NBA Notes: All-Star Weekend, Expansion, Bulls, Mac McClung

All-Star Weekend

Saturday night belongs to the shooters and the showmen.

All-Star Weekend continues with the three-point contest, Shooting Stars event, and the slam dunk competition, with Steven Louis Goldstein offering a full guide for The Athletic. Past three-point winners Damian Lillard and Devin Booker headline a strong eight-man field.

The Shooting Stars event also returns for the first time since 2015, replacing the Skills Challenge and adding a little nostalgia to the mix.

Expansion

Expansion talk is heating up again.

The NBA’s Board of Governors could vote on expansion this summer, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. Charania said the league’s spring meeting will be key for gathering more information, though some governors had hoped for a vote sooner.

That decision has now been pushed to the summer to allow for further deliberation. Seattle and Las Vegas remain the leading candidates, as they have for years.

Bulls

Mac McClung is still betting on himself.

The Bulls signed the three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion to a two-way deal, the latest step in McClung’s push to secure a real NBA role. The 27-year-old has turned down lucrative overseas offers to stay in the G League and remain available.

“This is where my heart’s at,” McClung said, via ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri. “You can’t keep telling me no forever.”