Drama in Stars guarantees win

And with the first pick of the 2018 NBA All-Star Game team captain LeBron James selects ... Kyrie Irving? Not bloody likely. Thanks to the NBA’s revamped All-Star Game format the possibility of LeBron picking or more precisely not picking his former teammate adds intrigue to an event which quite frankly has become a little dull over the last few years. This new wrinkle gives the game a much-needed boost.

Credit NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league office for capitalizing on one of the underrated strengths of its players: Creating drama.

No league does drama like the NBA. Kyrie’s breakup with LeBron was the summer’s best storyline. A year earlier, Kevin Durant’s messy divorce from Oklahoma City dominated the headlines. Next July, LeBron hits the free agent market again therefore we already know the summer of 2018 will have endless plot twists.

Until then, James can form his “super team” in February. And he can do it without circumventing the salary cap or usurping the authority of his general manager.

Durant and Russell Westbrook don’t have to pretend to tolerate each other as teammates for one game because they can be on opposite sides. Same goes for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

The world’s greatest pickup game will most definitely have a playground feel to it as the top vote-getters from the Eastern and Western Conferences will become captains in charge of selecting their roster. For example, last year LeBron and Stephen Curry received the most fan votes.

You already like where this is going, right?

The pool of players for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game in Los Angeles will still be selected the same way as last season: five players from each conference will be selected as starters, with the fan vote being worth 50%, player vote worth 25% and media vote worth 25%. The seven reserves for each team will be picked by each conference’s respective head coaches.

Once the captains are determined the remaining eight starters are drafted first followed by the 14 reserves.

If LeBron gets the most votes he could conceivably pick Durant first. Better yet, Westbrook. Or look at it this way, LeBron won’t have to take Kevin Love. Or Irving.

This will be a prime-time stage for rivalries to be renewed and for future partnerships to be formed.

And it’s all for a good cause. Each team will select a national or local charity where donations from the game will be directed.

“I’m thrilled with what the players and the league have done to improve the All-Star Game, which has been a priority for all of us,” Paul said. “We’re looking forward to putting on an entertaining show in L.A.”

There are a few drawbacks. The format still won’t get the best 24 players in the game because the West is deeper than the East. Consider: Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and Jimmy Butler all made the 2017 All-Star Game from the East. And all three were traded West during the offseason.

The lone West All-Star who moved East was Gordon Hayward. But that’s a minor flaw in the system.

The All-Star format could be the first step in the league doing away with conference affiliation and divisions altogether. One way to make the playoffs more competitive is to simply rank the playoff teams 1 through 16 based on overall record.

Last year, Cleveland cruised into the second-best record in the East fairly confident that not having home court advantage against Boston in the conference finals wasn’t a big deal. The Cavs were right.

But would LeBron and the Cavs treat the regular season differently if they were in danger of ending up in the same bracket with Golden State in a potential semifinal matchup? Perhaps.

The Knicks haven’t faced the Lakers in a series since the 1973 NBA Finals. It would be great for the league to have the two biggest markets meet in a firstround series, once the Knicks get back to being a playoff team, of course.

Silver is open to new ideas or as he likes to say, “it’s in the table.” I don’t like extending the regular season just to give players more rest. That’s a bit much. But the new All-Star Game format is a smart idea. It’s an exciting change. Don’t stop there.