible trade scenario that would benefit us both.

Trade Aaron Brooks for Serge Ibaka

And before anybody starts pissing on the idea, look at Ibaka. He leads the Thunder in rebounds per game (though not many), in FG% and blocked shots. Most importantly, he's still under rookie contract for 2 more years. AB could help them in the playoffs and if/when Westbrook gets injured (it's bound to happen the way he plays) and is a better backup PG/SG than Harden, Cook or Maynor (at this point). But it might be the Thunder the side unwilling to pull the plug. Anyway, I'm going to be rooting for the Thunder come playoff time. Now onto the subject at hand

The All-Star ballot was released on Thursday (link)

A few surprises:

• Kevin Durant will make his first start (2nd appearance) replacing Tim Duncan from last year's All-Star game
• Kobe (not surprisingly) will make his 13th All-Star appearance, tied for 4th all-time
• Chris Paul will make his second start (4th appearance) replacing Steve Nash from last year's game
• Derrick Rose replaces Allen Iverson
• Amare replaces Garnett
• Oh yeah, Yao Ming once again makes the list (more on this in a bit)

Most importantly, the two best teams in the NBA right now did not have any players voted in to start, once again raising questions as whether the selection process should be altered to make it less of a popularity contest. As that has been covered extensively over the internets, I will focus on a matter closely related to us.

Yao Ming is now an EIGHT TIME ALL-STAR!

Could've been 9 if he would've been in the ballot last year, which would mean that he's been an All-Star player since he came into the league. We all already know this, but it's funny when other people remember we exist when Yao Ming's name comes up.

And that is why I believe we should sign him this summer, even if he doesn't play next year or the year after that. He's a symbol, a chinese landmark, let him be a decorative piece in the middle of our roster "look-but-dont-touch" ornament, kinda like your grandma has or had at home.

However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't trade him (his contract) in the next few weeks, we gotta use that to our advantage :)

Long Live Yao Ming!