And -es: All -Star Snubs, Wnba, Clark, Europe, Canales

There weren’t enough Backcourt spots to walk around this year’s All-Star team in view of Marc J. Spears from AndcapeIf annual eight-man “all-snub” team consists of seven guards and a center.

Out of Big Man Domantas SabonisThe most shiny omissions of this year’s All-Star guards were all guards, writes Spears, identified Trae YoungAt Lamelo BallAt Zach avalancheand Tyrese Maxey Like four worthy All-Star candidates who did not make the cut at the Eastern Conference despite the fact that both Eastern Wild Card spots went to backcourt players.

Over in the west, Kyrie IrvingAt Devin Bookerand Norman Powell Joined Sabonis as the players who most deserve all-Star recognition, which was not among the 12 Western players chosen to participate in the game, according to Spears.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• Several NBA team owners submitted bids for expansion WNBA franchises prior to this week’s time limit. Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports says Stamps owner Tom Gores was among the owners to make a bid while Jeff Zillgitt from USA Today (Twitter Links) reports that Sixers‘, Cavaliers‘, and Rockets‘Ownership groups also made formal bids. The new teams approved by WNBA as a result of this message round would start playing in 2028.
• In other WNBA-related news, Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark Have decided not to participate in a special three-point shooting challenge on NBAS All-Star Weekend in February, per. an ESPN report. There had been speculation that Clark could take part in a competition similar to last year’s Stephen Curry Vs. Sabrina Ionescu Shootout, but she will compete in her first three-point competition on WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis later in the year, according to her representatives at Excel Sports.
• If the NBA goes ahead with its plan to launch a new professional league in Europe, what does it look like? Espns Brian Windhorst has published an informative primer while Donatas Urbonas from Basketnews has shared its latest reporting on the subject. Interestingly enough, Windhorst notes that Commissioner Adam Silver And his supreme lieutenants are “deeply involved” in the European endeavor and wonder if the league’s focus on “NBA Europe” may further delay the timeline of expansion of the state.
• Veteran NBA Assistant and Current Texas Legends Associate Head Trainer Kaleb Canales will be appointed head coach of Calgary Surge in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reports (Twitter -Link). The CEBL season takes place in the NBA season so that Canales could go with an NBA staff for the 2025/26 season, Haynes notes.