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The drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony has dominated all discussions over All-Star Weekend, but the attention briefly shifted on Friday night when owners and players met to discuss the future of the NBA. The bargaining meeting was a step in the right direction and several drastic changes were proposed.

The players were well represented and many of the league’s biggest stars were in attendance. One player described the scene as a "who’s who" of NBA superstars, with players such as Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Al Horford and Russell Westbrook in the room. Union officer Keyon Dooling said that every demographic was represented with "bottom feeders, mid-level players and max guys" all making their presence felt.

The meeting began with an opening address from Players Association president Derek Fisher. The speech given by Fisher was relatable and summed up how everyone in the room was feeling. While players wouldn’t go into specifics, they described the address as powerful and raved about Fisher’s leadership following the meeting. Fisher’s comments set the tone for the rest of the meeting and made a lot of sense to everyone in the room.

During the meeting, owners made it clear that their focus was to increase profits rather than cut losses.  They also expressed that changes need to be made in order to increase parity and level the playing field across the league. Issues such as contraction or implementing a franchise tag were not the focus of the meeting. Both sides were more engaged than in previous meetings and sources said that Mark Cuban led the way as the owner most active in talks.

While there wasn’t much negotiating during the meeting and very little progress was made, one intriguing concept was proposed by the players. Rather than changing the salary structure to level the playing field for small market teams, an alternative was proposed that would involve making drastic changes to the draft process.

The union made the argument that the quickest way to turn around "crummy" teams is through the draft. Because first-round picks have become so valuable in today’s NBA and many teams have had success building a roster with this model, the union feels that the best way to increase parity is to focus the draft around the underachieving teams.

The fourteen non-playoff teams that make up the lottery would not only receive the first fourteen picks, but the next fourteen as well. The team that wins the lottery would receive the first overall pick as well as the fifteenth overall pick. The second team on the clock would also own the sixteenth pick, the third picking team would also own the seventeenth pick and so on.

Each team would receive two first-round selections so that the top twenty-eight players go to the teams that are struggling and the playoff teams that need the least help receive second-round talent. Those playoff teams would follow the same structure in the second round with two late picks each. The union is willing to lower the number to the eight worst teams, but they feel this is a much better way for the league to level the playing field.

Overall, the meeting went well and while players wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re optimistic about the labor talks, this meeting set the tone for negotiations and both sides agreed to meet again in the near future.

Dolan, Kroenke Orchestrating Anthony Talks: With the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets continuing to discuss a trade for Carmelo Anthony, sources close to the situation revealed that James Dolan and Josh Kroenke are extremely involved in the talks.

While Donnie Walsh and Masai Uriji took part in the conference call between the Knicks and Nuggets officials on Friday afternoon, their roles have diminished as owners dominated the discussions last night. Dolan and Kroenke have reportedly spoken over the phone several times in recent weeks, and now the two seem to be calling the shots for their respective teams at the moment.

Dolan is pushing for a deal to be completed, and appears to be behind New York’s latest offer of Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Eddy Curry and a first-round pick.

Kroenke has been handling the trade talks for the Nuggets and holds the title of president and governor. Josh’s father, Stan Kroenke, is the team’s owner has also been involved in talks while calling the shots behind the scenes throughout this process.

Prior to offering Gallinari, New York was including Landry Fields in the talks. But after Denver asked for Gallinari instead, the Knicks decided to budge. One league source familiar with the talks said that New York is offering "just about everything" and have included more in the deal than they originally anticipated.

Sources close to Anthony remain confident that a deal with the Knicks can be completed and signing an extension in New York is still the superstar’s top preference. 

Paul Excited For All-Star Game: Superstars are often so busy during All-Star Weekend that by the time the game rolls around, they’re exhausted and ready to go home. However, Chris Paul doesn’t fit that mold. Even though he has plenty of off-court obligations and other events to compete in, Paul can’t wait for the main event on Sunday.

"I’m just excited to get out there, play with this great group of guys and be on the floor," Paul said. "My first All-Star game was in New Orleans and then in Phoenix, and there’s nothing like it. You’ve got Kobe on the wing, Melo on the other and now you’ve got Blake Griffin and all of those guys. I’m excited. It’s always fun to play in that game because it’s always up and down and that’s the way I like to play."

Griffin is one of the reasons that Paul is so excited to take the floor. After the Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina, Paul had the opportunity to watch Griffin’s development firsthand with his high school nearby. Even still, he’s been surprised with the rookie’s dominance.

"It’s how he approaches the game. He’s aggressive. He only knows one way to play and that’s hard. Some people may get mad at him for it or what not, but that’s his competitive nature. I had the opportunity to watch him at Oklahoma when we were there and it’s crazy to see how much better he has gotten. He wasn’t that same guy at Oklahoma. Now, he’s just on a whole other level," Paul said.

{AUTHOR_BOX}After filling many highlight reels with his alley-oop lobs, Paul is looking forward to running alongside Griffin. He hasn’t had the opportunity to play with an alley-oop threat since Tyson Chandler left New Orleans and he’s been jealous watching Baron Davis connect with Griffin in Los Angeles. Paul admitted that he doesn’t think there is a better dunker in the league and said that what Griffin is doing is "real Shawn Kemp like."

"I can’t wait," Paul said. "Me and Tyson had something special for those years that he was with us in New Orleans, and I can only imagine what it’s like playing with Blake. I watch basketball all day, every day and I see B.D. getting into the lane, throwing passes over his head like I used to do and other stuff like that. I get jealous at times so I’m excited about the All-Star game."

Paul is also excited about the new culture in New Orleans. In Monty Williams’ first year as head coach, the team has exceeded expectations and currently find themselves in the Western Conference’s playoff picture. When asked about the best thing that Williams has brought to New Orleans, Paul doesn’t hesitate.

"Probably just [a focus on] commitment. He’s instilled that we have to commit, not only to the team but also to each other. That’s a daily process," Paul said. "We just have to get consistent with effort, execution and everything."

The Hornets continue to play well in clutch time, which is a testament to Paul’s outstanding play. In the last five years, no team has won more close games in the final minute than New Orleans. Paul knows that his team plays well when the game is on the line, but he’s not sure why.

"I have no clue," Paul said with a laugh. "As a point guard, I just pride myself on closing games out. When it gets down to the last two or three minutes of a game, it’s all about making sure you call the right sets. All of the guys on my team know that when it gets down to five minutes, I always yell out, ‘It’s winning time.’"

Paul will have the opportunity to prove once again just how clutch he is tonight in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge where he will look to defend his crown against a group of youngsters. After that, he’ll be able to look forward to the All-Star game and start counting down the hours until he can begin throwing lobs to Griffin and company.

HOOPSWORLD Chats: There is one chat on today’s schedule. Susan Bible, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and NBA for HOOPSWORLD, will be taking your questions at 11am EST. As always you can check out our entire upcoming chat schedule.