Stars get serious in 2nd half

"If a situation like that came up," Boozer, who already is making more than $11.5 million this season, said with a wide smile, "I think it would be very, very competitive."

Better yet, another reporter thought, why not have players put up their own dough — say $50,000 apiece — and have them play knowing their money is where their mouth is?

Even risking one's own hard-earned cold cash, though, may not be enough.

Fancy cars are Cleveland All-Star LeBron James' idea.

Or maybe a new crib would do the trick.

"Give away a Maybach, a Phantom, some jet hours, a house," King James joked. "Everybody loves a free Maybach, a free Benz or Rolls-Royce. We'll play hard for that.

"You know," he added, "the money, that doesn't matter. We don't need money. We have money. A house, a car ..."

Now you're talking.

A more grounded and wholesome option, though, may simply be playing the old-fashioned way.

"I like East and West," Boozer said.

"That's obviously very traditional," he added, "but, at the same time, that's what we have — we have the best in the East, and the best in West."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com