An All-Star from each team ... wouldn't that be an idea?

Are we ready for Brook Lopez (with ball) as an All-Star?

The NBA All-Star Game is as much about entertainment as it is about competition, and the league makes no claims to the contrary.

Besides, we all know that for sheer intensity, for determined defensive posturing and for sweaty, exhausting battles, the serious action comes from the All-Star selection process.

The gripes are endless: Too much fan input. Not enough fan input. Favoritism and/or grudges dictating the coaches' selection of reserves. Superstars representing the wrong conferences. Broken-down players who shouldn't be invited at all.

There is no perfect way, not in a league with 30 franchises, in a game with only 24 available roster spots, in a sport where using 12 players typically is too many in 48 minutes. But there are other ways. All sorts of ways, in fact, for choosing who goes and who stays, who sits and who plays, who gets recognized for a half-season of stellar baskeball and who gets honored for a professional lifetime spent providing thrills and fun.

Just for argument's sake -- oh, there most definitely will be arguments, if not blood -- let's look at one alternative way: Major League Baseball's way.

We're not talking about using the All-Star Game to dictate homecourt advantage in the Finals. Nor are we worried about NBA commissioner David Stern someday declaring a tie because one coach or another ran out of point guards. No, we're talking about the selection process in which every team in the league gets to send a player to its sport's midseason classic.

What if the NBA built its All-Star squads that way?

If the Board of Governors bumped the All-Star roster sizes from 12 up to 15, there would be enough spots for 30 players, 30 teams, and some obvious benefits and costs on both sides of the idea.

Pros

•The All-Star Game would have the broadest possible appeal, if not necessarily the deepest. Every team, every market would have some skin in the game. Or, at least, on the bench.

•Fans of the league's bottom feeders would have something to look forward to in the dead of winter, in a season perhaps already lost, rather than having to wait another three months for the oasis of the Draft Lottery.

•This system would put an end to the application of any "unwritten rules'' used by the conference coaches in picking reserves. Some of them, for instance, think All-Stars only should be drawn from teams with winning records. Some of them don't. Some seem to believe that the teams having the very best seasons should get multiple All-Stars -- even if no one else on, say, Cleveland really merits it. Also, the way things are now, coaches in theory can "game'' the system -- since they're not permitted to vote for their own players, they may be tempted to vote for an off-the-wall, undeserving choice just to avoid supporting their guy's chief rival.

•It might attract bigger names to participate in the the All-Star Saturday events, since it would be the only way for the league's best sidekicks and second bananas to crash the weekend party.

Cons

•If we think there are omissions now, there would be some egregious ones using the democratic-representation model. Imagine sending Malone all those years without Stockton, or vice versa. Choosing just one of Boston's Big Three would be like plopping down for a Three Stooges marathon and getting strictly Larry Fine's scenes.

•Having no natural teammates could spoil some really special moments. Like in 2006 when the East used four Detroit players together with Paul Pierce. It was a nice nod to Detroit's "team vs. superstar'' approach and gave us a taste of what an entirely different format -- letting the NBA champions, intact, take on the league's stars -- might be like.

•There would be a whole bunch of undeserving All-Stars, however we would define that. Also, in the hands of crafty agents, that status could be whipped into a whole bunch of overpriced contracts. Look, my guy has gone to four straight All-Star Games! Well, yeah. Because he plays for the Clippers.

•Bigger rosters would mean more potential heartbreak for guys who wouldn't get on the court for more than a few token minutes. Then again, the guys who were just lucky to be there would likely know who they were and could be expected to sit there and enjoy the show.

•There could be potential headaches for the coaches, too, who could wind up stiffing a guy on his All-Star moment and thus fueling him with bonus motivation when their teams meet in the season's second half.

Then again, if we're going to tinker, why not adjust for the bigger rosters -- a 25 percent increase from 12 to 15 players -- by adding a fifth quarter to the game. Divide a game of 60 minutes by 15 players, the math stays the same as 12 guys for 48 minutes.

Hey, we're just brainstorming here, right?

For the record, here are my guesses at the possible -- and eminently arguable -- All-Star squads if every team had to be represented and there were 15 (but only 15) spots per side:

EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

Atlanta: G-F Joe Johnson. (Sorry, J-Smoove, you're not your team's franchise guy yet.)
Boston: G-F Paul Pierce.
Charlotte: G-F Stephen Jackson. (No rules on how long a guy has to be there.)
Chicago: G Derrick Rose.
Cleveland: You know. What's-His-Name.
Detroit: C Ben Wallace.
Indiana: F Danny Granger.
Miami: G Dwyane Wade.
Milwaukee: C Andrew Bogut. (Size does matter, Brandon Jennings.)
New Jersey: C Brook Lopez.
New York: F David Lee. (Uh, second thoughts about this system now creeping in.)
Orlando: C Dwight Howard.
Philadelphia: G Allen Iverson. (Naysayers will miss him when he's gone.)
Toronto: F Chris Bosh.
Washington: F Antawn Jamison. (Weekend furlough from the Verizon Funhouse.)

WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

Dallas: F Dirk Nowitzki.
Denver: F Carmelo Anthony.
Golden State: G Monta Ellis.
Houston: G Aaron Brooks. (Uh oh, this squad is getting small.)
L.A. Clippers: C Chris Kaman.
L.A. Lakers: G Kobe Bryant. (See, Memphis wasn't all bad for Pau Gasol.)
Memphis: F Zach Randolph. (Never imagined typing that name and "All-Star" on same page.)
Minnesota: F Al Jefferson. (A trip down lone-All-Star memory lane for the Wolves.)
New Orleans: G Chris Paul.
Oklahoma City: F-G Kevin Durant.
Phoenix: F Amar'e Stoudemire. (The West needs bigs, so Nash has to enter Skills contest.)
Portland: G Brandon Roy.
Sacramento: G Tyreke Evans. (He gets a pass on the Rookie Challenge then.)
San Antonio: F Tim Duncan. (Ouch. Flying solo really snubs this team.)
Utah: F Carlos Boozer. (New reason for Jazz to trade him -- open All-Star spot for Williams.)